MASTER OF SCIENCE IN PSYCHOLOGY

ADVANCED GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

MSYS – 11 / MCPS -11
Semester - I

Department of Psychology
School of Social Sciences
Tamil Nadu Open University
577, Anna Salai, Saidapet, Chennai – 600 015.

www.tnou.ac.in
March 2022
Course Writer:
Dr. M.V. Sudhakaran
Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychology
School of Social Sciences
Tamil Nadu Open University
Chennai - 600 015

©Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences

Tamil Nadu Open University
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, mimeograph
or any other means, without permission in writing from the Tamil Nadu Open
University. Further information of the Tamil Nadu Open University Programmes may
be obtained from the University office at :

577, Anna Salai, Saidapet, Chennai - 600 015.

March 2022
www.tnou.ac.in
 03.03.2022

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Vanakkam,
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(K. PARTHASARATHY)
 MSYS-11 / MCPS -11 – ADVANCED GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

SYLLABUS

BLOCK - I

Basic concepts - Definition of Psychology - Schools of Psychology: Behaviorist - Gestalt

- Psychoanalysis – Humanistic - Scientific methods in Psychology - Application of
Psychology: Psychology in Industry, Community, Family, Education, Health, Self-
Development - Human relations.

BLOCK - II

The Sensory Process – Threshold sensitivity - Five senses - Perception: Organization -

The role of learning in perception - Perception and attention - Perceptual process -
Learning - Principles and Methods - Classical conditioning - Operant Conditioning -
The Principle of Reinforcement - Multiple Response learning - Cognitive learning -
Programmed Learning and Automated Instruction - Transfer of learning - Role of
Reward and Punishment in learning.

BLOCK- III

Motivation and Emotion - Physiological basis of motivation - Theories of Motivation

– Social Motives - Motivational factors in Aggression - Emotion – Biological basis of
emotion - Theories of Emotions – Emotional expression - Emotion and cognition.

BLOCK - IV

Memory and Forgetting - kinds of Remembering - Retrieval processes - The nature of

Forgetting - Two process theories of memory- Improving Memory - Language and
thought - Symbols and Concepts - Structure - Forms of thought - thinking and
reasoning - Concept Formation.

BLOCK V

Intelligence - Theories of Intelligence - Measuring Intelligence - Kinds of intelligence

tests - Ability - Formation of aptitude and attitude - Aptitude tests - Creativity and its
tests - Personality - Definition of Personality - Theories of Personality - Assessment of
Personality.
References:

1. Baron, R. A. (2010). Psychology (5th Ed.). New Delhi, India: Pearson India
Education Services Pvt Ltd.
2. Ciccarelli, S.K. & Meyer, G.E. (2008). Psychology. South Asian Edition.
NewDelhi: Dorling Kindersley India Pvt. Limited.

3. Fernald, L.D., & Fernald, P.S. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. 5th Ed.
AITBSPublishers.
4. Haggard, E.R., Atkinson, C.R., & Atkinson, R.L. (2011). Introduction to
Psychology.New Delhi: Oxford and IBH Publishing Company Pvt. Ltd.
5. Hillgard, E. R., Atkinson, R. C., & Atkinson, R. L. (1975). Introduction to

Psychology.6th Edition, New Delhi: Oxford IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.
6. Kalia, H. L. (2008). Introduction to Psychology. India: AITBS Publishers.
7. Morgan, C. T., King, R. A., Weisy, J. R., Schopler, J. (1993). Introduction to
Psychology. 7th Ed. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Publishers.
8. Venkattammal, P. General Psychology. (2011). Tamilnadu state higher
educationDepartment. Chennai.
 CONTENTS
Sl.No Title Page No

1 BLOCK I – BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF BEHAVIOUR

2 Unit 1 Basic Concepts and Schools 2

3 20
Unit 2 Scientific Methods in Psychology
4 45
Unit 3 Applications of Psychology
5 60
Unit 4 Sensation
6 77
Unit 5 Perception
7 BLOCK-II: LEARNING 92

8 93
Unit 6 Learning Principles and Methods
9 112
Unit 7 Types of Learning
10 134
BLOCK-III: MOTIVATION AND EMOTION
11 134
Unit 8 Motivation
12 Unit 9 Emotions 158
13 BLOCK-IV: MEMORY, FORGETTING & LANGUAGE 180

14 Unit 10 Memory and Forgetting 181

15 Unit 11 Theories of Memory 200

16 215
Unit 12 Language and Thought
17 226
Unit 13 Thinking, Reasoning and Concept Formation
18 244
BLOCK- V: INTELLIGENCE AND PERSONALITY
19 245
Unit 14 Intelligence
20 Unit 15 Personality 266

21 305
Appendix -I Plagiarism Certificate
 BLOCK-I
UNIT 1 BASIC CONCEPTS AND SCHOOLS
UNIT 2 SCIENTIFIC METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY
UNIT 3 APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY

1
Unit 1
BASIC CONCEPTS AND SCHOOLS
STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
1.1 Basic concepts
1.1.1 Definitions of Psychology
1.1.2 Aims of Psychology
1.2 Early schools of Psychology
1.2.1 Structuralism: Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
1.2.2 Functionalism
1.3 Modern schools of Psychology
1.3.1 Gestalt Psychology
1.3.2 Psychoanalysis
1.3.3 Behaviourism
1.3.4 Humanistic Psychology
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Keywords
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings
OVERVIEW
Psychology is the science of human and animal behaviour and it
includes the application of science to human problems. Psychologists
approach the study of behaviour from many viewpoints and they are
represented in the schools of psychology. In this unit, we will initially
focus on the basic concepts, and definitions. Then we will see the major
schools like Gestalt, Psychoanalytic, Behaviorism and Humanistic
schools.

OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you will be able to
• define psychology
2
 • explain the basic concepts
• discuss the different schools of psychology
1.1 BASIC CONCEPTS
Psychology is the science of behavior and cognitive processes. In other
words, psychologists are concerned with obtaining the scientific
information on everything we think, feel, and do. They examine
observable behavior, cognitive processes, physiological events, social
and cultural influences, and hidden and largely unconscious processes.
They also look at the complex interactions between all of these different
factors in order to understand the behavior.
1.1.1 Definitions of Psychology
The term “psychology comprises of two Greek words, namely "psyche"
and "logos". The former refers to the soul and the latter means 'study of.'
Thus, the term psychology literally means 'study of the soul'. Later, as
the word came to possess religious and metaphysical significance,
psychology was referred to as the study of the mind. Since the term
mind was also something abstract, the definition of psychology
underwent various modifications.

The early psychologists defined psychologists as the "study of mental

activity." With the development of behaviourism at the beginning of 20th
century and its concern for studying only those phenomena that could be
objectively measured, psychology was redefined as the study of
behaviour. This definition usually included the investigation of animal as
well as the human behaviour on, the assumption that information from
experiments with the subhuman species could be generalized to the
human organism.
Man is essentially a living organism. Psychology is primarily concerned
with responses of these organisms to the outside world. The stimuli from
the environment act upon these organisms which in turn respond to
these stimuli. Hence psychology may be considered to be a biological
science. Besides being a biological organism, man is also a social being.
Human beings live in groups and their behaviours are conditioned by the
group in which they live. Thus, psychology may also be called a social
science. Since psychology is based both on biology and social
interaction, it may be called as a Bio-Social Science.
Having understood that psychology is the scientific study of behaviour
and mental process, and also that is a bio-social science, we shall look
into some of the other few changing definitions of psychology, for better
understanding of the subject.
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Psychology is the Science of Mental Life, both of its phenomena and of
their conditions. These phenomena are called feelings, desires,
cognitions, reasoning, decisions, and the like. (William James, 1890)
For the Behaviorist, psychology is that division of natural science which
takes human behaviour the doings and sayings both learned and
unlearned as its subject matter. (John B. Watson, 1919)
Psychology is defined as a 'Scientific study of the behavior of living
creatures in their contact with the outer world". (Kurt Koffka, 1925)
Psychology is defined as the scientific study of behaviour. Its subject
matter includes behavioral processes that are observable, such as
gestures, speech, and physiological changes, and processes that can
only be inferred as thoughts and dreams. (Kenneth Clark and George
Miller, 1970)
Presently psychology is defined as the "Scientific study of behaviour
(human being and lower animals) and mental process". When we say
psychology is a scientific study of behaviour, it means that the behaviour
can be proved with factual information. The use of scientific procedures
includes systematic observation and experimentation by collecting and
gathering data. The mental process in the above definition refers to any
psychological or cognitive activity which takes place in the organisms
from birth to till the individual is alive.
The word behaviour refers to the activities of the organism that can
either be observed by another person, or by using certain psychological
tests. Most of the verbs such as eating, climbing, jumping, walking-the
physical activities or thinking, remembering, forgetting-the mental
activities, refer to behavioural elements that can be observed and
described as they occur. The components of behaviour are (i) conscious
experiences and (ii) unconscious process. The conscious experiences of
the organism are those experiences of which the organism is aware, for
instance, being hungry or having pain when injured. The unconscious
processes include the desire, urges, fears, etc. The conscious or the
unconscious behaviours are inferred from either the verbal report of the
individual concerned or through the inference of the manifest behaviour
of the person. Thus, both the conscious experiences and the
unconscious processes are both equally important for us to understand
the total behavior of the organism. Behaviour is further viewed as covert
behaviour which is the inward behaviour and overt behaviour that is
revealed outwardly. Behaviour may also be desirable behaviour that is,
an individual being truthful, disciplined, punctual etc. or may be an
undesirable behaviour such as stealing, lying, being dishonest and so
4
on. Psychology is not only a scientific field of study, it is also an
eminently useful and practical one.
1.1.2 Aims of Psychology
The prime aim of psychology is to understand, predict and control
behaviour. To understand we mean to find out how and why of the
behaviour, exploring the various causes for the particular behaviour. For
instance, why a student is not successful in passing the examinations
could be understood by exploring the various causes like poor study
habits, lack of concentration, poor memory, uninterested in the subject,
lack of motivation, or due to personal or other family problems, and by
describing as well as explaining such behaviours. To predict means, to
foretell or to tell in advance atleast to some extent the occurrence of
such behaviours. For example, poor study habits may lead to failure in
the examinations. To control refers to minimize or stop the occurrence
particular behaviour by using various psychological techniques or
treatment. For instance, poor study training programmes. Psychology
further aims at solving 'real-life' problems. The various activities like
Psycho-therapist talking to a worried client, the Educational Psychologist
advising a school board on a new curriculum, the Clinical Psychologist
supervising group therapy in a mental hospital and the Industrial
psychologist trying to lessen tensions between management and
workers in a large industry, all aim at minimizing the intensity of real life
problems.
Psychology further aims at solving social problems. For instance, what
can be done to eliminate race prejudice? What family and social
conditions contribute to alienation, aggression and crime?
Psychology also affects our lives through its influence on laws and public
policy. Laws concerning discrimination, capital punishment, the
conditions under which individuals may be held legally responsible for
their actions are influenced by psychological theories of human nature.
Psychology examines the nature of research so as to how psychologists
formulate hypotheses and devise methods to prove or disprove it.
On the whole, psychology helps us to understand the behaviour of
individuals and provide insights into their attitudes and reactions.
1.2 EARLY SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY
1.2.1 Structuralism: Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

Wundt is considered by many to be the founder of Experimental

Psychology. He developed the first widely accepted school of thought
5
called structuralism, which focused on the inner workings of
consciousness. In 1879, he opened the first psychology laboratory at the
University of Leipzig in Germany. Structuralism was later expanded by
Tichener (1867-1927) Structuralism is an early view suggesting that
psychology should focus on conscious experience and on the task of
analyzing such experience into its basic parts. Edward Bradford and
Titchner also contributed to this school of psychology at the Cornel
University in the United States. Structuralism in brief refers to the
images, sensation and feelings which contribute to form experience. It
otherwise, deals with the structure of the mind or mental structure. The
structuralists tended to ask "what are the parts of psychological
processes? Structuralism developed and used the technique called
introspection. Introduction refers to self-analysis or self-examination or
looking within oneself. The reports of the subjects allowed the
Psychologist to interest the structure of the mind and now it worked.
Structuralism attempted to study the conscious experience, the objective
features such as sight or taste and subjective feelings such as
responses, will and mental images. Structuralists believed that the mind
functioned by creatively continuing elements of experience. G. Sanlly
Hell, who founded the American Psychological Association, was also
associated with structuralism

1.2.2 Functionalism
Functionalists such as William James (1842-1910), James Angell (1869
- 1949) Harvey Carr (1873 - 1954), at the University of Chicago
proposed that psychology should study "what the mind and behaviour
do." In brief, these early psychologists studied the how of using to the
functions and behaviour. Functionalism addressed the ways in which
experience permits us to function more adaptively in our environments,
and it used behavioural observation in the laboratory. The functionalists
tended to ask "what are the purpose of overt behaviour and mental
processes? What differences do they make?
An early view of psychology was that, it should study the ways in which
the ever changing stream of conscious experience helps us adapt to a
complex and challenging world. Functionalism investigated adaptations
or adjustment.

6
1.3 MODERN SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY
1.3.1 Gestalt Psychology
This School of Gestalt psychology was founded in Germany about 1912
by Max Wertheimer (1880-1943) and his colleagues: Kurt Koffka (1886-
1941) and Wolfgang Kohler (1887-1967).
The German word Gestalt means "form" or "configuration and the
Gestalt psychologists maintained that, the mind should be thought of as
resulting from the whole patterns of sensory activity and the
relationships and organizations within this pattern. When you look at the
dots in the figure given below, your mental experience is not the just of
the dots, or elements but of a square and a triangle. It is the organization
of the dots and their relationships that determine the mental experiences
you have. Gestalt psychologists stated that the mental experiences
depend on the patterning and organization of the elements. In other
words, the mind is best understood in terms of the ways elements are
organized.
Figure

According to the Gestalt psychologists, the organization of the

relationships of elements determines the mental experience a person
has. Your mental experience is not just of the dots, or elements, but of a
square and a triangle sitting on a line. It is the organization of the dots
and their relationship's that determine the mental experience you have to
Gestalt psychologists believed mental experience depends on the
patterning and organization of elements and the mind is best understood
in terms of the ways elements are organized. The importance of
organization in a mental experience, will be discussed in perception
chapter. Gestalt psychologists stated that experiences cannot be broken
down to separate elements. Gestalt psychologists laid their basis on
perception, and believed that perception is a copy of objects or a "mental

7
image" of what has been perceived and thinking is a mechanical
combination of those images.
Gestalt is not a name of the person, instead it is a school of psychology
that argues that behaviour cannot be studied in parts but must be
viewed a whole. Parts make the whole or the whole is more important
that the sum of the parts. That is, the overall behaviour or the total
experience of the individual is important that the mere reflexes. The
whole is more than the sum of the parts. Whole experience is essential,
and the total experience is evaluated. For instance, there is a difference
between if I tell you "come to my house" and "come home". House here
merely refers to the parts - the table, chairs or the building but home
includes the people at house and they really want you to visit them. It is
a holistic approach. So, being a student of psychology, it calls for being
pretty careful when people invite you and check whether they use the
word house or home, having known what is Gestalt psychology.
Wertheimer and his colleagues focused on the perception and on how
perception influences thinking and problem solving. Perceptions were
more than the sum of the parts. Gestalt psychologists saw our
perceptions as a whole and that gives meaning to part.
Gestalt psychologists illustrated how we tend to perceive separate
pieces of information as integrated wholes, including the lowest in which
they occur.
Figure

For instance the symbol in the second column at the above is identical,
but in the top row, we may perceive it as B and in the bottom row as
number 13. The symbol has not changed, only the context in which it
appears has changed.
The method used in Gestalt psychology is Introspection Method. Gestalt
psychology, too had its criticisms like, the responses may be biased,
prejudiced, subjective, not consistent and not always reliable and valid,
thus exercising. Gestalt psychology required rigorous training and
practice.

8
1.3.2 Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis was founded in Vienna, Austria, by the Psychiatrist
Sigmund Freud (1856-1938). In the course of his practice with neurotic
patients, Freud developed a theory of behavior and mind which said that
much of what we do and think results from urges, or drives, which seek
expression in behavior and thought. A crucial point about these urges
and drives, according to psychoanalytic theory, is that they are hidden
from the awareness of the individual; they are, in other words,
unconscious. It is the expression of the unconscious drives which shows
up in behavior and thought. The term unconscious motivation thus
describes the key idea of psychoanalysis. Freud elaborated on this basic
theme of unconscious motivation as a system of psychotherapy
The psychoanalytic conception of human behavior was developed by
Sigmund Freud in Europe at about the same time that behaviorism was
evolving in the United States. Psychoanalytic concepts are based on
extensive case studies of individual patients rather than on experimental
studies. Psychoanalytic ideas have had a profound influence on
psychological thinking. The basic assumption of Freud's theory is that
much of our behaviour stems from processes that are unconscious. By
unconscious processes Freud meant thoughts, fears, and wishes a
person is unaware of, but which still influence behavior. He believed that
many of the impulses that are forbidden or punished by parents and
society during childhood are derived from innate instincts. Because
these impulses are innate, they exerted a pervasive influence that must
be dealt with in some manner. Forbidding them merely drives them out
of awareness into the unconscious, where they remain to affect
Behavior, according to Freud, unconscious impulses find expression in
dreams slips of speech, mannerisms, and symptoms of neurotic illness,
as well as through such socially approved behavior as artistic, literary, or
scientific activity.
The socially forbidden, personally unacceptable and painful desires,
impulses, urges and wishes of the individual are being pushed away into
the depths of the unconscious portions of the mind from the conscious
layers. This process is called "repression”. However, these repressed
impulses are active and try to occupy the conscious mind, atleast in a
disguised manner. These impulses find their expression in many like that
of dreams, slips of pen or tongue, unconscious mannerism and
symptoms of neurotic illness, Sometimes, they find socially acceptable
expressions like that of artistic, literary and scientifically produced.

9
According to Freudian theory, these expressed unconscious impulses
are sexual in nature.
According to psychoanalysis, the nature of the unconscious material
may be made conscious and that helped to remember the with the
accompanying affective components of the original experiences, which
would help the individual to recover, this is called by Freud the method
of "Free Association" and "Dream Interpretation". The structure of mind
deals with ld - the basic principles, the Ego - the reality principle, and the
Superego the conscious.
Freud also evolved a theory of personality development running through
certain stages of development which is known as theory of psycho-
sexual development, dealing with the oral, anal, phallic, latency and the
genital stage.
Freud came to believe that unconscious processes especially primitive
sexual and aggressive impulses were more influential than conscious
thoughts in determining human behaviour. Freud thought that most of
the mind was unconscious, consisting of conflicting impulses, urges and
wishes. People were motivated to gratify these impulses, ugly as some
of them were, but at the same time people were motivated to judge
themselves as being decent. Thus, they would often decide themselves
about their real motives. Because of the assumed notion of underlying
force in personality Freud's theory is referred to as 'psychodynamic'.
Freud devised a method of psychotherapy called psychoanalysis that
aims at helping patients gain insight into many of their deep-seated
conflicts and find socially acceptable ways of expressing the wishes and
gratifying needs. Psychoanalytic therapy is a process that can extend for
years.
Psychoanalytic concepts are based on effective case studies of
individual patients rather than on experimental studies. Psychoanalytic
ideas have had a profound influence on psychological thinking. The
basic assumption of Freud's theory is that much of our behaviour stems
from processes that are unconscious. By an unconscious processes,
Freud meant thoughts, fears and wishes, a person is unaware of but
which still influence behaviour. He believed that many of the impulses
that are forbidden or punished by parents and society during childhood
are derived from innate instincts. Because, these impulses are innate,
they exert a persuasive influence, that must be dealt with in some
manner. Forbidding them merely drives them out of awareness into
the unconscious, where they remain to affect behaviour.

10
Freud's view of human nature was essentially negative. We are driven
by the same basic instincts as animals like primarily sex and aggression
and are continually struggling against a society that stresses the control
of these impulses. Because Freud believed that aggression was a basic
instinct, he was pessimistic about the possibility of people ever living
together peacefully.
Psychoanalysis is a technique used by specially trained individuals to
help people cope with personal problems by overcoming anxiety.
1.3.2 Behaviourism
This school of psychology originated with the American Psychologist
John B. Watson (1878 - 1958), for many years, at Johns Hopkins
University Watson rejected mind as the subject of psychology and
insisted that psychology be restricted to the study of behavior, the
observable or potentially observable activities of people and animals.
Only the observable responses made by the subject were relevant.
Behaviourism studies the observable behaviour and relationships
between stimuli and responses.
In addition to its focus on behavior as the proper subject matter of
psychology, behaviorism had three other important characteristics. One
was an emphasis on conditioned responses as the elements, or building
blocks, of behavior. Watson argued that complex human and animal
behavior is made up almost entirely of conditioned responses. A second
closely related characteristic of behaviorism was its emphasis on
learned, rather than unlearned, behavior. It denied the existence of
inborn, or innate, behavioral tendencies. A third characteristic of
behaviourism was its focus on animal behavior. Watson held that there
are no essential differences between human and animal behavior and
that we can learn much about our own behavior from the study of what
animals do.
With the behavioral approach, a psychologist studies individuals by
looking at their behavior rather than at their internal workings. The view
that behavior should be the sole subject matter of psychology was first
advanced by the John B. Watson in the early 1900s. According to
Watson, "if psychology were to be a science, Its data must be
observable and measurable.
Stimulus-response psychology is influential particularly because of the
work of Harvard psychologist B.F.Skinner. Stimulus-Response
psychology (or S-R psychology for short) studies the stimuli that elicit
behavioral responses, the rewards and punishments that maintain these

11
responses and the modifications in behavior obtained by changing the
patterns of rewards and punishments. A theory of learning can be
developed by observing how learning can be done with the fewest
errors. Skinner introduced the concept of reinforcement to
behaviourism.
Watson pointed out to the laboratory experiments being conducted by
Ivan Pavlov in Russia as a model. Pavlov found that, dogs will learn to
salivate when a bell is rung and if ringing the bells has been repeatedly
associated with feeding. Pavlov explained the salivation in terms of the
laboratory conditions, or conditioning. Salivation was an event that could
be measured by the laboratory instruments.
Harvard University psychologist, B.F. Skinner took the behaviorist call
and introduced the concept of reinforcement to behaviourism.
Organisms learns to behave in certain ways, because they have been
reinforced for doing so. According to Behaviorist's view, psychology
should focus solely on observable, overt activities that can be measured
in a scientific manner.
For example, consider the question of what motivates people to work
hard and spend efforts on their jobs. We cannot observe such work-
motivation directly, it is an internal state that we assume, exists inside
people and affects their overt behaviour. For example, - how long and
hard they work at a given task - we can observe both the conditions. We
believe that many influence motivation, such as the extent to which good
performance is rewarded, and changes in overt behaviour that appear to
be linked with motivation, such as actual output, number of errors and so
on in the industrial or organizational set up. Since modern psychology,
still focuses a great deal of attention on overt behaviour, this motivation
remains an important perspective within the field. Behaviourism is based
on the learning model like observation, conditioning and modeling. The
methods include all Behaviour Modification Techniques like Assertive
Training, Role Modeling, Systematic Desensitization, Aversion Therapy
etc.
Behaviourism did have criticisms based on the facts that all responses
are not observable and that it missed the richness of human nature of
thoughts and feelings.
1.3.4 Humanistic Psychology
Humanistic or Phenomenological Approach: Humanistic Psychology
is a recent school, which emerged in 1980's and is related to Gestalt
psychology and cognitive in flavor. The humanistic approach of

12
American psychologists such as Carl Rogers (1902 - 1987), Rollo May
(born 1909) and Abraham Maslow (1916 - 1972) assists that we are
basically free to determine our own behaviour. To Humanists, freedom is
a source of both pride and great responsibility. Humanistic psychologists
suggest that we are engaged in quests to discover our personal
identities and meaning of our lives.
Humanistic psychology, because of its focus on consciousness and self
awareness, is also labeled "phenomenological". The word
"phenomenon' is derived from the Greek word 'fantasy'. However,
fantasy implies that one's perceptions are inaccurate and unreal.
Humanistic approach which is otherwise called as the phenomenological
approach focuses on subjective experience. It is concerned with the
individual's own perception and interpretation of events the individuals
phenomenology. This approach seeks to understand events, or
phenomena, as they are experienced by the individual and to do so
without imposing any preconceptions or the theoretical ideas.
Phenomenological psychologists believe that we can learn more about
human nature by studying people's perceptions of themselves and their
world than we can by observing their actions. two people might behave
quite differently in response to the same situation, only by asking how
each interprets the situation can we fully understand their behavior.

Humanistic psychology assumes the existence of the self and

emphasizes the importance of consciousness and self awareness.
Phenomenological psychologists prefer to believe that we are
responsible for our actions. We are not "acted on" by forces outside our
control, but are "actors" capable of controlling our own destiny. The
issue here is one of determinism versus free will. Phenomenological
psychologists, in contrast, are not concerned with prediction and control.
Their emphasis is on understanding the individual's inner life and
experiences. They believe that, although animal behavior depends
primarily on how the individual perceives the world in general and the
immediate situation in particular. Phenomenological approach deals with
the experience of perceiving the world.
Some phenomenological theories are also called humanistic, because
they emphasize those qualities that distinguish people from animals-
primarily their free will and their drive toward self-actualization.
According to humanistic' theories, an individual's main motivational force
is a tendency toward growth and self-actualization. Achievement of us
has a basic need to develop our potential to the fullest, to progress
beyond where we are now. Although we may be blocked by all kinds of
13
environmental and cultural obstacles, our natural tendency is toward self
actualization of our potential. With its emphasis on developing one's
potential, humanistic psychology has been closely associated with
encounter groups and various types of "consciousness-expanding" and
mystical experiences. It is more aligned with the literature and
humanities than with science. In fact some humanists would even reject
scientific psychology claiming that its method can contribute nothing
worthwhile to an understanding of human nature.
Humanists such as Carl Rogers (1985) and other psychologists admit
that their observation method have been less than scientific, vague and
difficult to test, due to their subjectivity but argue that subjective
experience remains vital to the understanding of human nature.
COMPARISON OF SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Behavioristic Perspective Only concepts that can be related to
observable aspects of behavior are useful from the point of view of a
science-oriented psychology
Psychoanalytic perspective: According to the psychodynamic
perspective, behavior stem from continuous, and largely unconscious,
struggles among hidden forces deep within our personalities.
Humanistic perspective: Psychologists who adhere to the humanistic
perspective emphasize the importance of tendencies toward
personal growth-tendencies in each of us to try to become the best
person we can be. Only when external obstacles interfere is the growth
process interrupte; in such cases, humanistic psychologists contend, we
may experience various psychological disorders stemming from
disruption of our normal growth. Humanistic Perspective is a perspective
in modern psychology suggesting that human beings have free will and
are not simply under the control of various internal and external factors.

PERSPECTIVE FOCUS

Behavioral Focuses on overt, observable behavior concepts

are viewed as useful only if they can be related to
overt behavior.
Gestalt Emphasizes the tendency to organize perception
into whole and to integrals separate stimuli into
meaningful patterns

Psychodynamic Emphasizes the role of internal forces and

conflicts in behavior. It views many actions, and
14
 many forms of psychological disorders, as
stemming from unconscious impulses or forces.
Humanistic Emphasizes the importance of tendencies toward
personal growth and assumes that individuals
have free will with respect to their own Behavior.
HUMANIST VIEW

A school of thought which focuses Subject matter: Question about the

on subjective experience to
discover personal identities and
meaning for live. We are
responsible for our action. We are
not 'acted on' forces outside our
control, but are 'actors' capable of
controlling our thinking and action.
whole person, subjective human
experience, and significant human
problems, the extra ordinary and
individual as well as the usual and
universal.
Major Goals: Service and
enrichment of the primary and
secondary knowledge.
Research methods emphasized:
The observers intuitive awareness
is considered important. All
procedures that include objective
methods, informal introspection,
case study, analysis, literature etc.,
are acceptable. Population studied
People.

BEHAVIOURISM

A school of thought that maintain Subject matter: stimuli and

that psychology can describe a observable responses; learning
measure only what is observable emphasized.
either directly or through the use
Major goals: Knowledge,
an instrument.
applications. Population studied:
people and other animals.

15
 GESTALT PSHCHOLOGY

A school of thought which believes Subject matter: Subjective; whole

that behaviour can be studied in
part: but must be viewed as a
whole.
human experience; perception,
thinking and problem solving
emphasized.
Major goals: Knowledge, Research
methods emphasized; Informal
introspection, objective method.

PSYCHOANALYSIS

Theory and technique developed Subject matter: Normal and

by Sigmund Freud regarding the abnormal personality (laws,
dynamics of behaviour. determinants in early childhood,
Unconscious motivation is the and unconscious aspect
key to understand the behaviour emphasized); treatment of
abnormal behaviour.
Major Goals: Service, knowledge,
Research Methods emphasized;
patient's informal introspection to
reveal conscious experiences.
Therapist: Logical analysis and
observation to the uncover
unconscious Materials.
Population Studied: Patients
(Usually adults).

LET US SUM UP
Today, we define psychology as the science of behaviour and cognitive
processes. In other words, psychologists are concerned with obtaining
scientific information on everything we and other living organisms think,
feel and do. They examine observable behaviour, cognitive process,
psychological events, social and cultural influences and largely the
hidden and largely, unconscious processes. They also look at the
complex interactions between all of these different factors in order to
describe their behaviour. Regarding the modern schools of psychology,
Gestalt psychology emphasizes the tendency to organize perception into
16
whole and to integrals separate stimuli into meaningful patterns.
Psychoanalysis emphasized the importance of unconscious motives and
conflicts as determinants of human behaviours. Behaviourism mainly
deals with the observable responses to environmental stimuli that can be
measured either directly or indirectly by the use of instruments. Some
phenomenological theories are also called humanistic, because they
emphasize those qualities that distinguish people from animals-primarily
their free will and their drive toward self-actualization.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Psychology is the science of behavior and __________
2. _________is considered by many to be the founder of
Experimental Psychology
3. The German word Gestalt means ______ or _________
4. This school of psychology originated with the
American Psychologist____________
5. With the _________ a psychologist studies individuals by looking at
their behavior rather than at their internal workings.

6. ___________ approach deals with the experience of perceiving the

world.
KEY WORDS
Structuralism Functionalism
Cognitive process Behaviourism
Gestalt Psychoanalysis
Humanistic Phenomenological
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. Cognitive Processes
2. Wundt
3. Form, Configuration
4. John B. Watson
5. Behavioral approach
6. Phenomenological

17
GLOSSARY

Behavior: An organism’s activities in response to external or internal

stimuli, including objectively observable activities, introspectively
observable activities and nonconscious processes.
Behaviorism: An approach to psychology, formulated in 1913 by John
B. Watson, based on the study of objective, observable facts rather than
subjective, qualitative processes, such as feelings, motives, and
consciousness.

Experimental psychology: The scientific study of behaviour, motives,

or cognition in a laboratory or other controlled setting in order to predict,
explain, or influence behavior or other psychological phenomena.

Functionalism: A general psychological approach that views mental life

and behavior in terms of active adaptation to environmental challenges
and opportunities.

Gestalt psychology: A psychological approach that focuses on the

dynamic organization of experience into patterns or configurations

Psychoanalysis: An approach to the mind, personality, psychological

disorders, and psychological treatment originally developed by Sigmund
Freud at the beginning of the 20th century.

Social Interaction: Any process that involves reciprocal stimulation or

response between two or more individuals.

Structuralism: It is the study of mental experience and sought to

investigate the structure of such experience through a systematic
program of experiments based on trained introspection. Also called
structural psychology.

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Define Psychology
2. What are the aims of Psychology?
3. What is Structuralism?
4. What is Behaviorism?
5. Explain the different schools of psychology.

SUGGESTED READINGS:
1. Clifford T. Morgan, Richard a King, John R. Weis and John Schopler,
"Introduction to Psychology" - 7th Edition. Tata McGraw Hill Book Co.
New Delhi, 1993.

18
2. Ernest R. Hilgard, Richard C. Atkinson, Rita L. Atkinson, "Introduction
to Psychology" 6th Edition, Oxford IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi, 1975.
3. Baron A. Robert, Psychology, Pearson Education Vth Ed., 2002

19
Unit 2

SCIENTIFIC METHODS
IN PSYCHOLOGY
STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
2.1 Scientific Method
2.2 Experimental Method
2.2.1 Laboratory Experiment
2.2.2 Field experiment
2.2.3 The important characteristics of the experimental method
2.3 Observation Method
2.3.1 Types of observation method
2.4 Survey Method
2.5 Test Method
2.6 Case study Method
2.7 Clinical Method
2.8 Correlation Method
2.9 Interview Method
2.10 Questionnaire Method
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Keywords
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings
OVERVIEW
As we have defined the psychology as a science, in the previous unit, it
was emphasized that the discovery of new knowledge about behaviour
is based on the experiments and the subsequent observation made
upon it. In this unit, let us look more closely at the ways psychologists go
about making observations. In this unit, we focus on the steps in the
scientific methods, the characteristics of experimental method,
laboratory method, Observation method, Survey method, clinical
20
method, various types of interview methods, and finally
the questionnaire method.

OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you would be able to
• explain the various steps in the scientific methods
• describe about the experimental method and its characteristics
• explain the Observation method and its types
• describe about the survey, test and methods.
• discuss about the case study method, its advantages and
disadvantages
• discuss about the correlation, the various interview methods and
questionnaire methods as well as their advantages
and disadvantages.

2.1 SCIENTIFIC METHOD

As a student of psychology, you might have come across several
questions such as:
• How do psychologists study behaviour?
• Does alcohol cause aggression?
• What is the relationship between age and intelligence?
• Is there any difference between boys and girls in their academic
achievements?
• Can children be taught to develop desirable behaviours?
Many of us have expressed opinions on the various questions such as
these at one time of another and different psychological theories suggest
a number of possible answers. But, psychology is an empirical science.
Within an empirical science, assumptions about the behaviour of cosmic
rays, chemical compounds, cell or people, must be supported by
evidence. Scientific evidence is obtained by means of the scientific
method of investigation.
There are four basic steps in scientific method.
Step 1: Formulating a research question - Our daily experiences,
psychological theory and even folklore help to generate questions for
21
research. For example, social - learning or observational learning may
prompt research to find the effects of televised violence.
Step 2: Developing a hypothesis. A tentative statement explaining the
relationship between two study variables or difference between/among
the study groups. A hypothesis is a specific statement about the
behaviour that is to be tested through research. A hypothesis about TV
violence
Step Developing a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a specific statement
about behaviour that to be tested through research. A hypothesis about
TV violence might that elementary school boys who watch more violent
TV shows tend to behave aggressively towards their peers.
Step 3: Testing the Hypothesis - Psychologists test the hypothesis
through cardinally controlled methods of observation or the experiment
method. Concert effects of TV violence, we could obtain the parent's
help to tally which the TV shows their children watch and to rate the
shows for violent content, a boy could receive a total “exposure to TV
violence score". We could also gather the teacher's report on how
aggressively the boy acts toward theirs. Then, we could determine
whether more aggressive boys act toward their peers. Then we could
determine whether more aggressive boys also watch more violence on
television.

Step4: Drawing conclusion from the test of Hypothesis Psychologists

draws a conclusion about the accuracy of their hypothesis on the basis
of their research findings. When research findings do not bear out their
hypothesis the researchers may modify the theories from which the
hypothesis was to modify the theories from which the hypothesis was
derived Research findings often suggest new hypothesis and
consequently new studies, he would probably find that aggressive
children spend more time watching these television violence.
Thus, psychologists use several techniques for conducting systematic
research o n the scientific method and perform the task of adding to our
knowledge bout behaviour and mental processes. They move beyond
common sense in seeking answers to puzzling questions about human
behavior.
2.2 EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
The aim of science is to provide new and useful information in the form
of verifiable data. Data obtained under conditions are such that other
qualified people can repeat the observations and obtain the same
results. This task calls for orderliness and precision in investigating
22
relationships communicating them to others. Psychology as a science
makes use of the method of experimentation for its findings.
Experimental method has been used by other science as well.
The experimental method is a research method where the investigators
systematically after one or more variable in order to determine
whether such changes will influence some aspect of behaviour. The
experimental method can be used outside the laboratory as well as
inside. Experiments conducted outside the laboratory are called field
experiments and those conducted within are called as laboratory
experiments. The experimental method is a matter or logic, not of
location. Most experiments take place in special laboratories, chiefly
because the control of conditions commonly require special facilities,
computer and other instruments.
2.2.1 Laboratory Experiment
The distinguishing characteristic of a laboratory is that it is a place where
the experimenter can carefully control conditions and take
measurements in order to discover relationship among variables. A
variable is something that can occur with different values. For example,
in an experiment seeking to discover the relationship between learning
ability and age, each can have different values. To the extent that
learning ability changes systematically with increasing age, we can
discover an orderly relationship between these two variables.
The special feature of the laboratory condition is that the experimenter
can carefully control conditions and take measurements in order to
discover relationships among variables. In this, determining the
relationship involves manipulating or changing the value of one variable
and then measuring the changes in another variable. Commonly, the
variable psychologists manipulate is called the independent variable. All
the variables affected by this manipulation are called the dependent
variables. This method of manipulation is very useful in helping
psychologists to identify the causes of behaviours, to test new kinds of
treatment for mental disorders or to evaluate new teaching methods.
Sometimes, an experimenter focuses only on the influences of a single
condition which can be either present or absent. An experimental
method commonly calls for an experimental group with the condition
present and the control group with the conditions absent. For instance,
in an experiment conducted to find if the computer assisted learning is
beneficial, the experimental group received computer assisted learning
for reading, scored higher on reading tests, than the control group which
did not receive such instruction for reading. The students in the
23
experimental group scored higher on the reading test than students in
control group, suggesting that computer assisted learning have been
beneficial. In this experiment, the independent variables are the
presence or absence of computer assisted learning. The dependent
variable is the students' score in the reading test. If changes in the
independent variable always leads to the subsequent changes in the
dependent variable, we can be confident that the variables are related
as cause and effect.
2.2.2 Field Experiment
Laboratory experiments furnish precise, focused controlled ways to
investigate cause-effect relationship. But the laboratory setting and
demand characteristics may distort people's behaviour, making it
unnatural. To avoid artificiality and demand characteristics and to make
the results more applicable to conditions, experiments that are
sometimes performed in natural settings, in the field.

Field experiments combine realism with control. Independent variable

are manipulated and dependent variables are measured usually
without the subjects' knowledge about their participation.

The ideal research strategy demands using laboratory experiments and

field experiments in a combined manner. The researcher can shift from
one to the other and back again to the laboratory experiments.
2.2.3 The important characteristics of the Experimental Method
a) Variables
A variable is an event or condition which can have different values.
Ideally, it is an event or condition which can be measured and which
varies quantitatively. Variables may be either independent or dependent.
An independent variable (or manipulated variable) is a condition set or
selected by an experimenter to see whether it will have an effect on
behavior; it might be a stimulus presented, a drug administered, and a
new method of training business managers, and so on. The dependent
variable (or resulting behavior) is the behavior of the person or animal in
the experiment. A dependent variable in an experiment might be the
response of a person to a stimulus, a change in behavior after the
administration of a drug, changes in managerial behavior after a new
training program has been instituted, a score on a test, a verbal report
about an event in the environment, and so on. The dependent variable is
so called because its value depends, on the value of the one
independently chosen and directly manipulated by the experimenter.

24
Experimental method discovers cause and effect relationships by
introducing independent variable and observing their effect on the
dependent variables The antecedent condition is called as the
independent variable, because it is independent of what the subject
does. The variable affected by changes in the antecedent conditions is
called the dependent variable, psychological research the dependent
variable is usually come measure of the subjects behaviour.
The factor systematically varied by the researcher is termed as the intuit
pendent variable, while the aspect of behavior or cognitive
processes studied is termed the dependent variable. Independent
Variable is the variable that is systematically altered in an experiment.
Dependent Variable is aspect of behavior that is measured in an
experiment.
When, in doing experiments, hypotheses are formulated about the effect
of one thing on another, the independent variable is the one expected to
produce changes in the dependent variable. Consider the following
hypotheses, for instance. Giving people training in how to meditate will
improve their skill as tennis players. The environmental enrichment and
the meditation the independent variables, while the changes in tennis
skills are the dependent variables.
b) Control

In an experiment, it is important that, only the specified independent

variables be allowed to change. Factors other than the independent
variable which might affect the dependent variable must be held
constant. It would do no good to study the effects of varying an
independent variable if, unknown to the experimenter, other factors also
changed. In an experiment, we must control conditions which would give
misleading results.
c) Replication
It is important that experiments can be repeated, or, in other words,
replicated For instance recitation is an aid to memory by having two
groups study something, one with recitation and the other without and
then measuring the differences in memory. If this experiment is
performed under proper conditions, it will show that the recitation helps
the memory.

25
d) Experimental group and Control group
Experimental group is the group on which the experiment is conduced or
receives the treatment. Control group is the group on which the
experiment is not conduced or does not receive the treatment.
A research method where investigators systematically alter one or more
variables in order to determine whether such changes will influence
some aspect of behavior. Experimentation or the experimental method
involves efforts to determine if variables are related to one another by
systematically changing one or more and observing the effects of such
variations on the other or others. Experimentation yields relatively clear-
cut evidence on causality. If systematic variations in one factor produce
changes in another (and if additional conditions we'll soon consider are
also met), we can conclude with reasonable certainty that there is a
causal link between the factors: those changes in one caused changes
in the other. Establishing such causality is extremely valuable from the
perspective of one major goal of science that is explanation.
The experimental method involves two basic steps: (1) The presence or
strength of some variable believed to affect behavior is systematically
altered, and (2) If the factor varied does indeed influence behavior or
cognitive processes, then individuals exposed to different levels or
amounts of that factor should differ in terms of their behavior. Thus,
exposure to a small amount of the variable should result in one level of
behavior; exposure to a larger amount should result in a different level,
and so on.
e) Two types of bias may intrude into experiments
They are (1) bias due to the demand characteristics of the experimental
situation itself and (2) bias due to the unintentional influence of the
experimenter.
Bias due to demand characteristics result in situation where the subjects
know that they are in an experimental situation and are aware of the fact
that they are being observed and that certain responses are expected
from them. Consequently, subjects may not respond to the experimental
manipulations as such, but to their interpretation of what responses
these are manipulations that are supposed to elicit from them. The
subjects may discover the research hypothesis and respond in a manner
consistent with it in an attempt to co-operate with the experimenter. A
common way to reduce their source is through deception by informing
about some other credible hypothesis.

26
The investigator's characteristics, age, sex, tone of voice, facial
expressions, body movements, information about the experiment or
research like research procedures, instruction to the subject, preparation
for research, laboratory equipments used for research and all these
influence the subjects' behaviour. As a result of these, the subject might
become anxious and nervous. This type cues, is known as bias due to
the unintentional influence of the experimenter and the subjects stop
behaving naturally and begin acting to please.
To reduce the effect of such demand characteristics, experimenters
often
use assistants who are unaware of the purpose of the experiment. The
assistant is said to be blind to the research goals and the experiment is
referred to as single and a blind procedure. When both the subject and
experimental assistant do not know the purpose, the procedure is
referred to as a "double-blind" experiment.

f) Limitations of Experimental Method

1) Experimental Method cannot always be used, especially if the
experiment might be dangerous for the subjects. 2) The conclusions
derived from an experiment may be limited to the artificial experimental
situation they may not apply to "natural" situations or even to other
experimental situations. 3) This method sometimes interferes with the
other factors it is trying to measure.
2.3 OBSERVATION METHOD
Careful observation of animal and human behavior including the study of
our own conscious processes is the starting point of psychology. Motion
pictures of newborn babies reveal the details of movement patterns
shortly after birth and the types of stimuli to which babies are
responsive.
Psychological researchers simply make the most exacting and
systematic study on the naturally occurring behavior. After making a
number of observations, the psychologist, using certain rules of logic, try
to infer the causes of the behavior being studied.
Extensive observations were made on the book-carrying behavior of
college students in Montana, Ontario, El Salvador, and Costa Rica.
The behaviour was classified into two patterns. The type pattern
consisted of carrying a book (or books) by wrapping the forearm around
it and supporting the short edge of the book against the body; the type Il
pattern consisted of carrying the book (or books) at the side of the body

27
with the long edge of the book approximately horizontal and with the
book grasped from the top or supported from underneath. Approximately
90 to 95 percent of the females fell into the type I pattern, while about
the same percentage of males fell into the type Il pattern. Look around
you and observe.
The method of systematic observation tells us what people do and how
they differ in their behavior. But, the psychological detective who uses
the method of systematic observation, may also seek to find out what
causes the observed behavior.
Why do females carry their books on the hip and males at the side? Is it
because of differences in female and male anatomy; is it because they
learn this behavior from others of the same sex, or is it due to the other
factors altogether? We would not be sure of the cause; we would only
have identified a likely cause or set of causes.
Observation becomes a scientific tool and the method of data collection
and is systematically planned and recorded and is subjected to checks
and controls on validity and reliability. Under the observation method,
the information is sought by the way of investigator's own direct
observation without asking from the respondent.
2.3.1 Types of Observation Method
Naturalistic Observation: Naturalistic Observation is a systematic study
of behaviour in natural settings. It is a research method in which various
aspects of behaviour are carefully observed in the settings where such
behavior naturally occurs.
Structured and unstructured Observation
While using this method, the researcher should keep in mind things like:
What should be observed? How the observations should be recorded?
Or how the accuracy of observation can be ensured? In case the
observation is characterized by a careful definition of the units to be
observed, the style recording the observed information, standardized
conditions of observation and the selection of a pertinent data of
observation, then the observation is called as structured observation.
But, when observation is to take place without these characteristics to be
thought of in advance, the same is termed as unstructured observation.
Structured observation is considered appropriate in descriptive studies,
whereas in an exploratory study the observational procedure is most
likely to be relatively unstructured.

28
Participant and non-participant observation
In social sciences it depends upon the observer's sharing or not sharing
the life of the group he is observing. If the observer observes by making
himself, more or less, a member of the group he is observing so that he
can experience what the members of the group experience, the
observation is called as the participant observation. But when the
observer observes as a detached emissary, what others feel, the
observation of this type is often termed as non-participant observation.
When the observer is observing in such a manner that his presence may
be unknown to the people he is observing, such an observation is
described as disguised observation.
Controlled and Uncontrolled Observation
If the observation takes place in the natural setting, it may be termed as
uncontrolled observation, but in un-controlled observation, no attempt is
made to use precision instruments. When observation takes place
according to definite pre-arranged plans, involving experimental
procedure, it is termed as controlled observation. The major aim of this
type of observation is to get a spontaneous picture of life and persons. It
has a tendency to supply naturalness and completeness of behavior,
allowing sufficient time for observing it. But in controlled observation, we
use mechanical or precision instruments as aids to accuracy and
standardization. Such observation has a tendency to supply formalized
data upon which generalizations can be built with some degree of
assurance. The main pitfall of un-controlled observation is that of
subjective interpretation. There is also the danger of having the feeling
that we know more about the observed phenomena than we actually do.
Generally, controlled observation takes place in various experiments that
are carried out in a laboratory or under the controlled conditions,
whereas uncontrolled observation is resorted to in case of exploratory
researches.
Advantages of Observation Methods
1) Subjective bias is eliminated, if observation is done accurately.
2) Information obtained under this method relates to what is
currently happening and it is not complicated by either the past
behavior or future intentions or attitudes.
3) It is independent of respondents' willingness to respond and
as such is relatively less demanding of active cooperation on the
part of respondents as happens to be the case in the interview or
the questionnaire method.
29
 4) It is particularly suitable in studies which deal with subjects i.e.
the respondents who are not capable of giving verbal reports of
their feelings for one reason or the other.
Disadvantages of Observation Methods
1) It is an expensive method
2) Information provided by this method is very limited.
3) Sometimes unforeseen factors may interfere with the
observational task.
4) The fact that some people are rarely accessible to the direct
observation that creates the obstacle, for this method to collect
the data effectively.
5) Anecdotes may take the place of observation
6) Interpretation may substitute description.
7) Data obtained are relatively formula subjective, based or
prejudicial and thus reduce their scientific value.

2.4 SURVEY METHOD

Some problems that are difficult to study by direct observation may be
studied through the use of questionnaires or interviews. In survey
method, people answer questions about aspects of their views, attitudes
or behaviour.
Surveys have been used to obtain information on political opinions,
consumer preferences, health care needs, etc. An adequate survey
requires a carefully pretested questionnaire, a group of interviewer
trained in its use, a sample carefully selected to ensure that the
respondents are representative of the population to be studied, and
appropriate methods of data analysis. So that the results are properly
interpreted.
It is a research method in which the large numbers of people answer the
questions about aspects of their views or their behavior. It involves
asking large numbers of individuals to complete questionnaires designed
to yield information on specific aspects of their behavior or attitudes.
Such surveys or polls are often conducted to measure a wide range of
attitudes and behaviors.
Surveys are often repeated over long periods of time in order to track
shifts in public opinions or actual behaviour. For example, some surveys

30
of job satisfaction and individual's attitudes towards their jobs have
constituted for several decades.
Advantages of Survey method: (1) Large amounts of information can be
gathered with relative ease, and shifts over time can be readily noted.
(2) When conducted carefully, surveys can provide highly accurate
predictions with respect to the outcome of elections and other events.
Disadvantages of Survey Method: (1) People may fail to respond
accurately or truthfully, providing answers that place them in a favorable
light rather than ones that reflect their true views. (2) The results of
surveys are useful only if the persons questioned are truly representative
of larger groups to whom the findings are to be generalized.
2.5 TEST METHOD
The test method is an important research instrument in contemporary
psychology. It is used to measure all kinds of abilities, interests,
attitudes, and accomplishments. Tests enable the psychologist to obtain
large quantities of data from people with a minimum disturbance of their
daily routines and without elaborate laboratory equipment. A test
essentially presents a uniform situation to a group of people who vary in
aspects relevant to the situation (such as intelligence, manual dexterity,
anxiety, or perceptual skills). An analysis of the results then relates
variations in test scores to variations among people.
Test construction and their use are, however, not simple matters. They
involve many steps in item preparation, scaling, and establishing norms.
Psychological test results like the result of surveys can be distorted by
respondents who answer in a socially desirable direction or attempt and
aggravate problems. For these reasons Psychologists have to use the
validity scales. Validity scales are groups of test items that suggest
whether or not the test results measure what they are supposed to
measure. Validity scales are sensitive to misinterpretations and alert the
psychologists when the test may be deceptive.
2.6 CASE STUDY METHOD
Scientific biographies, known as case studies or case histories, are
important sources of data for psychologists studying individuals. There
can, be case histories of institutions or the groups of people as well.
Most case histories are prepared by reconstructing the biography of a
person on the basis of remembered events and records. Reconstruction
is necessary because the individual's earlier history often does not
become a matter of interest until that person develops some sort of

31
problem; at such time, knowledge or the past is thought to be important
for understanding present behavior. The retrospective method may
result in the distortions of events or oversights, but it is often the only
method available.
Case histories may also be based on a longitudinal study. This type of
study follows an individual or group of individuals over an extended
period of time, with measurements made at periodic intervals. Thus, the
case history is constructed from actual observations made by the
investigator according to a plan. The advantage of a longitudinal study is
that it does not depend on the memories of those interviewed at a later
date. The disadvantage is that in most studies a large amount of data
has to be collected from many individuals in the hope that some of the
data will eventually show the characteristics of interest the investigator
perhaps. unusual creative abilities or some forms of mental disturbance.
Case Study Method is a method of research in which detailed
information about individuals is used to develop general principles about
behaviour. Detailed information is gathered on specific individuals in this
method.

Case study method is a very popular form of qualitative analysis and

involves a careful and complete observation of a social of be that of a
person, a family, an institution, a cultural group or even the entire
community. It is a method of study in depth rather than breadth. This
method places more emphasis on the full analysis of a limited number of
events or conditions and their interrelations. It deals with the processes
that. take place and their interrelationship. Thus, the case study method
is essentially an intensive investigation of the particular unit. under
consideration.
Case study is also a method of research in which detailed information
about individuals is used to develop general principles about behaviour.
For example, Freud based his entire theory of personality on the case
study method which was really useful in the hands of the talented
researchers such as Freud and seemed capable of yielding valuable
insights about their behaviour. Moreover, when the behaviour involved is
very unusual, the case study method can be quite revealing. The case
study is also used in psychological consultation. Psychologists learn
whatever they can about individuals, agencies and business firms, so
that they can suggest ways in which these clients can more effectively
meet their challenges.

32
2.7 CLINICAL METHOD
The clinical method is ordinarily used only when people come to
psychologists with personal problems. For instance, a child doing badly
in school and her parents bring her to the psychologist to find out why.
Little John Basil throws temper tantrums, refuses to eat, cries all night,
and generally makes life miserable for his parents.
There are "doctors who diagnose psychological disorders and treat them
by means of psychotherapy.
Many people are confused about the differences between a clinical
psychologist and a psychiatrist. The clearest distinction between them is
that a clinical psychologist normally holds a Ph.D. or M.A./M.Sc degree
or a relatively new degree called the Psy.D. (for "Doctor of Psychology";
a psychiatrist holds an M.D. degree. The Ph.D. (or Psy.D.) clinical
psychologist has taken 4 or 5 years of postgraduate work in a
psychology department; the M.A./M.Sc Clinical psychologist has had
about 2 years of postgraduate work and usually works under the
supervision of a Ph.D. psychologist. The psychiatrist, on the other hand,
has gone to medical school and has then completed 3 or 4 years of
residency training in psychiatry. This difference in training means that
the clinical psychologist, who does not have medical training, cannot
prescribe drugs to treat behavior disorders. It also means that whenever
there is possibility of a medical disorder, a patient should be examined
by a psychiatrist or other physician. Further, in most situations, only a
psychiatrist can commit a patient to a hospital for care and treatment. On
the other hand, psychologists are usually better trained in doing
research; thus, clinical psychologists are somewhat more likely than
psychiatrists to be involved in systematically studying better ways of
diagnosing, treating, and preventing behavior disorders. Psychologists
are also more likely than psychiatrists to use psychotherapy methods
that have grown out of scientific research. Clinical psychologists also
tend to rely more heavily than psychiatrists on the standardized tests as
an aid to diagnosing their behavior disorders.
Many clinical psychologists practice in state mental hospitals, community
mental health centers, and similar agencies. An increasing number are
in private practice, in the institutions and clinics where many clinical
psychologists practice, while psychiatrists often are available for
prescribing medical treatment when needed, psychologists do a large
part of the professional work of diagnosis and treatment, as well as
holding important administrative jobs and doing much of the research.
The clinical psychologist and the psychiatrist should also be
33
distinguished from the psychoanalyst. A psychoanalyst is a person who
uses the particular psychotherapeutic techniques which originated with
Sigmund Freud and his followers. And who has had the special training
required to use these techniques can be a psychoanalyst.
2.8 CORRELATION METHOD
A research method in which investigators observe two or more variables
in order to determine whether changes in one are accompanied by their
changes in the other. Prediction is the ability to forecast future events
from present ones and is an important goal of science Psychologists,
too, often seek to make predictions. We try to determine whether
changes in one variable are associated with changes in another so that,
for example, as one rises, the other does too. The stronger such
relationships or correlations, the more successfully one variable can be
predicted from the other.
Advantages of Correlation Method

1) it can be used to study behavior in many real-life settings.

2) It is often highly efficient and can yield a large amount of
interesting data in a short time.

3) It can be extended to include many different variables at once. In

a simple study, information on the physical attractiveness, age,
height, and gender of the political candidates, salespersons, and
so on might also be obtained. Then these variables could also be
related to success in persuasion, to determine if they too
influence this outcome.
Disadvantages of Correlation Study Method
There is no to cause-and-effect relationships. That is, the fact that two
variables are correlated even highly correlated does not guarantee that
there is a causal link between them, that changes in the first cause
changes in the second. Rather, in many cases, the fact that two
variables tend to rise or fall together and are simple reflects the fact that
both are caused by a third variable.
2.9 INTERVIEW METHOD
a) Personal interviews
Personal interview method requires a person known as the interviewer
asking questions generally in a face-to-face contact to the other person
or persons. This sort of interview may be in the form of the direct
personal investigation or it may be an indirect oral investigation. In the

34
case of direct personal investigation the interviewer has to collect the
information personally from the sources concerned. He has to be on the
spot and has to meet people from whom data have to be collected. This
method is particularly suitable for intensive investigations. But, in certain
cases it may not be possible or worthwhile to contact directly, the
persons concerned or on account of the extensive scope of enquiry, the
direct personal investigation technique may not be used. In such cases
an indirect oral examination can be conducted, under which the
interviewer has to cross examine the other persons, who are supposed
to have knowledge about the problem under investigation and the
information, thus, obtained is recorded. Most of the commissions and
committees appointed by government to carry on investigations make
use of this method.
b) Structured and Unstructured Interviews
The method of collecting information through personal interviews is
usually carried out in a structured way. As such we call the interviews as
structured interviews. Such interviews involve the use of a set of
predetermined questions and of highly standardized techniques of
recording. Thus, the interviewer in a structured interview follows a rigid
procedure laid down, asking questions in a form and order prescribed.
As against it, the unstructured interviews are characterized by a flexibility
of approach to questioning. Unstructured interviews do not follow a
system of predetermined questions and standardized techniques of
recording information. In a non-structured interview, the interviewer is
allowed a much greater freedom to ask, in case of need, supplementary
questions or at times he may omit certain questions if the situation so
requires. He may even change the sequence of questions. He has
relatively greater freedom while recording the responses to include some
aspects and exclude others. But, this sort of flexibility results in lack of
comparability of one interview with another and the analysis of
unstructured responses becomes much more difficult and time
consuming than that of the structured responses obtained, in case of
structured interviews. Unstructured interviews also demand deep
knowledge and greater skill on the part of the interviewer.
c) Focused Interview
Focused interview is meant to focus the attention on the given
experience of the respondent and its effects. Under it, the interviewer
has the freedom to decide the manner and sequence in which the
questions would be asked and has also the freedom to explore reasons
and motives. The main task of the interviewer in case of a focused
35
interview is to confine the respondent to a discussion of issues with
which he seeks conversance. Such interviews are used generally in the
development of hypotheses and constitute a major type of unstructured
interviews. The clinical interview is concerned with broad underlying
feelings or motivations or with the course of individual's life experience.
The method of eliciting information under it is generally left to the
interviewer's discretion. In case of non directive interview, the
interviewer's function is simply to encourage the respondent to talk about
the given topic with a bare minimum of direct questioning. The
interviewer often acts as a catalyst to a comprehensive expression of the
respondents' feelings and beliefs and of the frame of reference within
which such feelings and beliefs take on personal significances.
d) Telephone Interviews
This method of collecting information consists in contacting the
respondents on telephone itself. It is not a very widely used method, but
plays important part in industrial surveys, particularly in the developed
regions.
Advantages of Telephone interviews Method

1. It is more flexible in comparison to mailing method.

2. It is faster than other methods i.e., a quick way of obtaining
information.
3. It is cheaper than personal interviewing method; here the cost
per response is relatively low.
4. Recall is easy; callbacks are simple and economical.
5. There is a higher rate of response than what we have in mailing
method; the non response is generally very low.
6. Replies can be recorded without causing embarrassment to the
respondents.
7. Interviewer can explain requirements more easily.
8. At times, access can be gained to respondents who otherwise
cannot be contacted for one reason or the other.
9. No field staff is required.
10. Representative and wider distribution of sample is possible.
Pre-requisites and basic tenets of interviewing:
For successful implementation of the interview method, interviewers
should be carefully selected, trained and briefed. They should be honest,
36
sincere, hardworking, and impartial and must possess the technical
competence and necessary practical experience. Occasional field
checks should be made to ensure that interviewers are neither cheating,
nor deviating from the instructions given to them for performing their job
efficiently. In addition, some provision should also be made in advance
so that appropriate action may be taken if some of the selected
respondents refuse to cooperate or are not available when an
interviewer calls upon them.
In fact, interviewing is an art that is governed by certain scientific
principles. Every effort should be made to create friendly atmosphere of
trust and confidence, so that respondents may feel at ease while talking
to and discussing with the interviewer. The interviewer must ask
questions properly and intelligently and must record the responses
accurately and completely. At the same time, the interviewer must
answer the legitimate question(s), if any, asked by the respondent and
must clear any doubt that the latter has. The interviewers approach must
be friendly, courteous, conversational and unbiased. The interviewer
should not show surprise or disapproval of a respondent's answer, but,
he must keep the direction of interview in his own hand, discouraging
irrelevant conversation and must make all the possible effort, to keep the
respondent on the track.

Disadvantages of Telephone Interview Method

1) Little time is given to respondents for considered answers;
interview period is not likely to exceed five minutes in most
cases.
2) Surveys are restricted to respondents who have telephone
facilities.
3) Extensive geographical coverage may get restricted by
cost considerations.
4) It is not suitable for intensive surveys where
comprehensive answers are required to various questions.

5) Possibility of the bias of the interviewer is relatively more.

6) Questions have to be short and to the point and probes are
difficult to handle.
Advantages of Interview Method
(i) More information and that too in greater depth can be obtained.

37
 (ii) Interviewer by his own skill can overcome the resistance, if any,
of the respondents and the interview method can be made to
yield an almost perfect sample of the general population.
(iii) There is greater flexibility under this method as the opportunity to
restructure questions is always there, especially in case
of unstructured interviews.

(iv) Observation method can as well be applied to recording

verbal answers to various questions.

(v) Personal information can as well be obtained easily under

this method.

(vi) Samples can be controlled more effectively as there arises

no difficulty of the missing returns non-response generally
remains very low.
(vii) The interviewer can usually control which person(s) will
answer the questions. This is not possible in mailed
questionnaire approach If so desired, group discussions may
also be held.
(viii) The interviewer may catch the informant, off-guard and thus
may secure the most spontaneous reactions, than would be the
case if mailed questionnaire is used.
(ix) The language of the interview can be adapted to the ability
or educational level of the person interviewed and as such
misinterpretations concerning questions can be avoided.
(x) The interviewer can collect the supplementary information, about
the respondent's personal characteristics and environment which
is often of great value in interpreting results.
Disadvantages Interview Method
i. It is a very expensive method, especially when large and widely
spread geographical sample is taken.
ii. There remains the possibility of the bias of the interviewer as well
as that, of the respondent; there also remains the headache of
supervision and control of interviewers.
iii. Certain types of respondents such as important officials or
executives or people in high income groups may not be easily
approachable under this method and to that extent the data may
prove inadequate.

38
 iv. This method is relatively, more time consuming, especially when
the sample is large and re-calls upon the respondents are
necessary.
v. The presence of the interviewer on the spot, may over stimulate
the respondent, sometimes even to the extent that he may give
imaginary information just to make the interview interesting.
vi. Under the interview method the organisation required for
selecting, training and supervising the field staff is more complex
with formidable problems.

vii. Interviewing at times may also introduce the systematic errors.

viii. Effective interview presupposes proper rapport with
respondents that would facilitate free and frank responses. This
is often a very difficult requirement.
2.10 QUESTIONNAIRE METHOD
A questionnaire consists of a number of questions printed or typed in a
definite order on a form or set of forms. Sometimes the questionnaire is
mailed to respondents who are expected to read and understand the
questions and write down the reply in the space meant for the purpose in
the questionnaire itself. The respondents have to answer the questions
on their own.
A questionnaire can either be structured or unstructured questionnaire.
Structured questionnaires are those questionnaires in which there are
definite, concrete and pre-determined questions. The questions are
presented with exactly the same wording and in the same order to all
respondents. Resort is taken to this sort of standardization to ensure that
all respondents reply to the same set of questions. The form of the
question may be either closed under the type 'yes' or 'no' or open (i.e.,
inviting free response) but should be stated in advance and not
constructed during questioning. Structured questionnaires may also
have fixed alternative questions in which responses of the information
are limited to the stated alternatives. Thus, a highly
structured questionnaire is one in which all questions and answers are
specified and comments in the respondent's own words are held to the
minimum. When these characteristics are not present in a questionnaire,
it can be termed as unstructured or non-structured questionnaire. More
specifically, we can say that in an unstructured questionnaire, the
interviewer is provided with a general le on the type of information to be
obtained, but the exact question formulation is largely his own
responsibility and the replies are to be taken down in the respondent's
39
own words to the extent possible; in some situations tape recorders may
be used to achieve this goal.
Structured and unstructured Questionnaires
Structured questionnaires are simple to administer and relatively
inexpensive to analyse. The provision of alternative replies, at times,
helps to understand the meaning of the question clearly. But such
questionnaires have limitations too. For instance, a wide range of data
and that too in respondent own words cannot be obtained with the
structured questionnaires. They are usually considered inappropriate in
investigations where the aim happens to be to probe for attitudes and
reasons for certain actions or feelings. They are equally not suitable
when a problem is being first explored and working hypotheses sought.
In such situations, unstructured questionnaires may be used effectively.
Then on the basis of the results obtained in pretest (testing before final
use) operations from the use of unstructured questionnaires, one can
construct a structured questionnaire for use in the main study.
Advantages of Questionnaire method
(1) There is low cost even when the universe is large and is widely
spread geographically.
(2) It is free from the bias of the interviewer; answers are in
respondent's own words.
(3) Respondents have adequate time to give well thought out
answers.
(4) Respondents, who are not easily approachable, can also
be reached conveniently.
(5) Large samples can be made use of and thus the results can
be made more dependable and reliable.

Disadvantages of Questionnaire Method

(1) Low rate of return of the duly filled in questionnaires; bias due to
no response is often indeterminate.
(2) It can be used only when respondents are educated and
cooperating.
(3) The control over questionnaire may be lost once it is sent.
(4) There is inbuilt inflexibility because of the difficulty of amending
the approach once questionnaires have been dispatched.

40
 (5) There is also the possibility of ambiguous replies or omission of
replies altogether to certain questions, interpretation of omissions
is difficult.
(6) It is difficult to know whether willing respondents are truly
representative.
(7) This method is likely to be the slowest of all.

LET US SUM UP
The experimental method can be used both outside the laboratory as
well as inside. The experimental method is a matter of logic, not of
location. The experimental method may be either laboratory or field
experiment. These methods may be subject to bias that may intrude into
experiments. The other methods like observation which may be of:
naturalistic, structured vs Unstructured, Participant vs Non-participant,
Controlled vs Un-controlled observation methods.

The next most widely followed methods are the survey method, and test
method. Coming to the individual subjects the case study method,
clinical method and interview methods will be of much use. Here, the
interview method can be used for both the group as well as individual
data collection. All the methods discussed so far, do have advantages
as well as disadvantages and the acumen of the researcher is very
much significant regarding choosing the one for the study.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. The _________________ is the behavior of the person or animal in
the experiment.
2. Naturalistic Observation is a systematic study of behaviour in
settings.
3. In the _____________the experimenter can carefully control
conditions and take measurements in order to discover
relationship among variables.
4. The ______________ is a research method where investigators
systematically alter one or more variable in order to determine
whether such changes will influence some aspect of behaviour.
5. _____________ have been used to obtain information on political
opinions, consumer preferences, health care needs.

41
6. Detailed information is gathered on specific individuals in
the ______________method.
7. The ________, __________ is ordinarily used only when people
come to psychologists with personal problems.
8. The main task of the interviewer in case of a __________ is to
confine the respondent to a discussion of issues with which he
seeks conversance.

KEY WORDS

Experimental method Independent variable

Dependent variable Control group
Experimental group Bias
Survey Case study
Clinical Method Focused Interview
Telephone Interview Laboratory experiment

Field Experiment

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. dependent variable
2. natural
3. laboratory experiment
4. experimental method
5. Surveys
6. case study
7. clinical method
8. focused interview

GLOSSARY
Control Group: a comparison group in a study whose members receive
either no intervention at all or some established intervention.

Experimental Group: a group of participants in a research study who

are exposed to a particular manipulation of the independent variable

42
which a particular treatment or treatment level. The responses of the
experimental group are compared to the responses of a control group,
other experimental groups, or both.

Experimental method: a system of scientific investigation, usually

based on a design to be carried out under controlled conditions, that is
intended to test a hypothesis and establish a causal relationship
between independent and dependent variables.

Hypothesis: A tentative statement explaining the relationship between

two study variables or difference between/among the study groups. An
empirically testable proposition about some fact, behavior, relationship,
or the like, usually based on theory, that states an expected outcome
resulting from specific conditions or assumptions.

Hypothesis-testing: a statistical inference procedure for determining

whether a given proposition about a population parameter should be
rejected/accepted on the basis of observed sample data.

Scientific Method: A set of procedures, guidelines, assumptions, and

attitudes required for the organized and systematic collection,
interpretation, and verification of data and the discovery of reproducible
evidence, enabling laws and principles to be stated or modified.

Variable: a condition in an experiment or a characteristic of an entity,

person, or object that can take on different categories, levels, or values
and that can be measured using a tool or observation method.

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. What is meant by experimental method?
2. Describe the basic steps of scientific methods.
3. What is meant by a variable? Explain
4. How will you control the experimenter bias?
5. Describe the different types of observation method.

6. Describe the process, advantages and disadvantages

of observation method.
7. What is survey method?

8. Describe the process, advantages and disadvantages of case

study method.
9. Describe the process, advantages and disadvantages of
Interview method.

43
SUGGESTED READINGS:
1. Clifford T. Morgan, Richard a King, John R. Weis and John Schopler,
"Introduction to Psychology" - 7th Edition. Tata McGraw Hill Book Co.
New Delhi, 1993.
2. Ernest R. Hilgard, Richard C. Atkinson, Rita L. Atkinson, "Introduction
to Psychology" 6th Edition, Oxford IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi, 1975.
3. Baron A. Robert, Psychology, Pearson Education Vth Ed., 2002

44
Unit-3

APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY
STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
3.1 Fields of psychology
3.1.1 Experimental psychology
3.1.2 Physiological psychology
3.1.3 Developmental psychology
3.1.4 Social psychology
3.1.5 Personality psychology
3.1.6 Clinical psychology
3.1.7 Counseling psychology
3.1.8 School psychology or educational psychology
3.1.9 Engineering psychology
3.2 Emerging specialties
3.3 Applications of psychology
3.3.1 Psychology in Community
3.3.2 Psychology in Family
3.3.3 Psychology in Education
3.3.4 Psychology in Health
3.3.5 Psychology in Self-development
3.3.6 Psychology in Human relations.
3.3.7 Psychology in Industry
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Keywords
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings
OVERVIEW
We can also define psychology in human terms by seeing what sorts of
things psychologists do. The fields may vary in the application of
45
psychology to life's problems. This unit is designed to bring out the
different fields in which the psychologists are involved. First let us have a
look on the branches or fields of psychology, and then we will focus on
the applications of psychology in the areas of community, family,
education, health, self-development, human relations and in industry.
OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you would be able to:
• list out the different fields of psychology
• identify the emerging specialties

• explain the application of psychology in various fields

3.1 FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Psychologists use scientific methods to understand the unknown, this is
used to pose and answer questions of psychological interest. this helps
us to sort out what is credible from what should be ignored. This can be
materialized by a variety of methods which we will be discussing now.

3.1.1 Experimental Psychology

Experimental Psychology studies how people react to sensory stimuli,
perceive the world around them, learn and remember, respond
emotionally, and are motivated to action, whether by hunger or the
desire to succeed in life. Experimental psychologists also work with
animals. Sometimes they attempt to relate animal and human behavior;
sometimes they study animals in order to compare the behavior of
different species comparative psychology. Whatever their interest,
experimental psychologists are concerned with developing precise
methods of measurement and control.
They study all aspects of basic psychological processes such as
perception, learning, and motivation. For example, research by
experimental psychologists has recently added much to our
understanding of attention the process of directing portions of our
information processing capacity to specific stimuli. This knowledge, in
turn, is now being applied to the design of more effective warnings about
various hazards.
3.1.2 Physiological Psychology
Physiological psychologists seek to discover the relationship between
biological processes and behavior. How do sex hormones influence
behaviour? What area of the brain controls speech? How do drugs like
marijuana and LSD affect coordination and memory? Two rapidly
46
developing areas of interdisciplinary research are the neurosciences that
are concerned with all aspects of the nervous system, including the
relationship between brain function and behaviour and
psychopharmacology that is the study of drugs and behaviour.
Physiological Psychology or Psychobiology: Investigates the
biological bases of behavior-the role of biochemical events within our
nervous systems and bodies in everything we do, sense, feel, or think.
For example, psycho biologists have recently investigated the possible
role of gender differences in behavior of subtle differences, in the
structure of female and male brains.
3.1.3 Developmental Psychology
Developmental psychologists are concerned with human growth and the
factors that shape behavior from birth to old age. They might study a
specific ability, such as how language develops and changes in the
growing child, or a particular period of life, such as infancy, the
preschool years, or adolescence. Because human development takes
place in the context of other persons-parents, siblings, playmates, and
school companions-a large part of development is social.

It studies how people change physically, cognitively, and socially over

the entire life span. For example, developmental psychologists have
found that the patterns of attachment children form to their parents can
influence the nature of the romantic relationships they form as adults.
3.1.4 Social Psychology
Social psychologists are interested in the ways that interactions with
other people influence attitudes and behavior. They are concerned also
with the behavior of groups. Social psychologists are perhaps the best
known for their work in public opinion and attitude surveys and in market
research. Surveys are now widely used by newspapers, magazines,
radio and TV networks, as well as by government agencies, such as the
Bureau of the Census.

Social psychologists investigate such topics as propaganda and

persuasion, conformity, and intergroup conflict. At present a significant
part of their search effect is directed toward identifying the factors that
contribute to prejudice and to aggression.
It studies all aspects of social behavior and social thought how we think
about and interact with others. For example, social psychologists
have recently found that while both women and men use complaints to

47
change others' behavior, the two genders use this technique in slightly
different ways.
3.1.5 Personality Psychology
Personality psychologists focus on the differences between individuals.
They are interested in ways of classifying individuals for useful purposes
as well as in studying an individual's unique qualities.
3.1.6 Clinical Psychology
Clinical Psychology are concern with the application of psychological
principles to the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and behavioral
problems mental illness, juvenile delinquency, criminal behavior, drug
addiction, mental retardation, marital and family conflict, and other less
serious adjustment problems. They may work in mental hospitals,
juvenile courts or probation offices, mental health clinics, institutions for
the mentally retarded, prisons, or university medical schools. They may
also practice privately, often in association with other professionals; their
affiliations with the medical profession, especially psychiatry, are close.
Clinical psychology studies the diagnosis, causes, and treatment of
mental disorders. For example, clinical psychologists have recently
devised effective forms of treatment for reducing the aggression among
highly assault children.
3.1.7 Counseling Psychology
Counseling psychologists serve many of the same functions, although
they usually deal with less serious problems. They often work with high
school or university students, providing help with problems of social
adjustment and vocational and educational goals. Together, clinical and
counseling psychologists account for about 41 percent of all
psychologists.
Counseling psychology assists individuals in dealing with many
personal problems that do not involve psychological disorders. For
example, counseling psychologists assist individuals in career planning
and in developing more effective interpersonal skills.
3.1.8 School Psychology or Educational Psychology
The public schools provide a wide range of opportunities for
psychologists. Because the beginnings of serious emotional problems
often appear in the early grades, many elementary schools employ
psychologists whose training combines courses in a child development,
education, and clinical psychology. These school psychologists work
with individual children to valuate learning and emotional problems;
48
administering and interpreting: intelligence, achievement, and
personality tests are part of their job. In consultation with parents and
teachers they plan ways of helping the child both in the classroom and in
the home. They also provide a valuable resource for teachers, offering
suggestions for coping with classroom problems.
Educational psychology studies all the aspects of the educational
process, from techniques of instruction to learning disabilities. For
example, educational psychologists are working to develop classroom
procedures designed to help minority children overcome the
environmental disadvantages they face.
Educational psychologists are specialists in learning and teaching. They
may work in the public school system, but more often are employed by a
university's school of education, where they do research on teaching
method and help train teachers and school psychologists.
3.1.9 Engineering Psychology

Engineering psychologists seek to make the relationship between

people and machines as satisfactory as possible to design machines so
that hum errors are minimized. For example, engineering psychologists
were involved developing space capsules in which astronauts could live
and function efficiently. Designing underwater habitats for
oceanographic research or developing the artificial limps and other
prosthetic devices for handicapped individuals are other examples of
their work.
Along with social psychologists and other scientists, engineering
psychologists are concerned with environmental issues - problems of
noise, air and water pollution, overcrowding, and toxic agents - that must
be solved in planning for the future. A new term for this area of research,
which is becoming increasingly active, is environmental psychology.
3.2 EMERGING SPECIALITIES
In addition to the areas we have mentioned are some newer career
possibilities in psychology. Forensic psychologists work within the
legal, judicial, and correctional systems in a variety of ways --for
example, consulting with police departments and probation officers to
increase their understanding of the human problems with which, they
must deal, working with prison inmates and their families, participating in
decisions about whether an accused person is mentally competent to
stand trial, and preparing psychological reports to help judges decide on
the most appropriate course of action or a convicted criminal.

49
Cyber- Psychologists who specialize in computer science may plan the
design and data analysis of experiments that require the kind of complex
calculations that can only be done with a computer. Or they may work in
the area of artificial Intelligence, which uses computers to perform the
kind of intellectual tasks that are considered characteristic of human
thought. Because, of their expertise in the experimental design the
procedures for gathering and analyzing data psychologists also work in
the area of evaluation research.
Early education for underprivileged children, preventing drug abuse
among high school students, or providing job training for unemployed
youths-are effective. Psychologists are becoming increasingly active in
the evaluation of public programs in such areas as education, health,
and employment.
3.3 APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY
The application of knowledge to practical problems is an art; it is a skill,
or a knack for doing things, which is acquired by study, practice, and
special experience. The psychotherapist talking to a worried client, the
educational psychologist advising a school board on a new curriculum,
the clinical psychologist supervising group therapy in a state mental
hospital, and the social psychologist trying to lessen tensions between
management and workers in a large industry are all practicing the art of
psychology. Psychologists have learned, through special training, the
artistry, or knack, of applying psychology. The ability to apply
psychological principles is a hard won skill. Special experience is
needed. But after reading this lesson you should be able to apply
psychological principles to at least some of the things that happen in
your daily life.
3.3.1 Psychology in Community
Psychologists deal with human behaviour problems with a new
approach. They emphasize that a great deal of environmental factors is
responsible in causing adjustment difficulties. Amelioration or minimizing
a man's problems to a great extent rests with the manipulation of these
environmental causes, instead of passively waiting for these problems to
be solved.
The development of community psychology started in 1965, when a
group of psychologists headed by Hirsch, engaged in developing mental
health programmes. The community psychologists were expected to
make use of their scientific training to create knowledge and

50
programmes for better mental health, by assuming decision making
roles in the society and by being political activists.
Community psychologist's prime aim is to promote mental health at the
community level, by preventing and treating psychological problems.
They evaluate and improve community organizations and involve in
public programmes such as employing the physically handicapped,
rehabilitating the juvenile delinquents and caring for the elderly.
3.3.2 Psychology in Family
The application of psychology in family deals with certain personal
problems among the family members like is everyone happily married?
Does every couple have children? What happens to the adults and
children when committed relationships end? Aside from marriage, what
kind of intimate relationship is possible? How does family vary for those
from different social classes and ethnic groups?
When asked what they want from a partner, they indicate that they are
looking for someone with whom to share affection, intimate secrets and
companionship. They strive to obtain and maintain secure, lasting
relationship but which may not always be possible. this results in
problems in family like low frustration tolerance among the partners,
divorce or separation, extramarital relationships, widowhood, infertility,
conflict, role strain due to psychological distress, contradictory
responsibilities etc.
Apart from the problems between the husband and wife, the children
without whom one cannot call it a family, sometimes pose the greatest
threat. The child in the family may be mentally retarded,
physically handicapped, a spastic child, slow learner, have learning
disability etc. The psychologists play a vital role in dealing with such
serious problems and help the child with various intervention strategies,
depending on the intensity of the problem. The adolescents in the family
may be under stress and storm, for they are neither a child nor an adult.
Related to this, there may be communication gap or generation gap,
leading to misunderstanding or adjustment problems. Effective guidance
and counselling by the family counsellors prove to be successful, in
reducing such problems.
Here comes the role of the marriage or family counsellor who deals with
the marital, family, personal or emotional problems.

The application of various effective psychological techniques by the

marriage or family counsellors may minimize such haphazards in the
family.
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3.3.3 Psychology in Education
The elementary and secondary schools provide a wide range of
opportunities for psychologists. Because, the beginnings of serious
emotional problems appear in the early grades, many elementary
schools employ psychologists, whose training combines courses in child
development, education and clinical psychology. These school
psychologists work with individual children to evaluate learning and
emotional problems, administering and interpreting the intelligence,
achievement and personality tests is part of their job. In congelation with
parents and teachers, they plan ways of helping the child both in the
classroom and in the home. They also provide a valuable resource for
teachers, offering suggestions for coping with classroom problems.
Educational psychologists are specialists in learning and teaching
methods. They help to train teachers with effective psychological
techniques. They may work in the schools, but more often are employed
in colleges, universities, or other institutions of higher learning, where
they do research on teaching methods. Educational psychologists are
usually involved with more general, less immediate problems, and are
concerned with increasing the efficiency in learning by applying
psychological theories of learning and motivation to the curriculum. .
Much of the school psychologist’s job consists of diagnosing learning
difficulties and trying to remedy them. Using tests and information
gained from consultations with the student and his or her parents, the
school psychologist tries to pinpoint a problem and suggest action to
correct them. For instance, a school psychologist suggests that a poor
reader be assigned to a remedial reading class. School psychologists
are involved in vocational and other forms of counselling. They are the
school counsellors.
3.3.4 Psychology in Health
"Health is wealth" no doubt. Here health is referred is both physical and
psychological well being. The human being is a product of both the body
and mind, where one cannot exist without the other. Both are equally
important for the smooth functioning of the individual. Deficiency or
disorder in either the body or the mind results in various complications in
the individual within and without.
In psychology, these disorders are called as psychosomatic and
somatopsychic problems, which are dealt in detail in the field of
abnormal psychology. The influence of the mind on the body or vice
versa, which leads to mental ill health in the individual. Thus, it is the role

52
of the psychologist to promote mental health, or mental hygiene and
maintain stability among the human race. On the other hand, the
physical or the bodily health problems are usually dealt with by the
physicians or the psychiatrists where they would prescribe them the
appropriate medicines and treatment.
Now, let us quickly see, what is meant by mental health. Mental health
may be defined by the ability to function effectively and find satisfaction
in life, in spite of all stress and strain. It also refers to absence of
disease, feeling of well being and well adjusted. The people with
mentally ill health may be helped to restore mental health atleast to
some extent.
3.3.5 Psychology in Self-Development
The aim of psychology, as already mentioned, is to understand, predict
and control behaviour. It is easy to say than done. Self understanding or
answering the question 'who am I?' Is the most difficult one to be
answered? Do you agree? Here, it is not referred to merely your name,
age, education or occupation. Only if the individual understands oneself.
he/she can develop. Development refers to the qualitative aspects
rather, than merely the quantitative aspects as in growth.
The qualitative aspects may be the individual's sincerity, punctuality,
honesty, assertiveness, dominance etc. which put in a nutshell; we call it
as personality in psychology. Personality is decided by both the physical
and psychological qualities and gratifying relationship with friends,
spouse, parents or children. The individual should be able to work
effectively, productively, laugh, play, relax and have fun, which is
becoming a rare phenomenon in the present day mechanical and
competitive world. The most important characteristic of a mentally
healthy individual is the realistic appraisal of his/her strength and
weakness. They would feel worthy member of the human race and
freedom from psychological handicap, and should be able to control
one's thoughts, feelings and actions. Check out for yourself whether you
have the above mentioned characteristics, atleast a few, though not all,
for you should be mentally healthy first, and then promote them to
others.
Not all individuals may be cent percent mentally healthy, and it is much
worse among the mentally disordered. Hence with the fascinating field of
psychology, by providing various treatment measures such as
relaxation, systematic desensitization, cognitive restricting, aversion
therapy, biofeedback, guidance and counselling, mental health may be
promoted.
53
Self-development deals with self-concept, self-esteem, self-awareness,
self analysis or self-profile. Now, how do you develop yourself?
Let us work out a small exercise by using the principles of psychology
which we are indebted to always, for us to know and develop ourselves.
But as a preliminary requisite, you should first have an open mind to
come out with you strengths and weaknesses and readiness to changes
should be promoted and reluctant to change should be evaded. Now get
ready, go.
Take out a fresh plain paper, divide into two columns, and one side write
your strengths and on the other your weakness, it points to improve -
because as psychologists we want to be optimistic. Feel free to write
whatever comes to your mind, be sincere and do not think for a long
time or manipulate. Is the list ready? Now, take another fresh page, and
give it to your close friend, who knows you well, and ask him or her to
write your strengths and weakness from their point of view. You may
give 5-10 minutes for instance. Is the second list over? Now, you
compare the first and second list, and find out the common
characteristics among both the strengths and weakness. Whichever is
the common is the answer to "Who am I?" Now you know who you are?
For the self to develop, you should try to strengthen your strengths and
weaken your weaknesses. Now you agree that psychology is interesting
and applied?
3.3.6 Psychology in Human Relations
Psychology plays an important role in human relations. No man is in
isolation and we need to relate with human beings, atleast to vent their
feelings and ease them, though not aiming to help other, which is also
equally important.
Human relations may be both expressed - where we express our
thoughts and feelings to others, or wanted where we may want affection,
care, low, warmth etc. from others. But there are times, when human
beings land up in some frictions, due to faulty communications, not being
assertive when the need arises, but rather aggressive etc.
By the vast application of psychological principles and techniques,
human relations may be promoted in a variety of ways like, (1)
generating a personal agenda where the individuals may reveal their
feelings (2) sensitizing the interpersonal dimensions by making the
individuals aware of their interpersonal relations, (3) Checking self-
understating where the individuals make a self-estimate and other
estimate him/he and (4) making individual interpretation or get feedback
54
from other, all of which promote social desirability and effective human
relations.
Cognitive Psychology: Investigates all aspects of cognition-memory,
thinking, reasoning, language, decision making, and so on. For example,
cognitive psychologists have recently found evidence suggesting that
the reason we can't remember events that happen to us before we are
about three years old is that we lack a clearly developed self-concept
prior to this age.
3.3.7 Psychology in Industry
Industrial psychologists aresometimes called organizational
psychologists) may work for particular company or as consultants for a
number of business organizations. Industrial psychologists is concerned
with selecting people most suitable for a particular job, by using
intelligence and aptitude tests, developing training programmes and
management consultancy with industries and business situation.
Industrial psychologists also deal with promotion, supervision, and
interpersonal relationship among the employees and between the
employers and employees. They study such aspects as fatigue,
accidents and working conditions and their improvements in industry that
involve the morale and welfare of employees. Industrial psychologists
are also called as the organizational psychologists.

Today, many industries use many psychological tests in their placement

and training programmes. Private and public organizations also apply
psychology to counselling employers, and to alleviate industrial strike.
The applied psychologists who do this work are sometimes called
personnel psychologists. Still another, may do research on consumer
attitudes towards the company's products, by applying the psychological
principles to minimize practical problems of work and commerce.
These are a few dimensions of Industrial psychology like the engineering
psychologist who seek to make the relationship between people and
machines as satisfactory as possible to design machines so that human
errors are minimized. For example, engineering psychologists were
involved in developing space capsules in which astronauts could live
and function efficiently. Designing underwater habitats for
oceanographic research and developing artificial limbs and other
devices for handicapped individuals are other examples of their work.
Along with engineering psychologists there is a group of psychologists
called the environmental psychologists who are concerned with
problems of noise, air and water pollution, overcrowding and the
psychologically optimal design of working and living areas. Yet another
55
type of psychologists, called the consumer psychologists, deal with
techniques of marketing, advertising and propaganda.
Ultimately, industrial psychologists aim at increasing productivity,
improving the performance of the employees and finding good market
for the products, which is essential for building greater productivity and
industrial peace.
Industrial / Organizational Psychology: Studies all aspects of
behavior in work settings selection of employees, evaluation of
performance, work motivation, leadership. For example,
industrial/organizational psychologists have found that work
performance often decreases sharply when employees feel that they are
being treated unfairly, that they are receiving fewer benefits that they
deserve. Indeed, professional basketball players who feel underpaid
actually score fewer points than those who feel that their salaries are
fair.

LET US SUM UP
The application of knowledge to practical problems is both an art and a
science. It is a skill, or a knack for doing things, which is acquired by
study, practice and special experience. The psychotherapist talking to a
worried client, the educational psychologist advising a school board on a
new curriculum, the clinical psychologist supervising a group therapy in
a mental hospital, and the social psychologist trying to lessen tens
between management and workers in a large industry are all practicing
psychology. Just as a physician or engineer develop skills in using
scientific knowledge to solve practical problems, these psychologists
have learned, through special training the arts or knack of applying
psychology.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. ________________ investigates the biological bases of behavior the
role of biochemical events within our nervous systems and bodies in
everything we do.
2. Industrial psychologists are sometimes called __________
psychologists.
3. ___________ investigates all aspects of memory, thinking,
reasoning, language, decision making.

4. ___________ studies the diagnosis, causes, and treatment of mental

disorders.
56
5. _____________ are concerned with human growth and the factors
that shape behavior from birth to old age.

KEYWORDS
Educational Psychology Experimental Psychology
Laboratory study Health
Industry Psychobiology
Cognitive psychology Counseling psychology
Educational psychology Community psychology

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Psychobiology

2. Organizational
3. Cognitive Psychology
4. Clinical psychology

5. Developmental psychologists

GLOSSARY
Clinical Psychology: the branch of psychology that, specializes in
research, assessment, diagnosis, evaluation, prevention, and treatment
of emotional and behavioral disorders.

Cognitive Psychology: The branch of psychology that explores the

operation of mental processes related to perceiving, attending, thinking,
language, and memory, mainly through inferences from behavior.

Community Psychology: a branch of psychology that encourages the

development of theory, research, and practice relevant to the reciprocal
relationships between individuals and the social systems that constitute
the community context.

Counselling Psychology: the branch of psychology that specializes in

facilitating personal and interpersonal functioning across the lifespan.

Developmental psychology: the branch of psychology that studies the

changes—physical, mental, and behavioural—that occur from
conception to old age and investigates the various biological,

57
neurobiological, genetic, psychological, social, cultural, and
environmental factors that affect development throughout the lifespan.

Educational Psychology: a branch of psychology dealing with the

application of psychological principles and theories to a broad spectrum
of teaching, training, and learning issues in educational settings.
Educational psychology also addresses psychological problems that can
arise in educational systems.

Engineering Psychology: a subfield of human factors psychology

concerned with identifying the psychological principles that, governs
human interaction with the environments, systems, and products and
applying these principles to issues of engineering and design

Industrial and Organizational psychology (I/O psychology): the

branch of psychology that studies human behavior in the work
environment and applies general psychological principles to work-related
issues and problems,

Personality Psychology: the branch of psychology that systematically

investigates the nature and definition of personality as well as its
development, its structure and trait constructs, its dynamic processes, its
variations.

Psychobiology: A school of thought in the mental health professions in

which the individual is viewed as a holistic unit and both normal and
abnormal behavior is explained in terms of the interaction of biological,
sociological, and psychological determinants.

Psychosomatic: of or relating to the role of the mind (psyche) in

diseases or disorders affecting the body (soma); specifically, the role of
psychological factors (e.g., anxiety, depression) in the etiology and
course of pathology in bodily systems.

Social Psychology: the study of how an individual’s thoughts, feelings,

and actions are affected by the actual, imagined, or symbolically
represented presence of other people.

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. What is experimental psychology?
2. What is Counseling psychology?

3. What is Educational psychology?

4. Explain the various applications of psychology.

58
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Clifford T. Morgan, Richard a King, John R. Weis and John Schopler,
"Introduction to Psychology" - 7th Edition. Tata McGraw Hill Book Co.
New Delhi, 1993.
2. Ernest R. Hilgard, Richard C. Atkinson, Rita L. Atkinson, "Introduction
to Psychology" 6th Edition, Oxford IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi, 1975.
3. Baron A. Robert, Psychology, Pearson Education Vth Ed., 2002

59
UNIT - 4
SENSATION
STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
4.1 Sensory Processes - Nature
4.2 Threshold Sensitivity
4.3 Vision
4.4 Hearing
4.5 Smell and Taste
4.6 Touch
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Keywords
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
The information for the various processes are transmitted by the
individual neurons. This is converted into information through different
sources/modes, which are called as senses. The five senses are
composed of vision, hearing, smell, taste and kinesthetic and all these
senses are interlocked with each other. We will be studied those senses
now in order in this unit.

OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:

• Explain the nature of Sensory Processes

• Highlight about the Threshold Sensitivity
• Give a detailed note on Vision
• Explain the process of Hearing
• Write a note on Smell and Taste
60
 • Explain about the Touch sensation

4.1 SENSORY PROCESSES - NATURE

The external stimuli from the external world, with their physical energy
excite receptor and this process of excitation of a sensory receptor is
referred to as stimulation. Sensory processes are the elementary
phenomena wherein the stimuli from the external world act upon sense
organs and make us aware of such stimuli and it is being referred to as
sensations. In short, a sensation is the process by which we are able to
detect and identify stimuli. Sensations are mere impressions just
conveying information, while perception refers to the interpretation of
information so conveyed which enables us to know the nature of the
stimuli so that we can deal with the environment, effectively.
Usually the five senses of vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch are
thought to be basic for the humans, since they happen to be obvious in
the day-to-day experiences. The presence of many more senses have
come to light. The skin sense can be considered as four skin sense
namely pain, warmth, cold and touch. In addition, there are other senses
such are the kinesthesis and balance.
Each sense organ possesses elements that are sensitive to stimulation
and they are known as receptors. Any change or alteration in the
specific kind of physical energy is responded to by a receptor. Receptors
for smell and sight are cells that have grown out of the brain. Receptors
for taste, hearing, kinesthesia etc have their roots in the skin cells.
Different senses respond to different kinds of physical energy. The
senses can be classified according to the kind of physical energy to
which they respond. Thus smell and taste; are chemical senses since
they respond to chemical energy, warmth and cold thermal senses,
since they respond to variations in temperature; touch, pain, kinesthesis,
hearing and sense of balance as mechanical sense, since they are
evoked by some kind of mechanical energy. Extremes of the chemical
and thermal energy may also be responsible for pain. Electromagnetic
energy accounts for the sense of sight.
Each kind of receptor is sensitive to stimuli within certain limits. Though
stimuli of a wide range may be present in the environment and by acting
upon the sense organ; stimuli of certain intensity that are below a certain
"lower limit” and above a certain "upper limit", our receptors are not
sensitive to them. For instance, under normal conditions of illumination,
the human eye is sensitive to radiation ranging from 400 to 840 milli
61
microns that are (corresponding to 16 and 36 millionth of an inch.
Similarly, the human hearing receptors can receive sound vibrations that
are within the range of 20-20,000 cycles per second. In same manner, in
the case of chemical sense such as taste and smell, the receptors are
sensitive to only certain chemical molecules.

4.2 THRESHOLD SENSITIVITY

As it has been indicated earlier, a minimum amount of physical energy is
necessary for the stimulation of each sense organ. Very feeble, sounds,
very faint, light, very small weights and very slight movements do not
make an adequate impact on the respective receptors for them to be
stimulated and thus go unnoticed. In other words, minimum stimulus
energy is needed to make the receptors responds; and this minimum
energy required to initiate response is referred to an absolute threshold.
A stimulus is said to be at the absolute threshold when the presence or
absence of a stimulus is correctly detected 50 percent of the time. The
absolute threshold is determined for example, by the method of constant
stimuli, wherein a stimulus of a given intensity of say sound of particular
intensit), to be repeated by presenting to the subject who is to say either
"yes" or "no" to indicate whether he hears the sound. In the same way,
responses are gathered for various intensities or sound. The threshold is
determined at a point where the subject was able to hear the sound 50
percent of the time,
Various in absolute threshold will occur depending on the individual, the
sense involved, and with a number of conditions of the subject. For
instance, in n, the absolute threshold will depend upon the pitch of the
sound, the duration of its presentation and the motivation of the subject.
However, an absolute threshold is present under any conditions. Unless
the physical energy is equal to or above this level of absolute threshold,
sensation does not take place.
Unless there are differences in the stimuli in their value such as intensity
and quality making it is possible for us to discriminate, we will not be
able to perceive much even if stimuli were well above the absolute
threshold. When we hear a sound, for instance, a variation in its
loudness, pitch or timbre is essential for us to perceive it.
The limits to discrimination of differences are referred to as differential
threshold. The minimum change in the stimulus value can be identified
and recognized as change represents the difference threshold or just
noticeable difference (jnd). For instance, if there is an appreciable

62
difference between two weights we can perceive the difference. But if
the difference between the two weights is reduced to a particular point,
we are unable to discriminate between them. The differential threshold is
fixed at the point where the difference takes place or is perceived.
4.2.1 Sensory Adaptation
Sometimes, it so happens that stimulation is at an unusual level, much
above the threshold we have described. Under these circumstances, we
are able to make adjustments and adopt a pattern of behaviour wherein
we are able to cope up with the existing new levels of stimulation. This
method of adjustment is called sensory adaptation. For instance, a
person who shifts to a new place of residence, where the house is close
to a factory, producing noise most of the time. Though initially, he might
have faced difficulties of adjustment after a stay of, a couple of days, it
becomes habituated to the noise and it is no more a disturbance or a
nuisance.

Transduction
When a stimulus acts upon the receptor, its energy is transformed or
changed into action potential. Only after this kind of change in the
energy as action potential, the sensation is registered in the brain. This
process of change eyes, ears and other receptors are all transductions.
Here, they transducer physical energy into bio-electrical energy. For
instance, a loud speaker in a radio is a transducer, since, it changes or
converts the electrical energy in the radio, into vibrations in the air which
can be heard. Similarly, a television set is also a transducer since it also
converts electrical energy into light energy which becomes visible to the
eve. In turn, these light waves are transformed into electrochemical
activity in the nerves which lead it to the brain, so, that it can be
registered there. Of course, for transduction to occur, the incoming
energy level should, at least be at the level of absolute threshold.
THE FIVE SENSES
The five senses are composed of Vision, Hearing, Smell, Taste and
Kinesthetics and all these senses are interlocked. We will see those
senses now in order.
4.3 VISION
For an individual, normal vision is the most important and most
completely used sensory system. Most of our knowledge about objects
and nearly all of our spatial information about the world comes to us
through our eyes. The study of the process of seeing can also serve the

63
purpose of explaining the principles of perception. Generally we say that
we see because of light. But light is the psychological sensation
experienced because of the physical stimulus exciting the eye. The
physical properties of light are to be examined.
4.3.1 Electromagnetic Radiations
We are able to see objects under one of the two conditions. One they
give out or discharge radiant energy or the radiant energy is thrown on
the object which is reflected. The electromagnetic spectrum of radiation
that can stimulate the visual receptors what we call as light. According to
physicists, light has two characteristics. First, it is viewed as a packet of
energy called the photon. Second, light is conceived in terms of waves
and are described by their wavelengths. A wavelength is viewed in terms
of the distance between the peak of one wave and its distance to the
peak of the next wave.
Both these conceptions of light help us to understand visual perception,
since the intensity of light is dependent upon the number of photons and
the composition of light in terms of wavelength accounts for colour
perception. The human eve is capable of responding to an enormous
range of intensity.
The visible spectrum of wavelengths, as we have already indicated
elsewhere is between 400 and 800 millimicrons i.e. between 16 and 32
millionths of an inch.
When a beam of sunlight is passed through a glass prism, the visible
spectrum can be broken up into component wavelengths. Since the
prism spreads out all the component wavelengths in space, we form
violet to red through blue, green yellow, orange etc. On the other hand,
the brightness in vision is dependent upon the amount of light reflected
from the surface on the object. The intensity and the wavelength of this
reflected light, is the combined function of the nature of the source of
light and the reflecting surface.
The organ receiving the light energy from a surface is the eye. The light
energy passes through the cornea, the transparent coating over the front
of the eye as the lens, the transparent tissue.
Both the cornea and the lens are curves in shape and hence gather and
focus the light rays on the retina which is the photosensitive portion of
the visual system. For an image to be sharply focused on the retina, the
eye must adjust to changes in the distance between the object it sees
and the eye itself. Adjustment is done by the lens, which varies in shape,
thickening for near objects and thinning for objects that are farther away.
64
This process is called accommodation which is made possible by the
contraction and expansion of the ciliary muscles. The iris, the coloured
portion of the pupil, eye and the opening through which light pass to the
retina play an important role in visual process. The iris is a muscular
diaphragm and it regulates the size of the pupil. More intense the light is,
smaller the pupil becomes faint is the light, the bigger the pupil
becomes. The chambers behind the cornea and the large central portion
are filled with the fluid vitreous humor. This fluid serves the purpose of
maintaining the shape of the eye ball. It is also a medium for collecting
waste products.
In the retina of each eye, there are more than 120 million photo receptor
cells. These are of two types called the rods and cones, based upon the
shape. The rods are highly sensitive to light energy. They are spread
over the entire retina except for a small part in the central region called
for fovea. The fovea contains all cones and it is the area where visual
activity is at its highest. The rods are particularly useful in detecting
small amounts of light and hence are helpful in night vision.
The cones are concentrated in the fovea with decreasing number spread
further over in the retina. For cones to be stimulated to respond, large
amounts of energy are required. Since, the cones respond selectively to
varying wavelength, the cones are meant for colour vision.

4.3.2 Colour Vision

The ability to see colours and distinguish between them adds colours to
life and makes life enjoyable. The word colour is commonly used to
indicate various tints or shades. Colour involves three different
dimensions.
a) Hue
An important dimension of colour is the hue. Hue refers to the perceived
dimension of the colour. When we name a colour as red, green or
greenish blue etc, the predominant quality pertaining to each of the
colours are hues. Wavelengths of light determine the hue except in the
case of pure colours that (are made by the prism). When more than one
wavelength is mixed together, the hue is determined by the dominant
wavelength in the mixture. The relation between the wavelength and the
hue is likely to differ due to the eye not being equally sensitive to all
wavelengths. Also brightness of the light effects changes in relative
sensitivity of the eye. However, under normal conditions, it can be said
that perceived hue is related to the wavelength directly and precisely.

65
b) Complementary Hues
One of the basic laws of colour is the law of complementary colours. The
law of complementary colour states that for every hue there is a
complementary hue, and that complementary hues when mixed in the
appropriate proportions produce grey or white, For instance, yellow and
blue are complementary colours. Complementary colours when mixed
together produce grey or white shades which are colourless. Some of
the complementary colours are extra spectral in nature. The law of the
complementary colours, operates in the day-to day experiences of
colour vision.
c) Brightness
This is another dimension of colour. It ranges from being light to bring
dark. But shades of brightness are not limited to whites, greys and
blacks. Hues also cause the brightness dimension. Every colour besides
possessing hue also possesses brightness. The physical correlate of the
brightness of a spectral hue is the amplitude of the light wave. Any
colour whether dime of bright are of the same wavelengths. But they
differ in amplitude. Amplitude here refers to the height of the waves.

d) Saturation
There may be two colours, both having the same hue and are also of
equal brightness. But they may differ from one another in another
dimension, namely saturation. For instance, the colour of a parrot and
that of a leaf may have the same hue and also be equal in brightness.
But they may still differ in the purity or saturation of their 'greenness. The
composition of the light wave is the important correlate of saturation. A
light wave of only one or a few wavelengths will produce the greatest
possible saturation or the purest colour. When a number of different
wavelengths are included in the composition of the colour, it results in
the colour becoming more neutral as to hue.
e) Colour-Blindness

There are people who find it difficult to distinguish colours. There are a
very small percentage of persons who are unable to see any colour and
they are said to be completely colorblind. They see all the colours in the
visible spectrum in different shades of grey. They are able to
differentiate between different wavelengths based only on brightness.
Some kind of defect is attributed to the cones of the colour-blind person.
A totally colour-blind person shows evidences of blindness in fovea also.
This is obvious by the manner in which such a person shifts his gaze in
such a manner that the image does not fall upon the fovea which in the
66
normal eye contains cones only. Such behaviour is referred to as
mystagmus.
Colour defect of less severity is commonly found. This is referred to as
partial colour-blindness. The two main kinds of partial colour-blindness
involve a red green deficiency or a blue-yellow deficiency. Majority of
partially colour-blind people are men. This kind of deficiency is often
genetically transmitted from a male grandparent through his daughter to
her son. To whichever colours a person is blind, he sees those colours
as different shades of grey.
f) Testing for colour-blindness
The ability to discriminate between colours is of vital importance in such
professions as air pilots, bus and train drivers. If colour blindness in
them is not detected, it may lead to serious consequences.
Different tests are used for testing colour vision and colour blindness.
One of the popular tests is that of Pseudo-isochromatic cards of
ishihara. In each of the plates of this test, the individual has simply
identity any symbols he can see. The symbols in the plates are more or
less equal in brightness to their background. Only the individuals who
can detect hue of the symbol can identify it. In the case of those who are
colour-blind the symbol merges with the background figure since the hue
is invisible to them.
Two important theories of colour vision are stated below. One is known
as Young-Helmholtz theory. This is called so because this theory was
formulated by Thomas Young (1773-1839) and roughly after a century
and a half it was elaborated by Herman Von Helmholtz (1822-1984). It is
based on the fact that every hue can be described in terms of the
relative quantities of red, green and blue light required to produce it.
According to this theory, basically there are three different kinds of
cones and each of them responds to the various light waves differently.
Each type of cone is responsive to light waves of one of these three
colours. If each of these three kinds of cones is excited in varying
degrees, different kinds of colour sensations occur. When all these three
kinds of cones are simultaneously and equally excited, the sensation of
white results. The main weakness of this theory is that, it is unable to
explain the sensation of yellow-since certain areas of the retina are
sensitive to this colour alone.
Another theory of colour-vision is that of Ewald Hering (1834-1918) a
German physiologist and psychologist. This theory also postulates three
different visual processes. But Hering's theory assumes three opponent

67
parts of visual systems. They are yellow-blue red-green and white-black.
Each of the three systems is capable of two modes of reactions that are
incompatible with each other. That is, when red-green receptors are
stimulated they can react in only a red or green manner, but not both
together. Due to this reason, according to this theory, while it is possible
to see a red-blue or a yellow-green, it is just not possible to see a red-
green or a yellow-blue.
4.4 HEARING
Hearing, most probably takes the next important place, since this sense
plays a significant role in understanding speech. It is an important
medium both for imparting and acquisition of knowledge. Hearing also
provides us with many vital cues to understand things and events in our
environment. Such cues as the horn of an oncoming vehicle, the blowing
of the college siren etc. are cues that help us to prepare ourselves for an
appropriate behaviour. Hence, we shall consider this sense in detail.

For hearing, the physical stimulus is a mechanical vibration in an object.

Usually the vibration is transmitted to the ear from the object in the form
of changes in air pressure in rapid, minute forms. Changes in air
pressure are produced in a wave like motion by slight back and forth
movements of air molecules. The medium of air is essential for purposes
of sound transmission. If there is no air in the atmosphere as in outer
space or in vacuum such transmission cannot occur.
Second waves differ in two fundamental dimensions of intensity and
frequency. A simple sound can be considered as a smooth oscillating
function. This function traces out the aggregate movement of molecule
in the vibrating object or in the conducting medium for a resting position
to a maximum deflection in either direction. The vibration moves from
the resting position to the maximum deflected position and again travels
back to the resting position. This process is repeated continuously until
the sound ceases to be heard. The measure of sound intensity is the
amplitude i.e., the maximum duration of the vibration from the resting
point. The number of times this kind of process gets repeated within a
second is the measure of frequency. The measure of frequency so far
known as cycles per second is currently referred to as the number of
Hertz for a sound.

4.4.1 Characteristics of Sound

The physical characteristics of the objects in motion are the intensity and
the frequency. When the vibrations emanating from an object falls within
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range (20 cycles per second to 20,000 per second), the human auditory
apparatus is sensitive to them and so they are heard. For a perceived
sound, intensity corresponds to loudness and frequency which is
referred to as pitch.
Loudness is measured according to a sound pressure scale. The
absolute threshold for hearing forms the starting point of the scale which
is at the lowest intensity level of normal hearing. The units of the
measurement, used by this scale are called the decibels. Various kinds
of common sounds are at various levels of decibel rating. For instance,
whisper is at the level of about 25 decibels, the sound of an automobile
at 70 decibels and that of thunder at 120 decibels.
While frequency of waves is physical characteristic, pitch is a
psychological one. In other words, pitch is a sensory attribute of
experience. Pitch is measured by what is called a pitch scale which is
constructed in such a way that it shows quantitatively the relation
between frequency and pitch. This scale is a curved one in which pitch
rises very slowly below 1000 cycles and above 4000 cycles. Between
these ranges, it is more or less of frequency.

Another important characteristic of the sound is referred to as Timbre.

Timbre refers to the total quality which enables an individual to
distinguish different musical instruments and voices having the same
fundamental frequency. It is determined by the frequencies comprising a
sound.
Primarily, the human consists of three parts. The visible part of the ear,
which is referred to as an outer ear, is funnel shaped and "traps" the
sound waves and passes them on to the interior of the ear. The middle
ear functions as a transmitter of sound. At the entrance of the middle ear
is a thin membrane which is sensitive to air vibrations and is called the
ear-drum. These vibrations are passed on to the inner ear through the
middle ear, through the middle ear, through three small bones which are
interconnected. These together are called the ossicles. The inner ear is
a cavity filled with fluid. This fluid is set in motion by the vibrations of the
ossicles. Cochlea is a structure in the inner ear which resembles a snail
shell that is involved in the process of hearing.
It is a spiral, tubular pathway narrowing down at its tip. In the centre of
cochlea, the basilar membrane passes through, and it is covered with
tiny hair cells. Some of these nerve cells are stimulated when the fluid in
the cochlea is set in motion. At this juncture, nerve impulses are
discharged by these hair cells in the adjoining fibers of the auditory
nerve. Thus, electrical impulses produced in the cochlea are passed on
69
to the brain through the auditory nerves and interpreted there as
sounds.
4.4.2 Theories of Hearing
So far we have discussed the anatomy of the ear in relation to the
functions of each part. Now let us examines the relationship between
these and the sensory experience of loudness and pitch.
There is not much difficulty with regard to the understanding of loudness,
since, it is obvious that with the increase in the intensity of the stimulus
and the number of stimulation, the amount of nerve impulses generated
by sense-organs also increase. In the case of auditory sense, loudness
results by such a process.
Understanding the nature of pitch is more difficult. There are theories
with regard to the role of cochlea in pitch perception. Two important
theories are the Helmholtz resonance theory and the Telephone theory.
The telephone theory holds that cochlea is similar to a microphone and
the auditory nerves similar to a telephone wire. It holds that the pitch
experienced by an individual is dependent upon that frequency of the
impulses passing through the auditory nerve. The pitch is thought to be
directly proportional to the frequency.
On the other hand, Helmholtz theory holds that the basilar membranes
consist of fibers of different lengths; arranged in such a fashion as found
in a piano and that each of these fibers resonate to different frequencies
of tone. Thus, the pitch is determined by the spot or the place stimulated
in the cochlea. This is possible only if different spots in the brain register
sounds received from the different spots in the cochlea. This theory
relatively finds favour than the other place theory
4.4.3 Spatial Localization
Location of objects in space based on hearing is more difficult than in
vision. However, hearing too provides with some ability to locate the
distance and direction of a sound source.

When the source of the sound is either on the right or left side of the
body, location is easier, since one of the ears necessarily is nearer to
source and hence receives the stimuli a little earlier. Also the intensity of
the sound (loudness) would be greater in nearer ear. But when the
source of the sound happens to be in front of us or at the back and
likewise if it is from above or below, location of the source is relatively
difficult. And under such situations, localization of sound source is
facilitated by turning our heads in different directions. Location of objects

70
based upon sound is important in certain jobs. It is also of great
importance to persons with impaired vision or no vision.
a) Deafness
A chapter on hearing cannot be considered complete if reference is not
made of deafness. Deafness impairs the ability for spoken
communication. It is a handicap both in listening and speaking. In
addition, a handicap can create emotional problems too. After the
discovery of electronic hearing aids, deaf people have come to use a
sensory organ in the process of hearing. But not all kinds and agrees of
deafness can be overcome by the use of hearing aids.
Deafness can be measured by using an instrument known as
audiometer, intensity and frequency limits of hearing measured by this
tool. The minimum of sound in terms of decibels that is required by the
individual to enable him to hear at each frequency is indicated by the
audiometer. Such findings can be graphically represented on a chart the
audiogram. Similar chart for normal hearing can also be plotted on the
same chart and a comparison of the two would provide us an indication
regarding the amount of hearing loss.

Usually, there are two kinds of deafness that are referred to. One kind is
called the conduction deafness. A person suffering from this kind of
deafness is deaf uniformly to sound of all frequencies. This is named so
because; a defect is indicated in the process of conduction in the ear.
The defect may be at any point i.e. it may be with the eardrum, the
ossicles or any part of the ear.
Another kind of hearing loss is referred to as nerve deafness. In this kind
of deafness the defect is with the auditory, nervous system. Here the
damage is indicated either in the nervous themselves or in the cochlea
particularly in the basilar membranes. People with this kind of deafness
can usually, hear, the low pitch sounds and they are deaf to sounds at
high frequencies. In such deafness, the person can hear the louder and
low tones but he is unable to distinguish between the word sounds (loss
of clarity). This may interfere with his capacity to comprehend and
understand what he hears and because of this reason such deafness is
called perception deafness.

4.5 SMELL AND TASTE

Since both the senses of smell and taste are based on chemical
reactions produced by a stimulus, they are commonly considered

71
together. The stimuli for smell usually discharge molecules in the form of
a gas. The molecules so discharged come into contact with the sensory
receptors at the top of the nasal cavity. The axons of the odour receptors
directly terminate in the brain. Intermediate neurons are absent in the
case of the sense of smell as are found for the rest of the senses.
In the case of taste the stimulus has to come into contract with the
tongue. Then it produces a reaction in the taste bud. In a taste bud, a
number of taste cells are found collected together in clusters. Most of the
taste buds are on the surface of the tongue but about 10 percent of them
are found in other portions of the mouth. A chemical reaction set off, with
the substances in the month excites the nerves and produces an
electrical exchange in the membrane of the taste cell. Basically, there
are four tastes that are experienced. They are sweet, sour, salt and
bitter. All other tastes are thought to be the result from the mixture of
these primary tastes.
Among these two senses, the smell appears to play a dominant role, for
it has been found that much of the sense of taste seems to be based on
the odours given out by substances. For instance, if we had the nose
plugged and eyes blind-folded, a piece of an apple, a piece of onion and
a piece of potato all may taste alike.

4.6 TOUCH
Basically, four kinds of objects that come into contact with our skin have
been identified. They seem to have four different qualities and give rise
to sensations of warmth, cold, touch and pain. Each of these qualities is
produced from electrical impulses initiated in a particular type of receptor
cell. If we examine the different regions below the surface of the skin,
will find different kinds of sensory cells and nerve-endings. Each group
of these cells is sensitive to each one of the sensations of warmth, cold,
pressure and pain. Generally speaking, most of these basic skin
sensations experienced by us are a kind of combination of this basic
skin sense. Skin over different region below the body is varyingly
sensitive to the stimulations. For instance, the tip of the tongue, the lips,
the fingers and the hands are the most sensitive areas. The arms and
the legs are less sensitive and the trunk the least sensitive. Not only the
skin, but also the hair on the skin is sensitive to the sensation
of pressure or touch.
Kinesthesis: These are sense organs in our joints and muscles. These
provide us with accurate information with regard to the position of our

72
limbs, the forces acting upon them either from outside or by the various
muscles and tendons in the body. Lack of such kind of information and
knowledge would also make it difficult in understanding the position of
our various limbs, it would also make it difficult for us to know as to how
much we have to more to get to a new position that we are desirous of.
Kinesthetic sensory feedback plays a very vital role in our fine skill
movements.
While Kinesthesis supplies us the information with regard to the
positions of the various limbs of the body, the position of the entire body
and its movement in relation to gravity is referred to as orientation. The
sense organs for body position are found in the inner ear, attached to
the cochlea, where, the receptors for hearing sensation are located. For
recognising the body position, the three semicircular canals
perpendicular to one another in the three different planes play a vital
role. When the body moves, the fluid in the canal also moves. By this
process, separate sets of tiny hair cells are excited. Motion in a
particular plane will produce impulses from one canal. If the motion is in
a direction across the place of reference, it will produce the impulses in
all three canals. The sense of balance is perceived because of the
enlargements at the base of the semicircular canals called the vestibular
sacs. These organs are sensitive to changes in position. Among the
various sensations we have described, there are a few in which the
receptor is situated within the tissues of the body. They are usually
referred to as proprioceptive sensations.

LET US SUM UP
Sensations are mere impressions just conveying information, and the
usual the five senses are vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch.
Sensation is the process or experience of perceiving through the
senses. The minimum stimulus energy needed to make the receptors
responds is referred to an absolute threshold. We see because of light
which is the psychological sensation experienced, because of the
physical stimulus exciting the eye. For hearing, the physical stimulus is
mechanical vibration. Both the senses, of smell and taste are based on
chemical reactions produced by a stimulus. four different qualities and
give rise to sensations of warmth, cold, touch and pain.

73
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. ______________ is the process by which we are able to detect
and identify stimuli.
2. The human hearing receptors can receive sound vibrations that
are within the range of _____________ _cycles per second.
3. A minimum amount of physical energy is necessary for the
stimulation of each sense organ _____________
4. This process of change from energy to action potential is called
the ________________ of the signals.

5. The______________ are meant for colour vision.

6. ___________ too provides with some ability to locate the
distance and direction of a sound source.
7. Basically, there are _____________ tastes that are experienced.
8. _______________ is the chemical transmitter at every synapse
where a nerve axon terminates a skeletal muscle fibre and is
responsible for muscle contraction.
9. _______________ refers to the general level of functioning
characteristics of the healthy organism.

KEY WORDS
Homeostatis Acetylcholine
Absolute threshold Signal deduction theory
Young Helmholtz theory Hering theory
Colour blindness Cytoplasm
DNA Forebrain Midbrain
Spinal cord Central Nervous system
Parasympathetic nervous system Peripheral nervous system

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Sensation 2. 20-20,000
3. Absolute threshold 4. Transduction
5. Cones 6. Hearing
7. Four 8. Acetylcholine

74
9. Homeostasis

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Analyse the nature of sensory processes.
2. What is meant by sensory threshold?
3. Explain the sense of vision.

4. What is colour blindness?

5. Explain the sense of Hearing.
6. Discuss about the theories of hearing.
7. Explain the sense of Smell, Taste and Touch.

GLOSSARY
Colour blindness: the inability to discriminate between colours and to
perceive colour hues. Colour blindness may be caused by disease,
drugs, or brain injury

Hue: the subjective quality of colour, which is determined primarily by

wavelength and secondarily by amplitude.

Absolute Threshold: the minimum amount of stimulation required to

trigger a reaction or produce a sensation.

Frequency: the number of repetitions of a periodic waveform in a given

unit of time. In acoustics, the frequency of a pure tone is the number of
cycles of a sinusoidal pressure variation that occur in 1 second. The
standard measure of frequency is the hertz (Hz)

Stimulus: Any change in physical energy that activates a sensory

receptor

Sensation: a sensation is the process by which we are able to detect

and identify stimuli. In simple terms it is the process or experience of
perceiving through the senses.

SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Clifford T. Morgan, Richard a King, John R. Weis and John Schopler,
"Introduction to Psychology" - 7th Edition. Tata McGraw Hill Book Co.
New Delhi, 1993.

75
2. Ernest R. Hilgard, Richard C. Atkinson, Rita L. Atkinson, "Introduction
to Psychology" 6th Edition, Oxford IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi, 1975.
3. Baron A. Robert, Psychology, Pearson Education Vth Ed., 2002.

76
Unit 5
PERCEPTION
STRUCTURE

Overview
Objectives
5.1 Object Perception and Perceptual Constancies

5.2 Figure and Ground

5.2.1 Reversible Figures
5.2.2 Perceptual Grouping and Patterning

5.2.3 Visual Illusions

5.3 Movement Perception
5.3.1 Apparent Motion
5.3.2 Real motion
5.3.3 Depth Perception
5.4 The Role of Learning in Perception

5.4.1 Effects of Restored Vision

5.4.2 Visual Deprivation with Animals
5.4.3 Perception in Infants
5.5 Attention and Perception
5.5.1 Selective Attention
5.5.2 Determinants of Stimulus Selection

5.5.3 Physiological Correlates of Attention

5.5.4 Needs and Values
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Keywords
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

77
OVERVIEW
We live in a world of objects and people-a world that constantly
bombards our senses with stimuli. We react to patterns of stimuli,
usually with little awareness of the parts composing the pattern. The
perception of objects and events takes place within a framework of the
space and time. Vision and audition provide the most complex patterns
of these perceptual experiences. In this unit, let us focus on the
perceptual process like object perception, figure and ground
phenomenon, Movement perception. Then we will analyse the role of
learning in perception and finally discuss about the attention
OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
• explain the object perception and perceptual constancies
• describe the Figure and Ground phenomenon
• explain Movement Perception

• analyze the Role of Learning in Perception

• discuss about Attention and Perception
5.1 OBJECT PERCEPTION AND PERCEPTUAL CONSTANCIES

If you look around the room and ask yourself what you see, you see,
your answer is likely to be, “a room full of objects” or “a room full of
people and objects.” You may pick out specific people or objects instead
of making such a general statement, but you are not likely to report that
you see a mosaic of light and shadow. Perception is oriented toward
things rather than toward the sensory features that describe them.
Detached sensory features like "blueness” “square ness" or "softness"
can be perceived, but they are usually perceived as the qualities of
objects. You are aware of the blue flowers or the square box or the soft
pillow-not "blueness" "squareness" or "softness."
Our Perceptual experiences are not isolated; they build a world of
identifiable things. Objects endure, so that you meet the same object
over and over again. When you turn your head away, you think of
objects as remaining where you saw them. A well-known object is
perceived as permanent and stable regardless of the illumination on it,
the position from which it is viewed, or the distance at which it appears.
The tendency to see the color of a familiar object as the same,
regardless of the actual light conditions, is called color constancy. The
tendency to see an object's shape as unchanging regardless of the

78
viewing angle is called shape constancy. The tendency to see an object
as the same size regardless of distance is called size constancy. Finally,
the fact that an object appears to retain its "same" position, even as we
move about, is known as location constancy. The word "constancy” is an
exaggeration, but it dramatizes
a) Color Constancy
Familiar objects appear to retain their color under a variety of lighting
conditions even colored light provided there are sufficient contrasts and
shadows. The owner of a blue car sees it as blue, whether looking at it in
bright sunlight, in dim illumination, or under a yellow street light. He is
relying on his memory of the car's color, which is one factor contributing
to color constancy. Information about the nature of the illumination and
the color of surrounding objects are also clues to color constancy.
b) Shape and size constancy
When a door sings open toward us, its shape as projected on the retina
goes through a series of distortions. The door's rectangular shape
becomes a trapezoid, with the edge toward us looking wider than the
hinged edge, then the trapezoid grows thinner, until all that is projected
on the retina is a vertical line the thickness of the door. We can readily
distinguish these changes, but the psychological experience is an
unchanging occurrence of swinging on its hinges. The fact that the door
does not seem to change it shape is an example of shape constancy.
Size constancy refers to the fact that as an object is moved farther away
we tend to see it as more or less invariant in size. Studies of what
people blind from birth, see, when their sight is restored through surgery
show that the figure-ground organization is present even when other
features of perception are missing. Adults who see for the first time have
no difficulty seeing something as a figure on a background, although
they are unable to identify familiar forms by sight.
We can perceive figure ground relationships through senses other than
vision. For example, we may hear the song of a bird against a
background of outdoor noises or the melody played by the violin against
the harmonies of the rest of the orchestra.
5.2 FIGURE AND GROUND
Geometrical patterns are always seen as figures against a background
and thus appear to be like objects, with the contours and the boundaries.
Figure ground organization is basic to stimulus patterning. Patterns do
not have to contain identifiable objects to be structured as figure and

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ground. Patterns of black and white and many wallpaper designs are
perceived as figure-ground relationships, and very often figure and
ground are reversible In the following figure note that the part that is
seen as figure seems more solid and well defined and tends to appear
slightly in front of the background, even though the spaces in and
around the figure to a uniform background, whether the background is in
white ( a light color or black a dark color).
Fig: A Butterfly or Two Faces?

5.2.1 Reversible Figures

In spite of producing a 'good figure' with the information given above, it
will be not be maintained if the formulation and integrity of their borders
is interfered by the introduction of succeeding 'stronger' figures.
The multiple interpretations are afforded by the 'ambiguous figures’; a
sub-class in this type of figure is 'reversible figures'. In such figures,
perception seems to be perversely unstable. That is, a figure may
remain detectable and its spatial stability may be disrupted in the
absence of an articulated background.
A reversible figure is so structured that it gives rise to two possible figure
ground relations. That is, at one time figure A becomes the figure and
figure B becomes the ground, subsequently, figure B becomes the figure
and figure A becomes the ground. In this, in any ideal condition which
maintains stable perception, instability will occur if given a chance.
But, the total figure does not disappear, only analogous to
disappear occurs. Alternative figures replace each other, when one is
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dominant, the other is in abeyance. The lines remain visible, but the
interpretations change.
5.2.2 Perceptual Grouping and Patterning
Even simple patterns of lines and dots fall into ordered relationships
when we look at them. In the top part of figure we tend to see three pairs
of lines, with an extra line at the right. But notice that we could have
seen three pairs beginning at the right with an extra line at the left. The
slight modification shown in the lower part of the figure causes us to do
just that. This tendency to structure what we see is very compelling;
what we see in figures seems to be forced on us by the patterns of
stimulation. The properties of wholes affect the ways in which parts are
perceived. For that reason we may say following the lead of Gestalt
psychology that the whole is different from the sum of its parts.
5.2.3 Visual Illusions
Sometimes we select a perceptual hypothesis that is actually incorrect;
in this case we experience an illusion. Visual illusions have long
intrigued psychologists by studying stimulus situations where
perceptions are misleadin, they hoped to gain the information about how
perception works.
5.3 MOVEMENT PERCEPTION
When you perceive movement, you sense action in space taking place
over time. Usually the perception of movement is explained according to
the stimulation of successive parts of the sensory surface. When an
image moves across our line of vision, it produces a pattern of
successive stimulation of the rods and cones, and we perceive
movement.
When you turn your head to look around the room Images move across
the retina, yet objects in the room appear stationary. Some higher brain
process apparently integrates the information from the retinal stimulation
and the kinesthetic information from your head, neck, and eye muscles
to tell you that your head or eyes are moving, not the room.
5.3.1 Apparent Motion
It is also possible to perceive the motion without a successive pattern of
stimulation. We will now consider some examples of this kind of
apparent motion.
(i) Auto kinetic effect: If you stare for a few seconds at a single spot of
light in a completely dark room, the light will appear to move about in an
erratic manner-sometimes oscillating back and forth, sometimes
81
swooping off in one direction. This apparent movement of a stationary
light, known as the auto kinetic effect.
(ii) Stroboscopic motion: Another kind of apparent motion is known as
stroboscopic motion this illusion of motion is created when separated
stimuli, not in motion, are presented in succession. Each frame of a film
is slightly different from the preceding one, but, if the frames are
presented rapidly enough, the pictures blend into smooth motion.
A simpler form of stroboscopic motion, known as the phi phenomenon,
when one light blinks on and then off, followed shortly by another, there
is the illusion of a single light moving from the position of the first to the
position of the second, and so on. The apparent movement is seen as
occurring through the empty space between the two lights.
5.3.2 Real motion
We can see apparent motion, when there is no real motion at all. The
perception of real motion is even more complex; it depends upon the
relations between objects within the visual field. Whenever there is
movement, the perceptual system must decide what is moving and what
is stationary with reference to some frame of reference. Experiments
have shown that, when the only information we have about movement is
visual, we tend to assume that large objects are stationary and smaller
objects are moving. If a subject views a spot of light within a frame or
against a screen background and the frame is moved while the spot
remains stationary, he will perceive that spot as moving. This type of
induced movement experienced when the moon is viewed through a thin
cover of moving clouds. In a clear sky the moon appears to be
stationary
5.3.3 Depth Perception
Our study of perception would be incomplete without considering the
problems of perceiving the third dimension that is distance and depth.
The retina is essentially a two-dimensional surface. How, then, is it
possible to perceive things as filling a space of three dimensions?
(i) Binocular Cues to Depth
Many of the facts of vision can be treated by considering phenomena
that can be registered with one eye only. A man with vision in only one
eye has most of the visual experiences of a man using two eyes. He
sees colors, forms, and space relationships, including third-dimensional
configurations. We might suppose that two suppose that two eyes have

82
evolved merely to give man a "spare" in case of injury, just as he has
two kidneys although one is enough.
A man with vision in both eyes does have advantages over a man with
vision in one eye his total visual field is larger, so that he can see more
at once, and he has the benefit of stereoscopic vision. In stereoscopic
vision the two eyes cooperate to yield the experience of solidity and
distance. That the experience does indeed depend upon the cooperate
of the two eyes is clear enough from the effects that can be produced
with a stereoscope. In these device two flat pictures, presented one
before each eye, combine to yield an experience of depth very different
from that received from a single flat picture. The depth appears real, as
though the objects pictured were exactly set up on a stage or in their
true relations of depth and distance.
Stereoscopic experience differs from the experience of the third
dimension in single flat pictures because of retinal disparity. Since our
eyes are separated in our head, the left eye does not get exactly the
same view as the right eye and the stereoscopic effect results from the
combination of these slightly different pictures in one view. You can
easily demonstrate retinal disparity for yourself. With one dove closed
hold a pencil about a foot in front of you and line it up with some vertical
edge on the opposite wall. Open that eye and close the other. The pencil
will appear to have moved a considerable distance from its
original alignment if you line up the pencil with both eyes open and then
close each eye alternately, you can determine which your dominant eye
is; that is, if the pencil shifts when you close the right eye, your right eye
is dominant which is usually the case with right-handed individual.
The facts of stereoscopic vision are clear enough, but just how the
process works is not so clear. Because of the way in which the nerve
fibers from the eves are separated in passing to the brain, the
combination cannot take place in the eyes. Information from the two
eyes must somehow be combined in the brain, probably at the level of
the visual cortex (Barlow, 197?)
(ii) Monocular Cues to Depth
Although having two eyes helps us to perceive depth and distance, we
are by no means restricted to binocular effects for this perception.
Closing one eye causes the loss of some precision, but there is much
left to go on. An artist is able to give depth to his picture because he can
make use of the many monocular cues that tell us the distance of
objects.

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Fig. Visual distance perception
84
The above Figure illustrates four types of cures that are used in the
perception of depth. If one object appears to cut off the view of another,
the presumption is strong that the first object is nearer (Figure A). If
there is an array of like objects of different sizes then the smaller ones
are perceived as being in the distance. Even a series of scattered circles
of different sizes may be viewed as spheres of the same size at varying
distances (Figure B); another hint of perspective is height in the
horizontal plane. As we look along a flat plane, objects further away
appear to be higher, so that we can create the impression of depth for
objects of the same size by placing them at different heights (Figure C).
Even for irregular surfaces, such as a rocky desert or the waving surface
of the ocean, there is a gradient of texture with distance, so that the
“grain” becomes finer as distance becomes greater (Figure D).
5.4 THE ROLE OF LEARNING IN PERCEPTION
The phenomena of perceptual organization movement, and depth
perception, and the various perceptual constancies lend themselves to
simple and convincing experimental demonstrations, so that by now
there is general agreement over what the subject perceives.
Disagreements remain, however, over how to explain what happens.
One of the traditional problems of visual perception has been the
question of whether our abilities to perceive the spatial aspects of our
environment are learned or innate. This is the familiar nature-nurture
problem, and its investigation with relation to perception goes back to
the philosophers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Natives and Empiricist Viewpoints
One group, the atavists who were Descartes and Kant), argued that we
are born with the ability to perceive the way we do. In contrast, the
empiricists who were Berkeley and Locke)maintained that we learn our
ways of perceiving through experience with objects in the world about
us. Among the early sensory psychologists, Herring and Helmholtz
(whose theories of color vision were discussed in Unit 5) held opposing
views. Herring pointed to retinal disparity as evidence for the view that
our eyes are innately designed to perceive depth; he developed a theory
of distance vision based on the fact that each eye registers a different
image. Helmholtz argued that visual perceptions were too variable. For
example, the reversible figure) to be explained on the basis of fixed
receptor mechanisms and must therefore be learned.
Most contemporary psychologists believe that a fruitful integration of
these two viewpoints is possible. No one today really doubts that
practice and experience affect perception. The question is whether we
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are born with some ability to perceive objects and space in our
environment or whether these abilities are completely learned. Let us
examine some of the areas of research, that yield information on the role
of learning in perception.
5.4.1 Effects of Restored Vision
As far back as the seventeenth century, Locke quotes a letter he
received from a colleague, in which the problem is posed:
Suppose a man born blind, and now adult, taught by is touch to
distinguish between a cube and a sphere of the same metal, and nightly
of the same bigness, so as to tell, when he felt one and the other, which
is the cube, which the sphere. Suppose that the cube and the sphere
placed on a table, and the blind man be made to see... Distinguish and
tell which is the globe, which is the cube?
Locke, supporting the empiricist viewpoint, concluded that he could not.
A partial answer to this question is provided by studies of individuals
who were blind from birth with cataracts on both eyes and whose vision
was restored by surgical means when they were adults. When the eye
bandages are removed for the first time, the patient is confused by the
bewildering array of visual stimuli. He is able, however, to distinguish
figure from ground and apparently perceiving figure-ground relationships
in much the same way as normally sighted people do, to fixate figures,
scan them, and follow moving figures with his eyes. These abilities then
appear to be innate. He cannot identify by sight alone objects very
familiar from the sense of touch, such as faces, knives, and keys. He
cannot distinguish a triangle from a square without counting the number
of corners or tracing the outline with a finger. He also cannot tell which of
two uneven sticks is longer without feeling them, although he may report
that the two sticks look somehow different. Often it takes several weeks
of training for such patients to learn to identify simple objects well from
sight, and even after identification has been learned in a specific
situation, the patient shows little evidence of generalization or perceptual
constancy.
These studies of previously blind adults who are suddenly able to see for
the first time suggest that our perceptions develop gradually from
primitive visual experiences in which figure-ground relationships and
color predominate, becoming more accurate and more detailed with
practice. They cannot, however, be taken as conclusive evidence of the
innate visual ability of the infant.

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5.4.2 Visual Deprivation with Animals
in an attempt to provide a more controlled situation similar to restored
vision in humans, animals have been raised in various degrees of
darkness and then tested for visual ability. Investigators who reared
infant chimpanzees in total darkness until they were sixteen months old
found serious perceptual deficiencies when the animals were tested
upon first exposure to light. But, these chimpanzees were later
discovered to have defective retinas. Apparently a certain amount of
light stimulation is necessary for normal anatomical development of the
visual system. Without any light stimulation, nerve cells in the retina and
the visual cortex begin to atrophy. This fact is interesting in itself, but it
does not tell us much about the role of learning in
perceptual development
Later studies made use of translucent goggles so that the animals
received light stimulation, but of a diffuse, unattended form. Studies
have been carried out with monkeys, chimpanzees, and kittens wearing
translucent goggle from birth to anywhere from one to three months of
age. The result showed that although some simple perceptual abilities
were unimpaired, more complex visual activity was seriously affected.
The visually deprived animals did almost as well as normal animals in
distinguishing differences in color, brightness, and size. But they could
not perform such tasks as following a moving object with their eyes,
discriminating forms (a circle from a square of triangle), perceiving
depth, and distinguishing between a moving and a nonmoving stimulus.
5.4.3 Perception in Infants
If the human infant could tell us what the world looks like to him, many of
our questions concerning the development of perception might be
answered. Since he cannot, experimenters have had to stretch their
ingenuity to try to measure the visual abilities of infants.
An infant's perception of height, a special case of a depth perception,
has been investigated. The apparatus has been used with human and
various animal infants in attempts to determine whether the ability to
perceive and avoid a brink is innate or must be learned by the
experience of falling off and getting hurt. Most parents, mindful of the
caution they exercise to keep their offspring from falling out of the crib or
down the stairs, would assume that his ability to appreciate height is
something the child must learn. But the observation of the human
infant's susceptibility to such accidents does not tell us whether he is
unable to discriminate depth or whether he can indeed respond to depth
cues but lacks the motor control to keep from falling.
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Gibson and Walk (1960) tested the response of infants, ranging in age
from 6-14 months, when placed on the centerboard of the visual cliff.
The mother called to the child from the cliff side and the shallow side
successively. Almost all the infants crawled off on the shallow side but
refused to crawl on the deep side. Their dependence on vision was
demonstrated by the fact that they frequently peered through the glass
on the deep side and then backed away. Some of the infants, patted the
glass with their hands but still remained unasserted that it was solid and
refused to cross.
5.5 ATTENTION AND PERCEPTION
Our perceptions are selective. We do not react equally to all the stimuli
impinging upon us; instead we focus upon a few. This perceptual
focusing is called attention. Through attentive processes, we keep in
focus-selected stimuli and resist distracting stimuli.
5.5.1 Selective Attention

We are constantly bombarded by stimuli to which we do not attend. In

fact, our brains would be quite overloaded if we had to attend to every
stimulus present in our environment. Somehow, our brain selects those
stimuli that the pertinent and ignores the others until a change in a
particular stimulus makes it important for us to notice it.
There is evidence, however, those stimuli to which we are not actively
attending still register in some form in our perceptual system, even
though we may not recognize them at the time. Consider what takes
place during a cocktail party. Out of the complex volume of sound that is
generated by the wavelengths of many voices taken together, you are
able to listen to one voice. Although you may think you are not attending
to the other voices, let someone in the far corner of the room mention
your name and you are immediately aware of it; apparently the nervous
system monitors the other voices for relevant stimuli without your being
aware of such activity.
5.5.2 Determinants of Stimulus Selection
What factors determine which of many competing stimuli will gain our
attention? The characteristics of the stimulus are important, as are our
own internal needs, expectancies, and past experience. The advertiser
is concerned with discovering these factors so that he can direct
attention to his product. Some physical properties of the stimulus that
are important in gaining attention are intensity, size, contrast, and
movement.

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Certain internal variables, such as motives and expectations, are equally
important in determining which stimulus attracts our attention. The
advertiser counts on an appeal to the male sex drives when he uses
pictures of scantily clad females to advertise anything from carpets to
automobile tires. In a culture where hunger is a more generally
unsatisfied drive than sex, pictures of food might prove to be a more
powerful attention-getter.
Because of habitual or momentary interests, individual vary greatly in
their responses to the same stimuli. The naturalist will hear sounds in
the woods that the ordinary picnicker would miss. A mother will hear her
baby's cry above the conversation of a room full of people. These two
illustrations represent abiding interests. Sometimes momentary interest
controls attention. When you page through a book looking for a
particular diagram, only pages with illustrations cause you to hesitate;
others you ignore. Emotional states, especially moods, may also affect
the ways in which attention is directed. In a hostile mood, personal
comments are noticed that might go unremarked in a friendlier mood.
5.5.3 Physiological Correlates of Attention

When a stimulus attracts our attention, we usually perform certain body

movements that enhance our reception of the stimulation. If it is a
visual stimulus we turn our head in the proper direction, our eyes turn so
that the image falls on the fovea, our pupils dilate momentarily to allow
lighter to enter the eye, and the lens muscles work to bring the image
clearly into focus. If the stimulus is auditory, we may cup our hands
behind our ears or turn one ear in the direction of the sound, keeping the
rest of our movements very still so as to enhance the reception of a faint
auditory stimulus. These body movements are accompanied by certain
characteristic internal physiological changes. The physiological reactions
that occur, in response to the stimulation changes in the environment
form such a consistent pattern that they have been called the orienting
reflex and have been studied extensively by psychologists.
The orienting reflex occurs in both man and animals in response to even
minimal changes in the stimulus environment. The physiological
accompaniments of attention, in addition to the body movements
mentioned above, include dilation of the blood vessels in the head,
constriction of the peripheral blood vessels, certain changes in the gross
electrical responses of the b.ain (EEG) and changes in muscle tone,
heart rate, and respiration.
These responses serve the dual function of (1) facilitating the reception
of stimulation and (2) preparing the organism to respond quickly in case
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action is needed we can see why such a reflex is extremely valuable for
self-preservation
5.5.4 Needs and Values
What a person perceives and how he perceives it may also be
determined to some extent by his needs and personal values. The value
an individual places on an object may affect such direct impression as
those of size. For example, it has been shown that the children from the
poorer homes tend to overestimate the size of coins more than do
children from well-to-do homes (Bruner and Goodman, 1947).

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. The tendency to see the color of a familiar object as the
same, regardless of the actual light conditions, is
called___________
2. The tendency to see an object as the same size regardless
of distance is called _____________

3. This apparent movement of a stationary light, known as

the__________.

4. Although having two eyes helps us to perceive depth and

distance, we are by no means restricted to binocular effects for this
perception. (True /False)
5. ____________ pointed to retinal disparity as evidence for the view
that our eyes are innately designed to perceive depth.
6. ________________, __________ reflex occurs in both man
and animals in response to even minimal changes in the stimulus
environment.
7. ___________ refers to process that our brain selects those
stimuli that the pertinent and ignores the others until a change in a
particular stimulus makes it important for us.
LET US SUM UP
The perceptual constancies imply organization within perception.
Geometrical patterns are always seen as figures against a background
and thus appear to be like objects, with contours and boundaries. Figure
ground organization is basic to stimulus patterning. Patterns do not have
to contain the identifiable objects to be structured as figure and ground.
Patterns of black and white and many wallpaper designs are perceived
as figure-ground relationships, and very often figure and ground are
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reversible. We do not react equally to all the stimuli impinging upon us;
instead we focus upon a few.
KEY WORDS
Colour size
Shape Constancies
Real motion Apparent motion
Selective Attention
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. Color constancy 2. Size constancy
3. Auto kinetic effect 4. True
5. Herring 6. The orienting
7. Selective attention

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. What is perception?
2. What is constancy? Explain.

3. Explain the object perception and perceptual constancies.

4. Describe the figure and Ground phenomenon.
5. Explain Movement Perception.
6. What is real motion?
7. What is apparent motion?
8. Analyze the Role of Learning in Perception.
9. Discuss about Attention and Perception.

GLOSSARY
Apparent Motion: An illusion of motion or change in size of a visual
stimulus
Constancy: The phenomenon in which an object or its properties (e.g.,
size, shape, colour) appear unchanged despite variations in the stimulus
itself or in the external conditions of observation, such as object
orientation or level of illumination, distance etc..
Depth perception: Awareness of three-dimensionality, solidity, and the
distance between the observer and the object.

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Illusion: A false sensory percept. Illusions of the senses, such as visual
illusions, result from the misinterpretation of sensory stimuli
Perception: The process or result of becoming aware of objects,
relationships, and events by means of the senses, which includes such
activities as recognizing, observing, and discriminating
Reversible Figure: An ambiguous figure in which the perspective easily
shifts, so that at certain times specific elements appear to make up a
distinct figure while at others those same elements appear as an
indistinct background
Selective Attention: Concentration on certain stimuli in the environment
and not on others, enabling important stimuli to be distinguished from
peripheral or incidental ones.

SUGGESTED READINGS

1. Clifford T. Morgan, Richard a King, John R. Weis and John Schopler,

"Introduction to Psychology" - 7th Edition. Tata McGraw Hill Book Co.
New Delhi, 1993.

2. Ernest R. Hilgard, Richard C. Atkinson, Rita L. Atkinson, "Introduction

to Psychology" 6th Edition, Oxford IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi, 1975.

3. Baron A. Robert, Psychology, Pearson Education Vth Ed., 2002.

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BLOCK-III
UNIT 7 LEARNING PRINCIPLES AND METHODS
UNIT 8 TYPES OF LEARNING

93
Unit 6
LEARNING PRINCIPLES AND METHODS
STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
6.1 Nature of learning
6.2 Factors involved in Learning
6.3 Classical Conditioning
6.3.1 Ivan Pavlov Rings a Bell
6.3.2 Stimuli and responses in classical conditioning: US, CS,
UR and CR
6.3.3 Extinction
6.3.4 Generalisation
6.3.5 Discrimination
6.4 Instrumental or Operant Conditioning
6.4.1 Skinner's Work
6.4.2 Types of Instrumental Conditioning
6.4.3 Shaping
6.5 Principles of Reinforcement
6.5.1 Primary and Secondary Reinforcement
6.5.2 Schedules of Reinforcement
6.6 Other types of Operant learning
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Keywords
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
Learning, relatively permanent change in behaviour due to experience is
a basic topic of psychology. However, it is a process that must be
assessed indirectly by observing the performance. In this unit, we will
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define learning, factors involved in learning; explain the Classical
conditioning and the various types of instrumental conditioning. Finally,
other types of operant learning will be listed out.
OBJECTIVES
• After studying this unit you will be able to:
• explain the concept of Learning
• define learning
• describe the factors involved in learning
• explain the Classical conditioning
• identify the stimuli and responses in classical conditioning
• explain the various types of instrumental conditioning
• list out other types of operant learning

6.1 NATURE OF LEARNING

Learning is a key process it pervades everything we do and think, it
influences various aspects of our behavior like the way we speak, dress,
attitudes, belief and the goals we pursue. Let us first define the learning.
Learning may be defined as "any relatively permanent change in the
behavior, which occurs as a result of experience or practice" excluding
the role of motivation. You must note that in this definition there are
three important elements.
1. Learning is a permanent change in the behaviour for better or
worse.
2. It is a change that takes place through experience or practice
and this does not include changes that take place due to
growth, maturation or injury.
3. The change, must be relatively permanent, that is it must lost for
a fairly long time.

6.2 FACTORS INVOLVED IN LEARNING

There are many factors that contribute to learning, for the phenomena of
learning to occur; a single factor or a combination of factors may be
involved.

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a) Arousal and motivation: We all know that the most fundamental
condition for learning to take place is that the organism be in a
reasonably high state of arousal. Although it has been claimed that
some learning can take place during sleep, such learning is very
minimal. But then, is being aroused a sufficient condition for learning or
do you think that, the organism must also be motivated. Being motivated
for learning to take place is important in at least three ways.
1. First, it is a condition for eliciting behaviour. For example if a rat
is to learn a maze, it must at least walk through it, rat will do this
merely to explore, but they are found to be more active when
they
2. are hungry. Second motivation is necessary for reinforcement,
which in turn is an essential condition of learning. Reward and
punishments act as reinforcers. For a hungry rat, food not water
is a reinforce, that explains the point that reinforces should be
appropriate.
3. Thirdly, motivation controls the variability of behaviour. When
learning a new half, a motivated organism will run through an
extensive repertory of response, one of which may be "correct".
Let us make this clear with an example, suppose a mother is
interested in teaching her child, who is thirsty to say "milk” when
a glass of milk is shown to. One way of doing this is to show the
child a glass of milk while saying 'milk' at the same time. If he
says 'milk' be will be given a sip as reinforcement. If he is
motivated, the child will quickly run through much behaviour, he
may grab for the glass, he may cry, he may imitate 3 and say
"milk” is the “correct" response. If he is not motivated this
repertory of responses will be less likely to occur.
In summary we can say that motivation is important become
(1) It brings out appropriate behaviours to be learned.
(2) It permit reinforcement to occur and
(3) It increases the variability of behaviour, this raising the
probability that a correct response will occur.
b) Association: One factor that is common to most of the situations in
which learning takes place is association. By association, here we mean
some connection in time and place between two events. Lightning (S1)
and thunder (S2) usually occur in close sequence, so the light and
sound may be connected. There connections in the physical world

96
provide opportunities for an organism to form association's focus
experiencing two events simultaneously or in close succession. The
formation of such associations is a function of the brain. Stated
symbolically, if S, and S, together will tend to form an association
between processes in the train, so that S, can now a rouse S2 or S2
arouse S1
(i) Stimulus Response Association
Another kind of association is the S-R or stimulus response association.
In this care the learner associates a stimulus with a response. For
instance, when we learn a foreign language vocabulary, we are forming
an S-R association. The foreign work is a stimulus for the English
learning response or vice versa. S-R association lend themselves to
objective observation, and for this reason they have received the
greatest attention in psychological experiments.
ii) Contiguity

The concept of association implies contiguity that is to say, for two

physical events to be connected, and hence for the corresponding
processes in the training to become associated, the event must occur at
approximately the same time and place. They must be contiguous, or
paired, events. For this reason, contiguity has long been started as a
basic law governing the formation of associations.
What must be contiguous varies with different learning situations. In
simple conditioning, it is the contiguity of two stimuli that is essential for
learning. In more complex learning it is the contiguity of a response and
a reward or punishment that is important for learning. For example, we
give a dog a bit of food, when he performs a trick, or we hit a child's
hand when he reaches for a lighted matchstick. In every care, it is the
pain of event making them contiguous that is essential in learning.
iii) Interference
Still another aspect of forming association deserves emphasis the
possibility of interference among associations. One stimulus may
become associated with two different stimuli or with two different
responses. If the two associations with the single to stimulus are
incompatible, are tends to block interfere with the other. Let us
understand this better with an example of learning two languages at the
same time. Children who are brought up in bilingual homes or where two
languages are used are slower in language development than there who
learn only is language of home. A child learns a good deal of language
by associating a word with same stimulus. He learns to associate (thirst)
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with water. But, if he must learn to associate 'thanni' (Tamil for 'water) or
‘paani' (Hindi for 'water) at the same time, he has two different
associations (R1 and R2) for the same visual stimulus (s). He cannot
say than both at the same time. Hence are association interferes with
the other and neither association is built up as rapidly as it might be. The
principle of mutual interference of association is a general one, which
accounts for several of the phenomena of learning and for getting
c) Reinforcement
Another important term, one that psychologists repeatedly use when
talking about learning, is reinforcement. This term has two meanings,
depending on the kind of learning situation be is talking about. In simple
conditioning, it merely refers to the second stimulus of the pair being
presented. The other meaning is what is commonly called reward or
punishment. Examples of the things that serve as reinforcers are food
for a hungry organize, praise for a child or escape from punishment.

Reinforcement is of great importance in learning and hence Thorndike

called it the law of effect. This law states that an act, which has a
satisfying effect for instance, satisfaction of a drive, escape from
punishment, or relief from pain, fear will be learned, but an act, which
has an unpleasant effect such as frustration of a motive, punishment, or
fear, will not be learned. It is relatively easy to observe that
reinforcement strengthen. Certain kind of association's Hall has called
this simple fact that, reinforcement work to strengthen association has
the empirical law of effect.
We have discussed three basic principles or factors in learning can you
recall them; they are motivation, association and reinforcement.
6.3 CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Classical conditioning is a form of learning. In lower organisms, much
behaviour is instinctive, or inborn for e.g. fishes are born “knowing" how
to swim. Among human being, however, the variety and complexity of
behaviors pattern are largely learned through experience.
Classical conditioning involves same of the ways in which we learn to
associate events. Let us understand, this better with an example we are
usually more likely to stop our cars for red traffic light. Why? Red light is
associated with avoiding accidents and traffic regulations.
6.3.1 Ivan Pavlov Rings a Bell

Lower animals also learn relationships among events Russian

physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) discovered in research
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with laboratory dogs. Pavlov during his research found that because of
its biological making, a dog will salivate if meat powder is placed on its
tongue. Salivation in response to meat powder is unlearned, a reflex. A
certain range of stimuli elicits reflexes. A stimulus is an environmental
condition that evokes a response from an organism. Reflexes are simple
unlearned responses to stimuli. Pavlov discovered that reflexes could
also be learned, or conditioned, through association. His dogs began
salivating in response to clinking food trays became this noise, in the
past, had been paired repeatedly with the arrival of food. The dogs
would also salivate when an assistant entered the laboratory. Guess
why? In the past the assistant had brought food.
When we are faced with novel events, we sometimes have no
immediate way of knowing whether or not they are important. When we
are striving for concrete goods, we often ignore the unexpected, even
when the unexpected is just as important, or more important, than the
goal. So it was that Pavlov at first saw this uncalled for canine salivation
as an annoyance, a hindrance to his research. But in 1901, he decided
that this 'problem' was worth looking into. He then set about to show that
he could train, or condition, his dogs to salivate when he wished and in
response to any stimulus he chose.
Pavlov termed the trained salivary responses as "conditional reflexes".
They were conditional upon the repeated pairing of a previously neutral
stimulus such as the clinking of a food tray and a stimulus that is in this
case, food that predictably evoked the target response (in this case,
salivation). Today conditional reflexes are more generally referred to as
conditioned responses, (CRS) since they are responses to previously
neutral stimuli that are learned or conditioned.
Pavlov demonstrated conditioned responses by strapping a dog into a
harness. When meat powder was placed on the dog's tongue, the dog
salivated. Pavlov repeated the process several times, with are
difference. He preceded the meat powder by hall a second or so with the
sounding of a bell on each occasion. After several pairing of meat
powder and bell Pavlov sounded the bell but did not follow the bell with
the meat powder. Still the dog salivated. It had learned to salivate in
response to the bell.
Why did the dog learn to salivate in response to the bell? Behaviorists
explain the out came of classical conditioning in terms of the publicity
observable conditions of learning.
They define classical conditioning as a simple form of learning in which
one stimulus craves to evoke the response usually evoked by a second
99
stimulus by being paired repeatedly with the second stimulus. In
Pavlov's demonstration, the dog learned to salivate in response to the
bell because the sounding of the bell had been paired with meat powder.
Thus, in classical conditioning, the organizing forms association between
stimuli because the stimuli are contiguous. Behaviorists are of the
opinion that any targeted behaviour can reliably be made to occur, and
hence behaviorists focus on the mechanical acquisition of the
conditioned response
6.3.2 Stimuli and responses in classical conditioning: US, CS,
UR and CR.
In the demonstration described above we have seen that that meat
powder is an unlearned or unconditional stimulus (US). Salivation in
response to the meat powder is an unlearned or unconditional response
(UR) where the bell was at first a meaningless or neutral stimulus. Then,
through repeated association with the meat powder, the bell became a
learned or a conditioned stimulus (CS) for the salivation. Salivation in
response to the bell (or CS) is a learned one or conditioned response
(CR). A CR is a response similar to a UR, but, the response elicited, or
brought out, by definition a CR, not a UR.
Fig A schematic Representation of Classical Conditioning

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6.3.3 Extinction
In classical conditioning, extinction is the process by which conditioned
stimulus (CS) lose the ability to elicit conditioned responses (CR)
because the CS are no longer associated with unconditioned stimuli
(US). From the cognitive perspective, extinction teaches the organism to
modify its representation of the environment because the CS no longer
serves its predictive function.
In this experiment in the extinction of CR, Pavlov found that repeated
presentation of CS (or bell) without the US (meat powder) led to
extinction of the CR (salivation in response to the bell). The dog
conditioned by Pavlov began to salivate (CR) in response to a bell (CS)
often only for a couple of pairings of the stimuli led to increased
salivation, as measured in number of drops of salivation. After seven or
eight trials, salivation leveled off at eleven to twelve drops.
Then, salivation to the bell (CR) was extinguished through several trails
referred to as extinction trials in which the CS (bell) was presented
without the meat powder (US). After about ten extinction trails, the CR
(salivation in response to the bell) was no longer shown.

6.3.4 Generalisation
We know that no two things are exactly alike. Traffic lights are hung at
slightly different heights, and shades of red and green differ a little. The
Larking of two dogs differs and the sound of the same animal differs
slightly from back to back. Adaptation requires, that we respond similarly
to the stimuli that are equivalent in function and that, we respond
differently to the stimuli that are not. Pavlov noted that responding to
different stimuli as though they are functionally equivalent is adoptive for
any organism.
In a demonstration of generalization, Pavlov first conditioned a dog to
salivate when a circle was presented. During each acquisition trial the
dog was shown a circle (CS), and then given meat powder (US) After
several trials, the dog exhibited the CR of salivating when presented with
the circle above. Pavlov demonstrated that the dog also exhibited the
CR (salivation) in response to closed geometric figures such as ellipses,
pentagons, and squares. The more closely the figure resembled a circle
the greater the strength of the response the more drops of salivation that
flowed

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6.3.5 Discrimination
This is another important concept organizers must also learn (1) that
many stimuli perceived as being similar are functionally different and (2)
to respond adoptively to each. During the first couple of months of life,
babies can discriminate the voices of their other from there of others.
They will often stop crying when they hear a stranger's voice.
Pavlov showed that a dog conditioned to salivate in response to circles
be trained not to salivate in response to ellipses. The type of
conditioning that trains an organisms to show a CR in response to a
narrow range of stimuli (in this care, circular rather than elliptical
geometric figures) is termed discriminating training, Pavlov trained the
dog by presenting it with circles and ellipses but associating the meat
powder (US) with circles only. After a while, the dog no longer showed
the CR (salivation) in response to the ellipses. Instead the animal
showed discrimination. It displayed the CR in response to circle only.

6.4 INSTRUMENTAL OR OPERANT CONDITIONING

This is another important type of learning: operant conditioning also
referred to as instrumental conditioning. An organism learns to engage
in certain behaviours because of the effects of those behaviours. There
are two important psychologist associated with operant conditioning.
They are Edward L Thorndike and B.F. Skinner.
Edward Thorndike used stray cats for his research in learning by trial
and error. He placed the animals in so-called puzzle boxes. If they
managed to pull a dangling string a latch would be released, allowing
them to joining out and reach a bowl of food. When the cat was placed in
a puzzle box, it tries to squeeze through any opening and would claw
and bite at the confining bars and wire or would claw at any feature it
could reach. Through such random trail-and-error behaviour, if might
take three to four minutes, before the cat would chance a response of
pulling the string. Pulling the string would open the cage and allow the
cat to reach the food.
Classical conditioning experiments throw light on important features of
learning or association providing a starting point for the study of more
complex types of learning. The next basic kind of learning is what is
known as Instrumental or operant conditioning. The term "operant"
emphasizes the component of work involved on the part of the learner,
because he has to "operate" on his environment, and the term
"instrumental" points to the fact that the learner has some control over
his circumstances and his action is instrumental to what happens to him

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Instrumental conditioning involves more activity on the part of the learner
than classical conditioning. Generally, behaviors directed towards
gaining a reward or avoiding a punishment are examples of instrumental
action. In this form of behaviour, the intention and achievement are
important.
The important concepts in this sort of conditioning are contingency and
consequences. Instrumental learning involves learning about
the sequences of behaving in a specific way (i.e.) learning that making of
a particular response will be followed by a specific stimulus event. For
instance, a child might learn that crying would fetch him his mother's
attention. Simplifying the basic idea, we might say that learning consists
of discovering that a particular response (R) will be followed by a
stimulus event (S).
In another way, we may interpret it in terms of contingency learning. The
learner finds out that for the purpose of making a stimulus event to occur
(getting the mother's attention); he will have to perform a particular
response (crying). Here, the stimulus (S) is contingent upon the
response.

Historically, as classical conditioning is associated with the work of

Pavlov, instrumental conditioning is associated with the works of E.L.
Thorndike and B.F. Skinner. Thorndike was the first to conduct
laboratory experiments on instrumental conditioning leading to the
formulation of the Law of Effect, which formed the basis for the principle
of reinforcement. But it was Skinner who made operant conditioning
popular. His studies on the behaviour of pigeons, rats and human beings
led to the identification of the basic elements and laws of operant
conditioning. The development of the concepts functional analysis,
which emphasizes on the functions and the consequences of behaviour
is due to his efforts His findings, which forms the foundation for the
development of a new technology of behaviour modification in its
application.
Though this is in its formative stage, still it is useful and controversial.
6.4.1 Skinner's Work
Skinner used a device, which has come to be known as Skinner box to
investigate the relationship between the events of instrumental
conditioning. He placed a rat inside a glass box containing a lever and
food tray. The animal was free to explore the box. Whenever the lever in
the box was pressed, automatically a pellet of food was dropped on the
tray. A mechanical device recorded the number of times the rat pressed

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on lever. Pressing of the lever was the response to be learned are (the
operant response, and the food was the stimulus consequence is
reinforcement. The rate of presses increased notably with the rewarding
of the rat with food each time he pressed the bar. By reinforcement, the
rat learned the instrumental response.
Basically the reinforcers are of two kinds namely the positive (S+) and
the negative (S-). A positive reinforcer refers to a stimulus event that
when made contingent on a response will cause the frequency of that
response to increase. In the rat experiment, the food is a positive
reinforcer because the rat will increase the number of presses if food is
withheld until he presses the lever. Generally speaking, the positive
reinforcers are those things that are liked or desired i.e. rewards. On the
other hand, a negative reinforcer refers to the stimulus event that will
cause an increase in response frequency when the contingency is a
negative one i.e. the making of the response results in the cessation of
the stimulus. For example, an electric shock in the place of food may be
called a negative reinforcer. Generally, a negative reinforcer is one,
which is disliked or avoided by an organism, i.e. punishments.

6.4.2 Types of Instrumental Conditioning

By this conditioning method, it is possible to teach an individual to make
a particular response or withhold it by providing him with either rewards
or punishments. A combination of two kinds of consequences that are
rewards and punishments with two kinds of contingencies (either the
consequences is contingent on making or on not making it) can be
presented.
They are: reward, omission, escape and punishment training. Positive
reinforcement is used in reward training. For example, giving an
individual his due allowance is a case of this kind of training. When
rewards are used to withhold a response that is not desired, it is called
omission training. For instance, if a child is offered a candy for giving up
nail-biting it is a case of omission training. Escape training refers to the
use of negative reinforcement to increase the frequency of a desired
response. Telling a convict that good conduct on his part will secure him
remission of sentences of this type. Lastly' punishment training is used
to make the learner cease performing an undesired response. Scolding
a child for using impolite language is a good example of this type of
instrumental conditioning.

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6.4.3 Shaping
Shaping refers to the reinforcing of closer approximations for performing
a desired response. This consists of learning graduated steps, where
each following step has a resemblance to the desired performance and
hence it is known as the method of successive approximations. For
example, in the case of an animal in the operant conditioning apparatus,
with the help of a remote control, the experimenter reinforces the
approaches to the lever, by going near it, pawing it and eventually
pressing it a sequence of responses leading to the appropriate
response. This kind of a thing is done with children, when they are
taught to learn languages. At the beginning, the child may say “Maaa”
"Mrrr”... “Maar” and finally "Mother”.

6.5 PRINCIPLES OF REINFORCEMENT

We have already seen what reinforcement means. Now we will discuss
about the nature and types of reinforcement. Regarding the nature of
reinforcement we have primary and secondary reinforcement. Whereas
for the types of reinforcement we can classify into i) time and ii) interval.
Now let us discuss in detail about the same.
6.5.1 Primary and Secondary Reinforcement
In primary reinforcement, a reinforcer is an event that increases or
maintains the strength of a response. Secondary reinforcement also is
important in operant conditioning. A stimulus is a secondary reinforcer if
it has acquired a reinforcing quality because it has been associated with
a primary reinforcer. When such a stimulus follows a response, it tends
to increase and maintain the strength of a response.
The experiment by Cowles with chimpanzees would be useful. The
chimpanzees learned to work for poker chips, which in turn helped to
get food. Here poker chips were token rewards and they were
exchanged for the food. While food is the primary reinforcer, poker chips
are the secondary; reinforcers. In human beings, in the social learning's
secondary reinforcers plays a vital role: Symbolic rewards, like degrees,
titles, promotions and money serve as secondary reinforcers.
6.5.2 Schedules of Reinforcement
Fixed Ratio Schedules
If a schedule is administered on a ratio basis, reinforcement is given
after a certain number of responses. If the schedule is a fixed ratio, the
exact number of responses is specified. A fixed ratio that reinforces after
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every response is designated as 1:1. The 1:1 fixed ratio is generally
used in basic conditioning experiments, and almost every type of
learning situation must begin with this schedule. However, as learning
progresses, it is more effective to shift to a fixed ratio of 2:1, 4:1, 8:1 and
even 20:1.
Administering rewards under a fixed ratio schedule tends to produce a
high rate of response that, is characterized as vigorous and steady. The
person soon determines that reinforcement is based on the number of
responses and performs the responses as quickly as possible in order to
receive the reward.
Fixed Interval Schedules
A second common way to administer rewards is on a fixed interval basis.
Under this schedule, reinforcement is given after a specified period of
time, which is measured from the last reinforced response. The length of
time that can be used by this schedule varies a great deal. In the
beginning of practically any learning situation, a very short interval is
required. However, as learning progresses, the interval can be stretched
out.

Behavior resulting from a fixed interval method of reinforcing is quite

different from that exhibited as result of a fixed ratio schedule. Whereas
under a fixed ratio schedule there is a steady, vigorous response
pattern, under a fixed interval schedule there is an uneven pattern that
varies from a very slow, unenergetic response immediately following
reinforcement to a very fast, vigorous response immediately preceding
reinforcement. This type of behavior pattern can be explained by the fact
that the person figures out that another reward will not immediately
follow the last one. Therefore, the person may as well relax a little until it
is time to be rewarded again.
Variable or intermittent Schedules
Both ratio the interval schedules can be administered on a variable or
intermittent basis. This means that the reinforcement is given in an
irregular or unsystematic manner. In variable ratio, the reward is given
after a. number of responses, but the exact number is randomly varied.
When the variable ratio is expressed as some number say, 1:50 this
means that on the average the organism is reinforced after fifty
responses. However, in reality the ratio, may randomly vary from 1:1 to
1:100. In other words, each response has a chance of being reinforced
regardless of the number of reinforced or the the non-reinforced
responses that have preceded it.

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The variable interval schedule works basically the same as the variable
ratio schedule except that a reward is given after a randomly distributed
length of time rather than after a number of responses. a fifty-minute
variable interval schedule means that on the average, the individual is
reinforced after fifty minutes, but, the actual reinforcement may be given
anywhere from every few seconds to every two or three hours.
Behavior under Variable Schedules
Both variable ratio and variable interval schedules tend to produce
stable, vigorous behavior under variable schedules is similar to that
produced by a fixed ratio schedule. Under a variable schedule, the
person has no idea when the reward is coming, and so the behavior
tends to be steady and strong. It logically follows that variable schedules
are very resistant to extinction.
Variable schedules are not very effective in highly controlled learning
experiments and are seldom used. On the other hand, they are the way
in which many real-life, everyday learning situations are reinforced.
although primary reinforcers for humans are administered on a relatively
fixed basis (for example, food is given three times a day at mealtimes,
and organization compensation plans are on either a fixed ratio or a
fixed interval basis), most of the other human behavior that takes place
is reinforced in a highly variable manner. For example, practically all
social rewards are administered on a variable basis. Attention, approval,
and affection are generally given as reward in a very random fashion.

6.6 OTHER TYPES OF OPERANT LEARNING

a) Aversive Conditioning
This is kind of conditioning response learning in which aversive stimuli
that is the Stimuli, that isunpleasant, painful or noxious) play a part.
Escape conditioning, avoidance conditioning and punishment training
are the various types of aversive conditioning.

i) Escape Conditioning
The organism learns to get away from a stimulus situation that is a
aversive to it. There termination of electric shock reinforces the
response. The repeated trials the subject escapes more and more
quickly from the shock.
ii) Avoidance conditioning

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Here, a warning signal is followed by the onset of an aversive stimulus.
This happens untill such time the proper response is made terminating
the aversive stimulation. However, a quick reaction on the part of the
subject help him to avoid the aversive stimulation completely. For
instance, rat placed in a box, which has two compartments, one painted
white and another black, separated by a low partition over which the rat
can jump. In the white portion there is a provision to give electric shock
to the rat and in the black portion the animal can stay without a shock. A
few minute following the sound of a buzzer, the rat is administered a
shock. After some random movements, the rat jumps to the black
apartment. Following such a procedure repeated a number of times; the
response generally becomes so immediate that the rat avoids the shock
totally.
In the case of human beings also, learned or acquired fears induce
behaviors and responses that remove a fear-arousing signal are
secondary reinforcing. When external stimulus situations given rise to
fear such as addressing a big audience, or pursuing a difficult academic
task, the response that would help the individual to get away from the
situation is reinforced by reduction of fear.
iii) Punishment Training
Punishments are generally used for suppressing or eliminating
undesired behaviour of an individual punishment training, an aversive
stimulus is contingent on responses. Cases such as not following the
rules of the road or an employee being taken to ask for late coming are
examples. Punishments generally result in suppressing the responses at
least for sometimes. Punishment or threat of punishment to improve
human learning has many problems. The individuals getting punishment
develop hostility towards the punisher. Punishment may also wound
one's feelings that one is not being wanted or loved. Punishments may
produce unrealistic and exaggerated fears. For instance, a child who is
punished for sex play may develop a generalized fear of everything
related to sex.

LET US SUM UP
One major form of learning is known as classical conditioning, first
studied by Ivan Pavlov. He stated that conditioning occurs when the
neutral stimulus after repeated pairings, brings about the same response
as the unconditioned stimulus. The second form of learning is operant
conditioning. According to Skinner, the stimulus can increase the

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probability that a preceding behaviour will be repeated. Generalisation
and discrimination are phenomena that operate in both the types of
conditioning. Learning is not always permanent, that is extinction occurs
when a previously learned response decreases in frequency and
eventually disappears. Shaping is a process for teaching complex
behaviours by rewarding closer and closer approximations of the desired
behaviour.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. ___________ is necessary for reinforcement, which in turn is an
essential condition of learning.
2. _______________ refers to that, an act which has an unpleasant
effect such as frustration of a motive, punishment, or fear, will not
be learned
3. _____________ was the first to conduct laboratory experiments on
instrumental conditioning leading to the formulation of the Law
of Effect.
4. One stimulus may become associated with two different stimuli
or with two different responses. True / False

5. ___________ is the process by which conditioned stimulus lose the

ability to elicit conditioned responses.
KEY WORDS
Classical conditioning Neutral stimulus
Unconditioned response Conditioned stimulus
Extinction Stimulus generalization
Discrimination Operant conditioning
Reinforcement Punishment
Ratio Vs Interval Schedules of Reinforcement
Fixed Vs Variable Positive Vs Negative Reinforcers
Shaping Observational learning
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. Motivation
2. Law of effect
3. Thorndike
4. True
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5. Extinction
MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Define Learning.
2. What is the important element in learning?
3. What are the three factors in learning?
4. Explain the Classical conditioning process.
5. What is Discrimination?
6. What is generalization?
7. Identify the stimuli and responses in classical conditioning.
8. Describe the operant conditioning through Skinnerian experiment.
9. Explain the various types of instrumental conditioning.
10. List out other types of operant learning.

GLOSSARY
Arousal: A state of physiological activation or cortical responsiveness,
associated with sensory stimulation and activation of fibers from the
reticular activating system.

Classical Conditioning: Refers to the establishment of a association

between stimulus and response. It is a type of learning in which an
initially neutral stimulus—the conditioned stimulus (CS)—when paired
with a stimulus that elicits a reflex response—the unconditioned stimulus
(US)—results in a learned, or conditioned, response (CR) when the CS
is presented

Contiguity: The co-occurrence of stimuli in time or space. Learning an

association between two stimuli is generally thought to depend at least
partly on the contiguity of those stimuli.

Learning: A relative permanent change in the behaviour. Also refers to

the acquisition of new information, behaviors, or abilities after practice,
observation, or other experiences, as evidenced by change in behavior,
knowledge, or brain function.

Motivation: The impetus that gives purpose or direction to behavior and

operates in humans at a conscious or unconscious level (see
unconscious motivation).

Neutral Stimulus: In classical conditioning, a stimulus that does not

elicit a response of the sort to be measured as an index of conditioning.
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Operant Conditioning: The process in which behavioral change (i.e.,
learning) occurs as a function of the consequences of behavior. That is a
behaviour is followed by stimulus (reward/punishment).
Reinforcement: The procedure that results in the frequency or
probability of a response being increased in such a way through the
strengthening with rewards.

Shaping: Refers to the production of new forms of operant behavior by

reinforcement of successive approximations to the behavior. By
providing proper rewards and punishments, the desired behaviour can
be brought out with.

SUGGESTED READINGS:

1. Clifford T. Morgan, Richard a King, John R. Weis and John Schopler,

"Introduction to Psychology" - 7th Edition. Tata McGraw Hill Book Co.
New Delhi, 1993.

2. Ernest R. Hilgard, Richard C. Atkinson, Rita L. Atkinson, "Introduction

to Psychology" 6th Edition, Oxford IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi, 1975.
3. Baron A. Robert, Psychology, Pearson Education Vth Ed.,
2002.

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Unit 7
TYPES OF LEARNING
STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
7.1 Multiple-Response Learning
7.1.1 Sensorimotor Learning
7.1.2 Rote Memorization
7.2 Cognitive Learning
7.2.1 Insight Experiments
7.2.2 Other types of Cognitive Learning
7.3 Programmed Learning
7.3.1 Principles of Programmed Instruction
7.3.2 Physiological Principles under laying Programmed
Learning
7.3.3 Limitations of Programmed Learning
7.3.4 Application of Programmed Learning
7.4 Programmed Learning and Automated Instruction
7.5 Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI)
7.5.1 Instructional Program
7.6 Transfer of Learning
7.6.1 Doctrine of Formal discipline
7.6.2 Learning to Learn
7.6.3 Transfer by Mastering Principles
7.7 Reward and Punishment in Learning
7.7.1 Controlling Learning through Punishment
7.7.2 Pros and Cons on the use of Punishment
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Keywords
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

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OVERVIEW
Conditioning is most directly to single identifiable responses, but much
learning is more complex than this. These more complex instances are
classified as multiple response learning. Some psychologists are not in
favour of over emphasis upon the automatic nature of learning that
comes from stimulus response associations. Much of our learning
consists of the acquiring patterns of sequences of behaviors, as in
learning athletic skills of in memorizing a poem. In this unit, we will
discuss about the multiple response learning, cognitive learning,
programmed learning and computer aided instruction, transfer of
learning and role of reward and punishment in learning.
OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you would be able to:
• explain about multiple response learning
• describe multiple response learning

• explain the components of cognitive learning

• discuss about the programmed learning
• explain the advantages of computer aided instruction

• analyse the transfer of learning

• highlight the significance of reward and punishment in learning

7.1 MULTIPLE-RESPONSE LEARNING

These patterns illustrate multiple-response learning, a kind of learning
involving more than one identifiable act, with the order of events usually
fixed by the demands of the situation. To study this kind of learning
psychologists have designed such laboratory tasks as mirror drawing,
target tracking, and rote memorization. The first two tasks are forms of
sensorimotor skill, and the last is largely verbal. Tasks such as these
approximate the learning of skills that are used in everyday life.
7.1.1 Sensorimotor Learning
By a sensorimotor skill we mean one in which muscular movement is
prominent, but under sensory control. Riding a bicycle, turning a flip from
a diving board, playing a piano, and typing are sensorimotor skills. They
are not simply patterns of skilled movements. The bicycle rider has to
watch the traffic and the bumps in the road and be guided by them. The
diver must adjust his timing to the height of the platform. The musician
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reads notes and attempts to play with feeling. The typist must follow a
manuscript and stay within specified boundaries. These considerations
call attention to the sensory control of skill.
Psychologists have not limited themselves to laboratory tasks in
studying skills. The pioneer study was, in fact, a practical one on
learning to send and receive telegraphic messages, carried out by Bryan
and Harter in 1897. Many of the best-established principles are first
worked out on laboratory skills, however, and later validated in more
complex practical situation. A convenient laboratory illustration is given
by the mirror-drawing experiment. We learn something of the importance
of the eye-hand coordination in developing the skills by studying what
happens when our usual eye-hand coordination's are inappropriate and
we have to reorient accordingly.
In a typical mirror-drawing experiment, the subject is required to trace a
pall around a geometric figure, such as a star, while viewing it in a
mirror. The subject knows that the correct performance is a smoothly
traced line within the path around the figure. The subject starts out by
using familiar habits. These of course cause trouble. When using the
visual cues from a mirror in the same way as cues in direct vision, the
subject will find that the pencil will not go where it is supposed to go. The
subject therefore attempts to correct: movements and gradually
approximates a good performance, although at firs a very jagged line is
drawn. Old habits may again interfere at the corners of the figure. With
practice, however, the lines smooth out, and the subject can achieve a
rapid tracing of the figure.
a) Learning curves for skill
Experimenters typically keep track of progress in skill learning by plotting
a learning curve similar to those used to depict the course of classical
conditioning. Two learning curves for mirror drawing are plotted, ore
representing massed practice which are the practice trails follows each
other consecutively within one period and the other depicting spaced
practice which are practice trails distributed one per day. Note that
spaced practice is more efficient, which is generally the case although
there are exceptions. This comparison shows how learning curves can
be used to display a relationship between two variables.

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 Fig 7.1 Learning curves from mirror
drawing The measure of proficiency is the time required to trace a figure
seen in the mirror. Improvement shows a decrease in time required and
yields a falling curve. If the measure of proficiency is a score that
increases with practice, then the learning curve rises. Scores in a target-
tracking task like the pursuit rotor are of this sort. The subject attempts
to keep the tip of a hand-held stylus in contact with a small metal disc
mounted near the edge of a revolving turntable much like that of an
ordinary record player. When the stylus is in contact with the moving
target, an electric circuit is completed though a clock. The subject's
score is the amount of time on target.

b) Qualitative Changes with Practical

A learning curve presents performance over the course of an experiment
as though the subject followed the same pattern of activity at the end as
at the beginning and improved only in efficiency. But, it is quite possible
that in the course of improvement the subject's method changed. For
example, in studying learning how to type, some investigators have
detected a shift from a letter to a word habit like learning the location of
the individual keys associated with each letter to a word habit, which is

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learning to write familiar words with a single burst of movement,
embedding the letters in a total pattern). Occasionally these higher order
and lower order learning conflict, and there is a period of no
improvement in the learning curve. This period is described as a plateau
because it has been preceded by improvement and will be followed by
more improvement when the higher order learning wins out.
7.1.2 Rote Memorization
By rote memorization we mean verbatim learning by repetition, as
contrasted with substance memorization. Experiments on rote
memorization take one of two chief forms, corresponding to the ways we
learn things verbatim in ordinary experience. One form is serial
memorization, as in memorizing poetry or lines of a play. In a laboratory
experiment, a list of words is memorized from beginning to end, so that
each word in the list is in some sense the stimulus for the word to follow.
The second form is paired associate learning, which is comparable to
the method sometimes used in learning the words of a foreign language.
The words are learned in stimulus response pairs, such as prepared-
afraid, careless-vacant, hungry quiet; a stimulus word is presented, and
the response word has to be learned. The pairs are not learned in any
special order and depending on the experiment, may or may not
be meaningfully related.

The experimenter usually presents the material to the subject by means

of an exposure device called a memory drum. The items to be learned
appear one at a time at fixed intervals in the aperture of the memory
drum. After the initial presentation of each item, the subject tries to state
in advance the next item to appear in the aperture. By keeping the score
of the subject's hits and misses throughout memorizing, the
experimenter can plot a learning curve from his record.
The anticipation method for rote memorization requires that the subject
try to state what lies immediately ahead. It can be used for either serial
memorization or paired-associate memorization. In the serial method the
item anticipated becomes the stimulus for the next anticipation when it
(the item) appears in the aperture; it is both a response item and a
stimulus item. In the paired associate method the stimulus item is used
only as a stimulus, not as a response. When the stimulus is presented in
the aperture of the memory drum the subject tries to anticipate the
response item, then the stimulus response pair appear together for a
brief period of study prior to presentation of the next stimulus item.

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7.2 COGNITIVE LEARNING
The kinds of learning that we have considered thus far all stress the
organization of behavior into learned stimulus-response associations. In
studying more complex forms of learning, attention must be given to the
roles of perception and knowledge, or cognitive processes. There is the
possibility that emphasis upon stimulus-response associations may lead
to too much concern for piecemeal activities and too little attention to
organized relationships and meaning. The teacher impressed by habit
formation may use rote memorization and drill excessively, without
caring enough about whether the child organizes and understands what
is learned.
Those identified with the cognitive viewpoint argue that learning,
particularly in humans, cannot be satisfactorily explained in terms of
stimulus response associations. They propose that, the learner forms a
cognitive structure in memory, which preserves and organizes
information about the various events that occur in a learning situation.
When a test is made to determine how much has been learned is largely
depend upon the situation. When a test is made to determine how much
has been learned, the subject must encode the test stimulus and scan it
against his memory to determine an appropriate action. What is done
will depend upon the cognitive structure retrieved from memory, which
preserves and organizes information about the various events that occur
in a learning situation. When a test is made to determine how much has
been learned, the subject must encode the test stimulus and scan it
against his memory to determine an appropriate action. What is done
will depend upon the cognitive structure retrieved from memory, and the
context in which the test occurs. Thus, the subject's response is a
decision process that varies with the nature of the test situation and the
subject's memory for prior events.
7.2.1 Insight Experiments
Partly in protest against too much study of the kinds of learning that
involve stimulus-response associations, Wolfgang Kohler, a German
Psychologist who immigrated to the United States, performed a series of
dramatic experiments with chimpanzees. At some point in working on a
problem, chimpanzees appeared to grasp is its inner relationship
through insight , They solved the problem not through mere trial and
error, but by perceiving the relationships essential to solution. The
following experiment by Köhler is typical.

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Sultan (Kohler's most intelligent chimpanzee) is squatting at the bars but
cannot reach the fruit which lies outside by means of his only available
short stick. A longer stick is deposited outside the bars, about two
meters on one side of the object and parallel with the grating. It cannot
be grasped with the hand, but it can be pulled within reach by means of
the small stick. Sultan tries to reach the fruit with the smaller of the two
sticks. Not succeeding, he tears at a piece of wire that projects from the
netting of his cage, but that too, is in vain. Then he around about him
(there are always in the course of these tests some long pauses, during
which the animals scrutinize the whole visible area). He suddenly picks
up the little stick once more, goes up to the bars directly opposite to the
long stick, scratches it towards him with the "auxiliary," izes it, and goes
with it to the point opposite the objective (the fruit), which he secures.
From the moment that his eyes fall upon the long stick, his procedure
forms one consecutive whole, picking the bigger stick by means of the
smaller is an action that could be complete and distinct in itself, yet
observation shows that it follows, quite suddenly, on an interval of
hesitation and doubt staring about-which undoubtedly has a relation to
the final objective. Then it is merged in the final action of the attainment
of the end goal.
7.2.2 Other types of Cognitive Learning

Apart from the learning types mentioned, hitherto, there are certain other
types of learning are prevalent. This may appear simple but do have lot
of social relevance and day to day living. They are:
a) Latent Learning
The word latent means "hidden" or that is too obvious. Latent learning
refers to the learning that occurs but this learning is not obvious or
apparent until the conditions for its appearance are favorable. Latent
learning is essentially a cognitive learning since it occurs without
reinforcements for particular responses; it also involves changes in the
methods in which information is processed.
b) Insight Learning
The term insight describes the phenomenon in which a problem is
posed. This is followed by a period of no apparent improvement in
solving the problem. Then a sudden solution occurs. The suddenness of
the solution is the unique nature of insight. Insight learning occurs
because it involves a perceptual reorganization of the elements in the
environment suddenly new relationships among objects and events are
seen. The nature of perceptual reorganization would be seen clearly by

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getting to know the experiments conducted by Wolfgang Kohler, a
German psychologist. He conducted many experiments making use of
chimpanzees as his subjects and this is explained in the next unit.
c) Imitation and Modeling
Learning by modeling is also known as observational learning, learning
by imitation, vicarious learning and social learning, such learning
involves the observation of a response or a sequence of responses on
the part of somebody else and later incorporation and display of these in
one's own behaviour is known as modeling or imitation.
Though the basic principle of modeling is the same, it may occur in
many different ways. Live modeling or observation is one kind. This
refers to the common form of learning, is by direct observation of a live
model by the learner. This involves significant persons like the parents,
friends and teachers with whom the observer has frequent contacts.
Verbal modeling is another, which, perhaps is mostly characteristic of
human beings. For example, through the use of vocabulary a person can
learn from another, such as a short-cut route to a destination. Imitative
behaviour is important in understanding such psychological phenomena
as language learning, attitude formation and personality development.
7.3 PROGRAMMED LEARNING
Programmed learning is essentially an instructional procedure that
represents an application of learning principles to educational practice.
This instructional procedure requires the learner participation, provides
immediate feedback and permits each individual to progress at his or her
own pace.
According to D.L.Cook programmed learning is a term sometimes used
synonymously to refer to the broader concept of auto instructional
method. According to Fred Stoftel," The arrangements of the tiny bits of
knowledge into a logical frequency is called the programme and its
process is called programmed learning"

7.3.1 Principles of Programmed Instruction

The principles of programmed learning are as follows:
Small steps: The materials to be programmed, are divided into
meaningful segment are presented through small steps.
Immediate Confirmation or feedback: As soon as the learner proceeds
through programmes, his response is immediately confirmed as to be
either correct or incorrect by knowledge of results (KR) and feedback is
immediately provided.
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Active Responding: For the success of any programme the learner has
to any how respond. Response is core of programmed learning that
keeps the learner busy throughout the programme.
Self pacing: An individual learner proceeds through a programme at his
own pace without care for the group. He is not forced to move quickly by
the teacher without mastery.
Student Testing: Regular and continuous testing of the effectiveness of
the programme to the particular individual learner is conducted by the
particular individual learner, is conducted by the teacher with a view to
improve upon it.
Book "Programmed instruction, Techniques and trends” has been
classified as the principles of programmed instructions into two groups,
Mandatory Principle and Optional principle. We would discuss each of
these principles in brief:
(i) Mandatory Principle

1) Objective specification: The programme, while developing

a programmed instructional maternal, specifies the objectives of
the programme in behavioural terms. He further specifies the
conditions under which the terminal behaviours are to be
manifested and states explicitly restrictions to be imposed. The
standard of judging the acceptable performance is also
mentioned in definite terms.
2) Empirical Testing: Programmed material is empirically
tested material. The programmer, after writing a few initial draft of
the programme tries it out in the following three phases.
(a) Individual tries out - The first draft of the programme is
tested on an individual in face to face testing. The Reactions
of the individual recorded for each frame.
(b) Small group try out - After modifying the programme on
the basis of individual try out, the programme to test on five
to ten representative students of the class for which it is
developed.
(c) Field try out-At the third stage, the programme, after
modification on the observation of small group, is
administered in actual class room conditions.
3) Self pacing: In programmed learning, the learner decides the
rate at which he progresses through the programme. He adjusts
the pace of the work to his own ability and motivation level. He is
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 not forced to work with the speed of other students of the class.
The principle of self pacing incorporates the concept of
individualized instruction.
(ii) Optional Principles
(1) Overt Responding: The learners are asked to respond
frequently to explicit or implicit questions as they progress
through the programme. The overt response requirement of
programmed learning insures that the learner will become and
remain active and attentive to the instructional material. The
active involvement of the learner increases the learner's
motivation.
(2) Immediate Feed Back: Back to the learner. It is the knowledge
of the result or the performance of the learner. When a learner
works through a programmed text, he is immediately fed back by
comparing his response with the response of the programme.

(3) Small step size: As already described the body of knowledge is

broken into small units (Frames) of the meaningful information
and presented one frame at a time.

7.3.2 Psychological Principles under laying Programmed Learning

Ernest R.Hilgard has summed up the psychological principles of learning
which support programmed learning.
(1) Programmed learning recognizes individual difference by
beginning where the learner is and by permitting him to
proceed at Rise own pace. It is possible that programmed
learning may success in reducing individual differences
because of these features.
(2) Programmed learning requires the learner to be active. Since
learner is active h/she feels more involved and learns faster.
(3) Programmed learning provides immediate knowledge of
results.

(4) Programmed learning emphasizes the organized nature of

results knowledge because it requires continuity between the
easier (earlier) concepts and harder (later ones).
(5) Programmed learning provides spaced review in order to
guarantee the high order of success that has become a
standard requirement of good programmers.

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 (6) Programmed learning reduces anxiety because the learner is
not threatened by task.
Advantages:
programmed instruction has innumerable advantages over the traditional
methods of learning that have been proved through research. A few of
those are enumerated as under.
(I) Foreign languages drill in spelling, factual information can
best be taught through programmed instruction.
(II) Teachers being free from routine classroom activities can
devote more independent time and think more creatively in
case of programmed instruction.
(III) Social and emotional problems, especially in the West, have
been effectively dealt through programmed instructions in the
classroom. The self instructional materials have successfully
eliminated the problem of indiscipline inside the class.

(IV) It caters for the individual needs through individualized

instruction and self pacing and can better serve a
heterogeneous population of learners.

(V) It helps the teacher to clearly diagnose the needs and

problems of the individual learner and correct those on
personal basis without any delay that is quite absent in a
traditional classroom of uncountable students.
(VI) Learning becomes interesting through the programmed
instruction. It provides challenge to the individual confirmation
of correct responses provides sufficient motivation to proceed
at a quicker speed towards cent per cent mastery.
7.3.3 Limitations of Programmed Learning
Though the supporters of programmed learning make high claims and
point out many advantages, there are certain limitations in programmed
learning which require presence of the teacher.
(I) In programmed learning students learn how to search out the
facts needed for a given purpose. E.g. Students cannot
develop the habit of using a dictionary of going the library
with the help of a teaching machine or programmed learning.
(II) In the rapidly changing world new situations arise quickly. In
order to function effectively in new situation and adjust

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 accordingly, the students require developing certain
personality qualities and social maturity.
(III) The third limitation of the programmed learning is that it does
not develop in students the ability to discover problems for
themselves and solve them on their own.
(IV) Programmed learning does not develop creativity among
students to the extent a teacher can.
(V) Teaching machines provide programmed learning in a
scientific manner and thus programmed is the science of
teaching. As regards the art of teaching it is possible only
with the help of a teacher.
(VI) Teaching machines and programme learning ignore the
human factor and do not provide opportunities for human
relations, which is now regarded as the fourth R. The 3 Rs
being reading, writing, and arithmetic.

(VII) Another limitation in programmed learning is that it does not

help in socialization of students. It is in peer groups play
groups and work groups that the social development of
children takes place.
7.3.4 Application of Programmed Learning
Programmed instruction can be applied where ever learning occurs,
whether in the classroom or in the industrial setting. In the classroom it
helps in regular instruction, enrichment of learning and for remedial
instruction. In industry, it helps discriminating the technical innovations
through refresher courses for up-to date professional development. This
can also be applied in teaching military sciences in defense, for example
teaching of electronic trouble shooting programmed instructions.
The use of programmed learning finds application in the following areas:
1. Teacher's training: Programmed material can be used at all
levels of teacher education programmes. Many teachers need to
keep abreast with the knowledge of the latest developments in
the field. In these areas programmed instruction is of
considerable aid.
2. Correspondence Courses: Education through distance
education is becoming very popular. It is emerging as a very
successful media for educating the masses as well as those who
want to continue their education.

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 3. Non formal education: Nor-formal education is becoming
highly popular in India, especially with especially with
unprivileged groups masses. Non-formal education makes use of
programmed learning.
4. Use for gifted children: Carefully programmed material can be
used to enrich the curriculum to cater to the needs of gifted
children.
5. Vocational training: Programmed instruction has been applied
to vocational training and psychotherapy. A technique of the
programmed therapy has been recently developed to correct
deviants to rehabilitate emotionally disturbed children.
6. Modification of deviant behaviour: Programmed instructional
material has been used very successfully to modify the behaviour
of deviant children. A project has been undertaken at Draper
correctional centre Elmore Alabama. The population consisted of
young sociopath offenders. The objective was to reduce the rate
of offences to rehabilitate the offenders in the society. The
immediate aim was to raise the academic standard to develop
vocational proficiency in the inmates. To achieve the objectives,
the project staff utilized the programmed instruction adapting to
the needs of individuals. The result of the project was very
significant.
7. Programmed instruction and exceptional children:
programmed instructional material has been used on disturbed
children slow learners with great success. Eldred his coworkers
conducted a study on slow learner's under-achievers with
programmed instructional technique. The student shows great
improvement in their performance.
Special programmes should be developed for exceptional children.
Abraham 1966 warned about the false assumption that a programme
developed for so called typical children will work for exceptional children,
disadvantaged population dropouts delinquents others.

7.4 PROGRAMMED LEARNING AND AUTOMATED INSTRUCTION

For centuries teachers have stood in front of classrooms and dispensed
words of wisdom. Students passed or failed depending on how much of
this knowledge they could recall at the time of an examination. This form
of instruction has obvious limitations when compared to a tutorial

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arrangement -a one-to-one relationship between the student and
teacher. But the cost of tutorial education makes it impractical on a
large-scale basis. In the 1950s, under the guidance of B.F. Skinner at
Harvard University, an effort was made to approximate some aspects of
tutorial instruction in the form of a teaching machine. The basic idea was
to present information to the student in a series of frames. Each frame
contains a new item of information and also poses a question which the
student must answer. After writing the answer usually in a word or brief
phrase), the student turns a knob that uncovers the correct answer and
exposes the next instructional frame. In this way the student goes step-
wise through a course, gradually being introduced to each unit of
instruction and being tested to see that he understands it.
With the advent of computers it became evident that teaching devices
could be developed that would be far more flexible and responsive to the
student than the Skinner-type teaching machine. As yet the use of
computers in business, science, and engineering far exceeds
applications in education. However, if potentials are properly realized,
the nature of education during our lifetime will be radically changed by
the computer. The most important feature of the computerized
instruction is that it permits a high degree of individualization and each
student can proceed at his own pace following a path through the
curriculum best suited to his particular interest and talents.

7.5 COMPUTER-ASSISTED INSTRUCTION (CAI)

Because of its great speed of operation, a large computer can handle
many students simultaneously as many as several thousand students
each at a different point in one of several hundred different curricula.
One of the student terminals of a computer-assisted instruction (CAI)
system used for research purposes at Stanford University. Located at
each student's station are a cathode-ray tube, a microfilm-display
device, earphones, and a typewriter keyboard. Each device is under
computer control. The computer sends out instructions to the terminal to
display a particular image on the microfilm projector to write a message
of text or construct a geometric figure on the cathode-ray tube and
simultaneously plays an auditory message. The student sees the visual
display, hears the auditory message, and then may be required to
respond. The student responds by operating the typewriter keyboard or
by touching the surface of the cathode-ray tube with an electronic pencil.
This response is fed back to the computer and evaluated.

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If the student is correct the computer moves on to the next instructional
item; if incorrect the computer evaluates the type of error made and then
branches to appropriate remedial material. A complete record on each
student is stored in the computer and is updated with each new
response. The record is checked periodically to evaluate the student's
rate of progress and to determine any particular difficulties. A student
making exceptionally good progress, may be moved ahead in the lesson
sequence, or branched out to special materials designed to enrich his
understanding of the curriculum. A student having difficulties may be
branched back to review earlier materials or to a special remedial
sequence. In a very real sense the Cal system simulates the human
tutorial process.

3.5.1 Instructional Program

The essence of teaching, whether in the classroom or under computer
control, also in the arrangement of the material to be learned. A body of
material arranged so as to be most readily mastered is called a program.
Instructional programs have two basic formats: the linear program and
the branching program. With the linear program, the student progresses
along a single track from one frame to the next; each time an item is
answered the student moves on to the next regardless of whether the
response was correct. The branching program allows the learner to take
any number of different paths through the curriculum. Each response is
evaluated; that evaluation determines, in part, where the student goes
next. An error in response is pointed out, and the student is given help to
avoid making that error again. The student who has done very well on a
number of questions may be given an opportunity to jump ahead; the
one who has made too many mistakes may retrace his steps or take an
alternative route in an effort to resolve difficulties.
7.6 TRANSFER OF LEARNING
An important issue in optimizing learning is the extent to which the
learning of one thing facilitates the learning of something else. If
everything we learned was specific to the situation in which it was
leaned, the amount of learning that would have to be crammed into a
lifetime would be phenomenal. Fortunately, most learning is readily
transferable, with some modification, to a number of different situations.
The influence that learning one task may have on the subsequent
learning of another is called transfer of learning. The term positive
transfer is used when learning one task does facilitate learning another.

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If one is a good tennis player, it is easier to learn to play squash; this is
positive transfer. But transfer is not always positive; when interference
occurs, we have negative transfer.
There are numerous examples of negative transfer in everyday life.
When driving a car with automatic transmission after having been
accustomed to one with a hand gear, we may find ourselves pressing a
nonexistent clutch pedal when changing from a pedal-brake to a hand-
brake bicycle; we may still try to press back on the pedal when we have
to stop quickly. The transition from driving on the left-hand side of the
street to the American procedure of driving on the right is difficult for
many Indian visitors to America and vice versa. The original! habit is so
over learned that even after driving successfully on the left for some
time, an individual may revert to right-side driving when required to act
quickly in an emergency.
7.6.1 Doctrine of Formal discipline

The problem of transfer of learning has been historically of great concern

to educators. For them it constitutes the very important practical
question of how the school curricula should be arranged to ensure
maximum positive transfer. Does learning algebra help in the learning of
geometry? Which of the sciences should be taught first to ensure
maximum transfer to other science courses?

One of the earliest notions of transfer of learning, prevalent among

educators around the turn of the century, maintained that the mind was
composed of faculties that could be strengthened through exercise,
much as individual muscles can be strengthened. This notion, known as
the doctrine of formal discipline, was advanced in support of keeping
such studies as Latin and Greek in the high school curriculum. It was
argued that the study of mother tongue/native language, for example,
trains a student's powers of self-discipline, reasoning, and observation.
7.6.2 Learning to Learn
A special example of transfer of training is a phenomenon that
psychologists have labeled learning to learn. Subjects who learn
successive lists of verbal materials over a period of days are able to
increase the speed with which they learn subsequent lists. Positive
transfer occurs even though the lists are not similar. The subjects that
are apparently learn a technique or an approach to the task that
facilitates their performance on later tasks of the same sort.
Another example of learning to learn is provided by an experiment in
which monkeys are presented with a series of discrimination problems.
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For each problem the animal is shown two objects for example, a red
triangle and a green circle and is reinforced with food if it selects the
correct object, which might be the red triangle. Object position is
alternated in a random order from trail to trial so that sometimes the
triangle is on the right and sometimes on the left. The animal must learn
to ignore positional cues in selecting the correct object. After the monkey
has learned consistently to select the correct object, it is given a problem
involving a different pair of objects.
7.6.3 Transfer by Mastering Principles
One factor that makes transfer possible is the appropriate application to
new situations of principles learned in old situations. The Wright brothers
applied the principles they learned in flying kites to building an airplane.
Principles of reasoning learned in logic are equally applicable in
mathematics. The following experiment demonstrates, the advantages of
the learning principles.

7.7 REWARD AND PUNISHMENT IN LEARNING

Anyone responsible for training or instructing, whether at home, in
school, or in business, has to decide what motivational techniques to
use. Success may depend upon the skillful use of rewards and
punishments to encourage and guide the learning process.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Rewards
In choosing goals for the learner, it may be possible to select those
intrinsically related to the task rather that those extrinsically related. A
goal is intrinsic if it is natural or inevitable. For example, the boy who
assembles a radio in order to communicate with a friend derives a
satisfaction inherent in the task when he completes the instrument and
finds that it works. The relation between a task and a goal is extrinsic if it
is arbitrarily or artificially established. For example, a father may promise
to buy his son a radio if the cuts the grass each week. The radio is an
incentive extrinsically related to cutting grass; there is no natural
relationship between cutting grass and a radio.
The distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is not clear-cut,
and in most learning situations both types of motivation are involved. A
child learning to ride a bicycle is usually intrinsically motivated by the
pleasure derived from mastering this new skill. But the fear of derision
from his peers if he fails may also be a motivation, an extrinsic one.

Whenever possible, it is advantageous to use goals intrinsically related

to the learning task. A child whose interest in music has been stimulated

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at an early age will persevere in practicing the piano longer than one
whose motivation stems solely from promised rewards and threats of
punishment. But even the intrinsically motivated child may require some
extrinsic rewards when the drudgery involved in the mastery outweighs
the satisfaction of making music. In most cases, if the person who
guides and controls the learning situation can capitalize on intrinsic
motives, the battle is half won.
We know that rewards are effective, but extrinsic rewards-such as prizes
for excellence-may have some objectionable by products:
1. A reward planned by an adult (parent or teacher) and arbitrarily
related to the activity is like a bribe, and may lead to docility and
deference to authority rather than to originality and self-initiated
activity. It may engender in the child an attitude of "What do I get
out of this?”. The activity becomes worthwhile only for the praise,
attention, or financial gain it brings. Cheating on examinations
sometimes occurs when desire for the external reward outweighs
regard for the processes by which the reward is achieved.
2. Rewards are often competitive. One or a few learners may be
encouraged by the reward, but many will be frustrated. If there is
only one prize and many contestants, the problems of the losers
must be considered. Is the gain to the winner worth the price in
disappointment to the losers?
These remarks, however, should not be interpreted as justification for
eliminating all extrinsic rewards in home or school situations. Evidence
to be discussed later with regard to behaviour modification.
7.7.1 Controlling Learning through Punishment
Folklore leads us to believe that punishment is an effective way of
controlling learning. "Spare the rod and spoil the child' is not an isolated
epigram. Fines and imprisonment are forms of social control that are
sanctioned by all governments. For many years arguments have
continued over the relative advantages and disadvantages of benevolent
treatment that is emphasizing reward for good behaviour and stern
treatment that is emphasizing punishment for error. The preference has
shifted slowly from punishment to reward. Has this shift come about
solely on humanitarian grounds or has punishment has been found less
effective than reward? Evidence from psychological experiments
indicates two important conclusions:
(1) punishment is often less effective than reward because it
temporaries suppresses a response but does not weaken it and
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 (2) when punishment is effective it accomplishes its purpose by
forcing the individual to select an alternative response that may
then be rewarded.
7.7.2 Pros and Cons on the use of Punishment:
In addition to its suppressive effect, punishment may unsatisfactorily
control behaviour for the following reasons:
1. The results of punishment, although they may include altered are
not as predictable as the result of reward. Reward says: "Repeat
what you have done." Punishment says "Stop it!" Punishment by
itself fails to give you an alternative. As a result, an even more
undesirable response may be substituted for the punished one.
2. Punishment under some circumstances tends to fix the
behaviour rather than eliminate it, perhaps as a consequence of
the fear and anxiety induced by the punishment. Punishing a
child for wetting the 'bed, for example, often increases the
frequency of the behaviour.
3. The byproducts of punishment may be unfortunate. Punishment
often leads to dislike of the punishing person-whether parent,
teacher, or employer-and to a dislike of the situation, in which the
punishment occurred.
These cautions about punishment do not mean that punishment is never
serviceable in learning and teaching. In fact, it may be useful for
several reasons:
1. Punishment can effectively eliminate an undesirable response
if alternative responses are available that are not punished or,
better yet, are rewarded. Rats who learned to take the shorter of
two paths to reach food in a goal box will quickly switch to the
longer path if they are shocked in the shorter one. In fact, they
will learn the new response more quickly than animals whose
response of taking the shorter path is blocked by a newly placed
barrier. In this case, the temporary suppression produced by
punishment provided the opportunity for the organisms to learn a
new response. Punishment was an effective means of redirecting
behaviour.
2. Punishment can be quite effective when all we want is that the
organism responds to a signal to avoid punishment. For
example, people learn to come inside when they hear thunder, or
to seek shade when it is hot and additional sun may cause

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 uncomfortable sunburn. Avoiding a threatened punishment can
be rewarding. The policeman is seldom a punishing person; he is
more usually a symbol of threatened punishment. How does a
policeman control us if he has never struck us with his stick or
placed us under arrest? Our anxiety explains, his control over us.
If we drive too fast, and see a police car in the rearview mirror,
we become anxious lest we get a ticket, and feel reassured when
we have slowed down and the police officer has driven
past without stopping us. Our reward comes from the reduction in
anxiety we feel as a result of conforming to the law.
3. Punishment may be informative. A child who handles
electrical appliances and gets shocked may learn which
connections are safe, which hazardous. A teacher's corrections
on a student's paper can be regarded as punishing; but they are
also informative and can provide an occasion for the learning.
Informative punishment can redirect behaviour so that the new
behaviour can be rewarded.
LET US SUM UP

In some of the features of programmed instruction and CAl that make

them effective are: participation by the learner, immediate feedback, and
rate and path through the learning materials adjusted to individual
differences. The influence that learning one task has on the subsequent
learning of another task is called transfer of learning. Positive transfer
occurs when one task facilitates the learning of another, when there is
interference we have negative transfer. Factors that produce positive
transfer include learning to learn and the learning to relax in the
situation, to ignore irrelevant stimuli, and to distinguish the relevant cues
and learning general principles. Punishment may be effective, however,
when it forces the individual to select an alternative response that can
then be rewarded, or when it serves as an informative cue to avoid a
certain response. Arbitrary rewards and punishments have some
unfavorable consequences.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. By a _____________ we mean one in which muscular movement is
prominent, but under sensory control.

2. _________ viewpoint argue that learning, particularly in humans,

cannot be satisfactorily explained in terms of stimulus-response
associations.
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3. By ___________ we mean verbatim learning by repetition.
4. _______________refers to the learning that occurs but not obvious
or apparent.
5. The influence that learning one task may have on the
subsequent learning of another is called__________
6. The _______________ whether in the classroom or under computer
control, lies in the arrangement of the material to be learned.
7. ______________ can effectively eliminate an undesirable response
if alternative responses are available that are not punished or, better
yet, are rewarded.

KEY WORDS
Multiple Response learning Programmed learning
Cognitive learning Rote Memorization
Latent learning Computer aided instruction

Shaping Positive Transfer

Negative transfer Reward Punishment

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. sensorymotor skill.
2. Cognitive.
3. rote memorization
4. Punishment.
5. transfer of learning
6. essence of teaching.
7. Latent learning.

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. What is multiple response learning?
2. Describe multiple response learning

3. What is cognitive learning?

4. Explain the components of cognitive learning
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5. Discuss about the programmed learning
6. explain the advantages of computer aided instruction
7. What is transfer of learning? Explain.
8. Highlight the significance of reward and punishment in learning

GLOSSARY
Cognitive learning: A change in knowledge attributable to experience

Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) : a program of instructional

material presented by means of a computer or computer systems.

Latent learning: ;Learning that is acquired without conscious effort,

awareness, intention, or reinforcement and is not manifested as a
change in performance until a specific need for it arises

Negative transfer: A process in which previous learning obstructs or

interferes with present learning.

Positive Transfer: The improvement or enhancement of present

learning by previous learning.

Programmed learning: Educational technique characterized by self-

paced, self-administered instruction presented in logical sequence and
with much repetition of concepts.

Rote Learning: Memorization by repetition without any elaboration or

other deep processing of the material.

Transfer of Learning: The influence of prior learning on new learning,

either to enhance it (positive transfer) or to hamper it (negative transfer).

SUGGESTED READINGS:
1. Clifford T. Morgan, Richard a King, John R. Weis and John Schopler,
"Introduction to Psychology" - 7th Edition. Tata McGraw Hill Book Co.
New Delhi, 1993.
2. Ernest R. Hilgard, Richard C. Atkinson, Rita L. Atkinson, "Introduction
to Psychology" 6th Edition, Oxford IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi, 1975.
3. Baron A. Robert, Psychology, Pearson Education Vth Ed., 2002.

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BLOCK - IV
UNIT - 8 MOTIVATION
UNIT - 9 EMOTIONS

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Unit - 8
MOTIVATION
STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Types of Motives
8.3 Physiological Basis of Motivation
8.4 Theories of Motivation
8.5 Social Motives
8.6 Motivational Factors in Aggression
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Keywords
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
Motivation becomes an indispensable concept in all areas of
psychology. Today, virtually all psychologists acknowledge the impact of
motivational variables on human behaviour. It is also concerned with the
factors that direct and energize the behaviour of humans and other
organisms. This unit provides the meaning and the physiological basis of
motivation. Various theories of motivation have also been discussed in
this unit. Further different current status of motives are elaborated and
the motivational factors in aggression, have been discussed in this unit.

OBJECTIVES
• After studying this unit, you should be able to
• understand the meaning motivation
• explain the physiological basis of motivation
• examine the different theories of motivation
• know the social motives and their impact on behaviour
• analyze the motivational factors in aggression

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8.1 INTRODUCTION
The term motivation and emotion derived from the Latin word “movere”
which means "to move”. The concept of motivation was introduced by
Robert Woodworth in 1918 into psychology. Psychology not only
discusses about the 'What' and 'how ‘aspect of behaviour but also deal
with the why' aspect of human behaviour. Actually the concept of
Motivation and emotion explain the 'why' aspect of behaviour. Motivation
refers to a presumed internal state of an organism that causes it to move
toward some goal. Motivation is concerned with the factors that direct
and energize the behaviour of humans and other organisms.
Psychologists who study motivation seek to discover the particular
desired goals, the motives, that underlie behaviour. Such motives may
be exemplified by behaviour as basic as drinking to satisfy thirst or as
inconsequential as taking a stroll to obtain exercise. To the psychologist
specializing in the study of motivation, underlying motives are assumed
to steer one's choice of activities.
MOTIVES
The study of motivation, then, consists of identifying why people seek to
do the things they do. Psychologists studying motivation ask questions
such as these: "Why do people choose particular goals for which to
strive?" "What specific motives direct behaviour?" "What individual
differences in motivation account for the variability in a people's
behaviour?" "How can we motivate people to behave in particular ways,
such as eating certain foods, quitting smoking, or engaging in safer-sex
practices?"
Motivation is concerned with the forces that direct future behaviour
whereas emotion pertains to the feelings we experience throughout the
course of our lives. The study of emotions focuses on our internal
experiences at any given moment. Most of us have felt a variety of
emotions; happiness at getting distinction on a difficult exam, sadness
brought about by the death of a loved one, anger at being treated
unfairly. Because emotions not only motivate our behaviour but can also
reflect our underlying motivation, they play a broad role in our lives.

8.2 TYPES OF MOTIVES

Motivation never acts in a vacuum but it always acting on and being
acted on by both learning and perception. Motivation explains the why
aspect of human behaviour.

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In this subsection, let us consider about the types of motivation. We
begin by focusing on the major conceptions of motivation, discussing
how the different motives and needs people experience jointly affect
behaviour. We consider motives that are biologically based and
universal in the animal kingdom, such as hunger, as well as motives that
are unique to humans, such as needs for achievement, affiliation, and
power.
The motives can be generally classified into i) Physiological motives or
primary motives, ii) Social motives.

8.3 PHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF MOTIVATION

Physiological motives are internal bodily needs that direct an individual's
behaviour towards the goal. These are also termed as biological
motives. Physiological motives are the "primary motives or drives”
because these needs are related to the survival. Various physiological
motives are discussed below:
In order to understand physiological drives we should know the meaning
of a concept called homeostasis. This is the tendency of the body to
maintain a balance among internal physiological conditions. Such a
balance is essential for the individual's survival. Body temperature must
not get too high or too low. Blood pressure must not rise or fall beyond
certain limits. The blood must not get too acidic or alkaline; it must not
contain too much carbon dioxide; it must not become too concentrated; it
must have a certain amount of sugar in it. If these limits are exceeded,
the individual becomes sick and he may die.
Physiologists have discovered that many homeostatic mechanisms are
involved in keeping conditions within normal limits. Physiological
mechanisms take care of many of the problems of maintaining a
homeostatic balance, but the body also makes use of regulatory
behavior. Behaviour that has the effect of regulating the internal
physiological conditions to maintain or restore the balance. Such
regulatory behaviour is behaviour that is instrumental in satisfying
physiological needs. When the body becomes depleted of water or food,
for example, it cannot maintain a balance by calling on its physiological
mechanisms. Rather, it must obtain more water and food from the
outside. It does this through motivated behaviour that normally succeeds
in procuring more water and food; after that, the homeostatic balance is
restored. The important point, then, is that physiological drives are part

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of a more general physiological mechanism for maintaining homeostatic
balance within the body.
Now let us consider some of the principal physiological motives
i) Warmth, Cold, and Pain
Warmth, cold, and pain are senses that take part in our perception of the
world, and they are treated as drives, for they can serve as powerful
motives that keep a person striving to restore them to a satisfactory
level.
Warmth and cold are regulated within limits by the physiological
mechanisms of homeostasis. When the body is too hot, it perspires and
does other things to reduce the production of heat; when it is too cold, it
burns more fuel and keeps its loss of heat to a minimum. In addition,
however, the individual may behave in such a way as to achieve a
comfortable temperature. When too hot, he takes off clothes, when too
cold, he puts them on. He raises or lowers the room temperature, opens
or closes windows, and so on. In extreme conditions of hot or cold, he
may exert most of his effort trying to obtain a relief. Instances of this sort
are so familiar that they need not be dwelt on. The important point is that
warmth and cold are among the physiological drives.
The hypothalamus is a center for the regulation of body temperature.
The hypothalamus is a relatively small region at the base of the brain
immediately above the back part of the mouth. It functions in emotion,
thirst, hunger, sleep, and sex-indeed in almost all physiological
motivation. This center probably responds directly to the temperature of
the blood circulating through it by increasing or decreasing the flow of
blood throughout the body.
In addition, there are receptors for warmth and cold distributed
generously over the surfaces of the body. These receptors are so
adapted to the temperature of the body that they are quiescent under
ordinary, comfortable circumstances. When the temperature around
them becomes either too hot or too cold, however the warmth or cold
receptors there are two different kinds are activated. Impulses from the
receptors are conveyed to the brain, which instigates efforts to relieve
the discomfort.
The physiological mechanism of pain as a drive is similar to that for
warmth and cold except that there are much more specific reactions to
pain. Sense organs for pain, which are probably, free nerve endings are
widely distributed throughout the skin, blood vessels, and internal
organs. These sense organs are usually stimulated by some injury to the
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tissues of the body. The individual then strives to remove the injurious
stimulus. If that cannot be done or if it does not help, he looks for some
way to relieve the pain.
The body is equipped with certain automatic mechanisms for avoiding
pain. A sudden pain in a limb, for example, makes a person reflex
withdraw his limb from the source of stimulation. He does not have to
think about it; he just withdraws, immediately and quickly. Sometimes
when the source of pain is deep within the body, there is no way to
withdraw from the source of injury. In such cases, the individual tries
many techniques to reduce the pain. Modern pain killing drugs are, of
course, the most effective ways of helping such pain. But they can fail,
and often they are not available. Then the individual may writhe, tear at
his tissues, lie down, try to sleep, try not to move, or try to distract
himself. Since none of these techniques is very effective, the individual
may become preoccupied with his pain and continue endlessly in his
efforts to reduce it. Such pain constitutes a powerful drive that channels
tremendous efforts toward one goal, the relief of pain and of course, the
most effective ways of helping such pain. But they can fail, and often
they are not available. Then the individual may writhe, tear at his tissues,
lie down, try to sleep, try not to move, or try to distract himself. Since
none of these techniques is very effective, the individual may become
preoccupied with his pain and continue endlessly his efforts to reduce it.
Such pain constitutes a powerful drive that channels the tremendous
efforts toward one goal, the relief of pain.
ii) Thirst
We constantly need water because we are constantly losing it by
evaporation from the skin and mouth and in the formation of urine. But
what is it about the need for water that makes us thirsty and therefore
motivated to drink? Thirty years ago, some physiologists declared that
the throat and mouth get dry when we need water, and therefore we
drink to relieve unpleasant sensations in our throats, actually the
problem is not as simple as that.
Certainly people will report that they drink to wet the mouth, but
apparently a dry mouth and thirst are two different things. There was, for
example, a man who had no salivary glands His mouth was always dry,
and he would often sip water just to wet his mouth. Despite the fact that
his dry mouth was never a good sign of how much he needed water, he
would from time to time feel thirsty. Furthermore, he was always able to
drink the right amount of water to meet his biological needs.

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Dryness of the mouth can be a good sign of thirst in normal people, but it
is obvious that other factors must also operate to produce thirst and
permit the individual to regulate his drinking in accordance with his
needs. Lack of water makes all the cells in the body give up water.
Within a center in the hypothalamus there are some cells that are
especially sensitive to loss of water through their connections with other
parts of the brain; they can regulate thirst according to the relative
amount of water in the body.
iii) Hunger
The need for food is as obvious as the need for water; the body is
always using up materials in growth, in the repair of tissues, and in the
storage of re-serve supplies. But the most important is the fact that every
function of our bodies from heartbeat to thinking requires energy, and
this energy must ultimately come from the metabolism of food.
When people need food, they usually report that they are hungry. For
some, hunger means a feeling of strong contractions in the stomach. But
for others, there may be no particular sensation of stomach contractions,
just a general feeling of weakness and lightheadedness. Some people
have both kinds of feeling at once.
But stomach contractions are not the whole story. First of all, some
people claim they never feel stomach contractions, but still they report
the experience of hunger. Second, and perhaps more convincing, are
facts obtained from people who have had their entire stomachs
removed. They have no stomach contractions, of course, but they still
get hungry. The same thing shows up in rats whose stomachs are
removed. These animals eat food eagerly, they get restless when it is
time to eat, and they learn mazes for food rewards just like normal rats.
Hunger therefore exists without the stomach or stomach contractions, so
we must look to other factors for the explanation of hunger.
Unfortunately, the exact nature of the other factors is not known. Many
kinds of chemical changes take place in the body when an individual is
in need of food. Some of them undoubtedly are very important in hunger
too. At the present time, we have only the barest idea of what
these chemical changes might be and how they might do their work.
Specific hungers: Organisms not only regulate when and how much
they eat but they also select what they eat. Given a chance, animals and
men balance their diets and eat approximately what they need of
proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Organisms
therefore are not motivated merely by a lack of food; rather they are very
specifically motivated for many particular foods. As a matter of fact, it
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has been questioned whether there is any such thing as general hunger
apart from the sum total of specific for the various food substances. But
we are still far enough from answering this question to warrant treating
the hunger and the specific hungers separately.
iv) Sleep
Sleep is typical of physiological drives in almost every way except that it
involves passive resting of the body rather than an active striving. We
therefore consider the need for sleep a physiological need comparable
to those for water and for food. Occasionally there is a person who does
not believe sleep is a need and tries to get along without it. The need for
sleep is real. Yet we cannot put over Finger on any accumulation of
waste products or special chemicals in the body that helps bring on
sleep. Sleep occurred independently of the condition of the blood. Sleep
is reported by centers in the brain.
v) Sex

Sexual motivation is unique in bio-logical motivation. It is a powerful

motive, yet the survival of the individual does not depend upon it in any
sense. Sexual motivation is also unique because we know more about
its physiological basis that we do about the basis of other kinds of
biological motivation. There is still much to be learned, particularly about
sexual behavior in our own society, but, as matters stand now, we have
excellent information on the sexual behavior of a wide variety of different
animals and in a wide variety of human societies. Sexual behavior can
be understood in terms of two main factors like the sex hormones and
the habits acquired through learning.
The sex hormones: - The testis of the male and the ovary of the female
secrete hormones that are responsible for the development of the
secondary sex characteristics of the body as well as for much of the
sexual behavior of the two sexes. When the sex glands mature at
puberty, with them develop the masculine and feminine body forms, hair
distribution, vocal characteristics, and adult sex organs. At the same
time, in animals as well as in human beings, interest in the opposite sex
typically develops in a sharp spurt. If the sex glands fail to develop
properly or are removed in experimental animals, very few of the typical
sex characteristics will show up in the individual.
There is no magic about the sex hormones, especially in the case of
human beings. They are not solely responsible for sexual behavior they
only help. When sexual motivation is low, extra sex hormones are not
likely to help. Neither is it true that homosexuality occurs because an

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individual has the wrong sex hormones. Giving a homosexual an extra
amount of hormone appropriate to his or her own biological sex will more
likely increase the homosexuality than reverse it, if it does anything at
all.
Among lower animals, such as the rat, the sex hormones are more
crucial than among the higher animals, such as the chimpanzee and
man. The specific female rat will never mate again unless given
hormones artificially. The male may continue to mate for a short while
after castration, but he then becomes incapable of sexual motivation
unless restored with sex hormones. The comparable story for human
beings is not so clear. There are cases among both sexes in which
removal of the sex glands made sexual motivation disappear, but there
are equal numbers of cases in which sexual motivation was unaffected
by castration or ovariectomy. The picture is all the more complicated by
the fact that there are men and women who are sexually impotent or
frigid but who still have perfectly normal supplies of sex hormones, The
information we have on monkeys and chimpanzees, however, indicates
that the higher animals really do not depend crucially on sex hormones.
The males in these species can be castrated without noticeable effect on
sexual motivation. It is clear that female monkeys and chimpanzees
show sexual motivation at times when their hormonal supply is very low.
This is not true among the lower female animals, but it is true of women.
So the sex hormones are important in the development of physical
sexual characteristics and sexual motivation. However, their importance
in sexual behavior is much greater among the lower animals than among
the higher animals.
Habit and sexual motivation:- In the sexual behavior of higher animals,
such as monkeys and human beings, the sex hormones are relatively
less important and habit and experience relatively more important than
they are in lower animals. Habit is much more important in the sexual
behaviour of man and higher animals. Habit can cause sexuality to
persist even when sex hormones are absent. Also, habit frequently
determines the way in which human beings express their sexual
motivation and the kinds of sexual outlets they prefer. Maternal behavior
is motivated behavior arising, like sex behavior, from a physiological
drive, indeed. Instinctive behavior is characteristically motivated
behavior associated with some identifiable drive.
vi) Maternal Drive
The maternal drive has its basis in a combination of hormones secreted
during pregnancy and shortly thereafter. One of the important hormones
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in the combination is prolactin, a product of the pituitary gland. This
gland is closely associated with the hypothalamus and concerned in the
regulation of a number of physiological processes, particularly those of
sex and maternity. The secretion of prolactin is stimulated by the
presence of a fetus in the uterus. Prolactin in turn stimulates the
mammary glands, which supply milk for nursing the young, but it is also
important in maternal behavior. When it is injected into a virgin female
rat, that has been given the young of another rat the injected rat will
accept the young and care for them in much the same way that the
natural mother would.

8.4 THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

The complexity of motivation has led to the development of a variety of
conceptual approaches. Although, they vary in the degree to which they
focus on biological, cognitive, and social factors, all seek to explain the
energy that guides people's behaviour in particular directions.
i) Instinct Approach
When psychologists first sought to explain motivation, they turned to
instincts, inborn patterns of behaviour that are biologically determined
rather than learned. According to this instinct approach to motivation,
people and animals are born with preprogrammed sets of behaviors
essential to survival. These instincts provide the energy that channels
behavior in appropriate directions. Hence, sex might be explained as
response to an instinct for reproduction, and exploratory behavior might
be viewed as motivated by an instinct to examine one's territory.
There are several difficulties with such a conception, however; for one
thing, psychologists have been unable to agree on what the primary
instincts are. One early psychologist, William Mc Dougall suggested that
three are eighteen instincts, including pugnacity and gregariousness.
Others found even more with one sociologist claiming that, there are
exactly 5759 instincts. Clearly, such an extensive enumeration provides
little more than labels for behavior.
No explanation based on the concept of instincts goes very far in
explaining why a specific pattern of behavior, and not some other, has
appeared in a given species. Furthermore, variety and complexity of
human behavior, much of which is clearly learned, are difficult to explain
if instincts are the primary motivational force. Therefore conceptions of
motivation based on instincts have been supplanted by newer

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explanations, although instincts approaches still play a role in certain
theories.
ii) Drive-Reduction Approach
In rejecting instinct theory, psychologists first proposed simple drive
reduction theories of motivation in its place (Hull, 1943). Drive-reduction
approaches to motivation suggests, that when the people lack some
basic biological requirement such as water, a drive to obtain that
requirement in this case the thirst drive) is produced.
To understand this approach, we need to begin with the concept drive. A
drive is motivational tension, or arousal, that energizes behavior in order
to fulfill some need. Many basic kinds of drives, such as hunger, thirst,
sleepiness, and sex are related to biological needs of the body or of the
species as a whole. These are called primary drives. Primary drives
contrast with secondary drives in which no obvious biological need is
being fulfilled. In secondary drives, needs are brought about by prior
experience and learning. For example, some people have strong needs
to achieve academically in their careers. We can say that their
achievement need is reflected in a secondary drive that motivates their
behavior.
We usually try to satisfy a primary drive by reducing the need underlying
it. For example, we become hungry after not eating for a few hours and
may raid the refrigerator, especially if our next scheduled meal is not
imminent. If the weather turns cold, we put on extra clothing on the
thermostat in order to keep warm. If our body needs liquids in order to
function properly, we experience thirst and seek out water.
The reason for such behavior is homeostasis, a basic motivational
phenomenon underlying primary drives. Homeostasis is the
maintenance of some optimal level of internal biological functioning by
compensating for deviations from its usual, balanced, internal state.
Although not all basic biological behaviors related to motivation fit a
homeostatic model- sexual behavior is one example. Most of the
fundamental needs of life, including the need for food, water,
maintenance of body temperature, and sleep, can be explained
reasonably well by such an approach.
Unfortunately, although drive- reduction theories provide a good
explanation of how primary drives motivate behavior, they are
inadequate when it comes to explaining behaviors in which the goal is
not to reduce a drive, but rather to maintain or even to increase a
particular level of excitement or arousal. For instance some behaviors

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seem to be motivated by nothing more than curiosity. Anyone who has
rushed to pick up newly delivered mail, who avidly follows gossip
columns in the newspaper, or who yearns to travel to exotic places
knows the importance of curiosity in directing behavior. And it is not just
human beings who display behavior indicative of curiosity: Monkeys will
learn to press a bar just to be able to peer into another room, especially
if something interesting such as a toy train moving along a track can be
glimpsed. Monkeys will also expend considerable energy solving simple
mechanical puzzles, even though their behavior produces no obvious.
Both curiosity and thrill-seeking behavior, then, shed the doubt on drive
reduction approaches as a complete explanation for motivation. In both
cases rather than seeking to reduce an underlying drive, people and
animals appear to be motivated to increase their overall level of
stimulation and activity. In order to explain this phenomenon,
psychologists have devised an alternative: arousal approaches to
motivation.
iii) Arousal Approach
Arousal approaches seek to explain behavior in which the goal is the
maintenance of or an increase in excitement. According to arousal
approaches to each of us tries to maintain a certain level of stimulation
and activity. As with the drive-reduction model, if our stimulation and the
activity levels, become too high we try to reduce them. But in contrast to
the drive-reduction model, arousal model also suggests that if the levels
of stimulation and activity are too low, we will try to increase them by
seeking stimulation. People vary widely in the optimal level of arousal
they seek out, with some people having, especially high levels of
arousal.
iv) incentive Approach
Incentive approaches to motivation attempt to explain why behavior is
not always motivated by an internal need, such as the desire to reduce
or to maintain an optimum level of arousal. Instead of focusing on
internal factors, incentive theory explains motivation in terms of the
nature of the external stimuli, the incentives that direct and energize
behavior. In this view, properties of external stimuli largely account for a
person's motivation. Although, the theory explains why we may succumb
to an incentive even though internal cues are lacking, it does not provide
a complete explanation of motivation, since organisms seek to fulfill
needs even when incentives are not apparent. Consequently, many
psychologists believe that the internal drives proposed by drive -
reduction theory work in tandem with the external incentives of incentive
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theory to “push “and "pull" behavior, respectively. Thus, at the same time
we seek to satisfy our underlying hunger needs the push of drive-
reduction theory, we are drawn to food that appears particularly
appetizing (the pull of incentive theory). Rather than contradicting each
other, then, drives and incentives may work together in motivating
behavior.
v) Cognitive Approach
Cognitive approaches to motivation focus on the role of our thoughts,
expectations and understanding of the world. For instance, according to
one cognitive approach, expectancy-value theory, two kinds of
cognitions underlie our behavior. The first is our expectation that a
behavior will cause us to reach a particular goal, and the second is our
understanding of the value of that goal to us. For example, the degree to
which we are motivated to study for a test will be based jointly on our
expectation of how well our studying will pay off in terms of a good
marks and the value we place on getting a good mark. If both
expectation and value are high, we will be motivated to study diligently;
but if either one is low, our motivation to study will be relatively lower.

Cognitive theories of motivation draw a key distinction between intrinsic

and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation causes us to participate in
an activity for our own enjoyment, rather than for any tangible reward
that it will bring us. in contrast, extrinsic motivation causes us to do
something for a tangible reward.
According to research on the types of motivation, we are more apt to
persevere work harder, and produce work of higher quality when
motivation for a task intrinsic. Some psychologists go farther, suggesting
that providing rewards for desirable behavior may cause intrinsic
motivation to decline and extrinsic motivation to increase. In one
demonstration of this phenomenon a group of nursery school students
were promised a reward for drawing with magic markers an activity for
which they had previously shown high motivation. The reward served to
reduce their enthusiasm for the task, for they later showed considerably
less zeal for drawing. It was as if the promise of reward undermined their
intrinsic interest in drawing, turning what had been play into work.
Such research suggests the importance of promoting intrinsic motivation
and indicates that providing extrinsic rewards or, as in this case simply
calling attention to them may actually undermine the effort and the
quality of performance parents might think twice, then, about offering
their children monetary rewards for getting good report cards. Instead,

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the research on intrinsic motivation suggests that can come from
learning and mastering a body of knowledge.
vi) Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow proposed a model which considers different motivational needs
to be ordered in a hierarchy, and it suggests that before more
sophisticated, higher order needs can be met, certain primary needs
must be satisfied. The model can be conceptualized as a conceptualized
as a pyramid in which the more basic needs are at the bottom and the
higher-level needs are at the top. In order for a particular need to be
activated and thereby guide a person's behavior, the more basic needs
in the hierarchy must be met first.
The most basic needs are those described earlier as primary drives:
needs for water, food, sleep, sex and the like. In order to move up the
hierarchy, a person must have these basic physiological needs met.
Safety needs come next in the hierarchy. Maslow suggests that the
people need a safe, secure environment in order to function effectively.
Physiological and safety needs compose the lower-order needs.
Only when the basic lower-order needs are met can a person consider
fulfilling higher-order needs, such as the need for love and a sense of
belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. Love and belongingness
needs include the need to obtain and give affection and to be a
contributing member of some group or society. After these needs are
fulfilled, the person strives for esteem. In Maslow's thinking, esteem
relates to the need to develop a sense of self worth by knowing that
others are aware of one's competence and value.

Figure: Maslow's hierarchy of Needs

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Once these four sets of needs are fulfilled - no easy task - the person is
ready to strive for the highest level need self-actualization. Self-
actualization is a state of self-fulfillment in which people realize their
highest potential. A parent with excellent nurturing skills who raises a
family, a teacher who, year after year creates an environment that
maximizes students' opportunities for success, and an artist who realizes
her creative potential might all be self actualized. The important thing is
that people feel at ease with themselves and satisfied that they are using
their talents to the fullest. In a sense, achieving self-actualization
produces a decline in the striving and yearning for greater fulfillment that
marks most people's lives and instead provides a sense of satisfaction
with the current state of affairs.
Unfortunately, research has not been able to validate the specific
ordering of the stages of Maslow's theory, and it has proved difficult to
measure self actualization objectively However, Maslow's model is
important for two reason: It highlights the complexity of human needs
and it emphasizes that until basic biological needs are met, people are
going to be relatively unconcerned with higher-order needs. If people are
hungry their first interest will be in obtaining food. They will not be
concerned with such needs as love and self-esteem. The model helps
explain why victims of disasters such as famine and war may suffer the
breakdown of normal family ties and be unconcerned with the welfare of
anyone other than themselves.
Reconciling the Different Approaches to Motivation
So far, we have examined several different approaches to motivation it is
reasonable to wonder which of them provides the fullest account of
motivational phenomena. Actually, many of the conceptual approaches
are complementary, and it is often useful to employ several theories
simultaneously in order to understand a particular motivational system.
Thus, as we proceed to consider specific motives, such as the needs for
food, achievement, affiliation, and power. Let us sum up various theories
of motivation to gain a better understanding about motivation.

Theory Description

People and animals are born with preprogrammed

Instinct
sets of behaviour essential to their survival.

When some basic biological requirements is

Drive reduction
lacking, a drive is produced.

Arousal People seek an optimal level of stimulation. If the

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 level of stimulation is too high, they act to reduce it;
if it is too low, they act to increase it.

Incentive External stimuli direct and energize behaviour

Thoughts, expectations, and understanding of the

Cognitive
world direct motivation

Hierarchy of Needs to form a hierarchy, before higher-order

needs needs are met, lower-order needs must be fulfilled.

8.5 SOCIAL MOTIVES

While hunger may represent one of the most potent primary drives in our
day to-day lives, we are also motivated by powerful secondary drives
that have no clear biological basis (McClelland). Among the most
prominent of these is the need for achievement.
i) The need for achievement: Striving for success
The need for achievement is a stable, learned characteristic in which
satisfaction is obtained by striving for and attaining a level of excellence.
People with a high need for achievement seeks out situations in which
they can compete against some standard be it grades, money, or
winning at a game and prove them successful. But they are not
indiscriminateD when it comes to picking their challenges. Instead,
people high in achievement motivation are apt to choose tasks that are
of intermediate difficulty.
In contrast, people with low achievement motivation tend to be motivated
primarily by a desire to avoid failure. As a result, they seek out easy
tasks, being sure to avoid failure, or they seek out very difficult tasks for
which failure has no negative implications, since almost anyone would
fail at them. People with a high fear of failure, will stay away from tasks
of intermediate difficulty, since they may fail where others have been
successful.
The outcomes of a high need for achievement are generally positive, at
least in a success oriented society such as our own. For instance, the
people motivated by a high need for achievement are more likely to
attend college than their low achievement counterparts, and once in
college they tend to receive higher ranks in classes that are related to
their future careers Furthermore, high achievement motivation is
associated with future economic and occupational success.
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Measuring Achievement Motivation: How can we measure a person's
need for achievement? The technique used most frequently is to
administer, a Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). In the TAT people are
shown a series of ambiguous pictures. They are told to write a story that
describes what is happening, who the people are, what led to the
situation, what the people are thinking or wanting, and what will happen
next. A standard scoring system is then used to determine the amount of
achievement imagery in people's stories. For example, someone who
writes a story in which the main character is striving to beat an
opponent, studying in order to do well at some task, or working hard in
order to get a promotion shows clear signs of an achievement
orientation. It is assumed that the inclusion of such an achievement
related with imagery in their stories indicates an unusually high degree
of concern with and therefore a relatively strong need for achievement.
ii) The need for affiliation: Striving for Friendship
Most people have a need for affiliation, an interest in establishing and
maintaining relationships with other people. Individuals with a high need
for affiliation write TAT stories that emphasize the desire to maintain or
reinstate friendships and show concern over being rejected by friends.
People who are higher in affiliation needs are particularly sensitive to
relationships with others. They desire to be with their friends more of the
time, and they want to be alone less often than people who are low in
their need for affiliation. At the same time, affiliation motivation may be
less important than gender in determining how much time is actually
spent with friends. According to the results of one study, regardless of
their affiliative orientation, female students spend significantly more time
with their friends and less time alone than male students do.
iii) The need for Power: Striving for impact on others
If your fantasies include being elected as an executive director of a
company, they may be reflecting a high need for power. The need for
power, a tendency to seek impact, control, or influence over others, and
to be seen as a powerful individual, represents an additional type of
motivation.
As you might expect, people with a strong need for power are more apt
to belong to organizations and seek office than those low in the need for
power. They are also apt to be in professions in which their power needs
may be fulfilled, such as business management and you may or may not
be surprised teaching. In addition, they seek to display the trappings of

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power. Even in college, they are more apt to collect prestigious
possessions.
There are some significant sex differences in the display of the need for
power. Men who are high in power needs tend to show unusually high
levels of aggression, drink heavily, act in a sexually exploitative manner,
and participate more frequently in competitive sports behaviours that
collectively represent somewhat extravagant, flamboyant behaviour. In
contrast, women display their power needs in a more restrained manner,
congruent with traditional societal restraints on women's behaviour.
Women high in a need for power are more apt than men to channel their
power needs in a socially responsible manner such as by showing
concern for others or through highly nurturing behaviour.
In common with other types of motivation, the need for power may
express itself in several, quite diverse, ways. How a particular need is
manifested reflects a combination of people's skills, values, and the
specific situation in which, they find themselves.
8.6 MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS IN AGGRESSION
Aggression refers to the behaviour directed toward the goal of harming
another living being, that the wishes to avoid such treatment. Aggressive
motivation refers to the desire to harm or injure others in some manner.
Human beings often have powerful desires to harm others. Such
aggressive motivation can produce them tragic consequences.
After witnessing the horrible carnage of World War I, Freud concluded
that human beings possess a powerful built-in tendency to harm others.
This view has also been shared by many other scientists. Most believe
that aggression is elicited by a wide range of external events and stimuli.
In other words, it is often “pulled" from without rather than “pushed" or
driven from within by irresistible, perhaps inherited, tendencies. Why do
psychologists hold this view? Partly because several findings argue
strongly against the existence of universal, innate human tendencies
toward aggression. Perhaps the most telling of these is the finding that
rates of violent crime differ tremendously in different cultures. For
instance, in many developed countries rates of violent crime are much
lower than those reported in the United States, whereas in some
developing nations rates are even higher. In fact, murder rates are more
than one hundred times higher in some countries than in others. These
huge differences in the incidence of aggression suggest that such
behaviour is strongly influenced by social and cultural factors, and that
even if it stems in part from innate tendencies, these are less important
than social conditions and other factors. This is not to imply that
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biological or genetic factors play no role in human aggression; on the
contrary, they probably due to the hormonal influences. But in the case
of human beings, most experts agree that aggression is influenced more
strongly by a wide range of situational factors that evoke its occurrence
and shape its form and targets, than by inherited tendencies or
mechanisms.
If aggression does not stem primarily from inherited tendencies, the next
question is obvious: What factors do influence its occurrence? Decades
of careful research have yielded increasingly clear answers. While it
would be impossible to summarize the results of all this research here,
we can at least take a brief look at several factors that have been found
to play an important role in eliciting overt aggression.
i) Social Factors
For many years psychologists viewed frustration as the major cause of
aggression. Research findings indicate, however, that in fact the
frustration is just one of many different social causes of aggression, and
perhaps not the strongest one. First, when exposed to severe frustration,
many people become depressed rather than aggressive. Thus, contrary
to one famous view known as the frustration aggression hypothesis,
frustration does not always produce aggression. Second, aggression
does not always stem from frustration; often, individuals aggress against
others because it is part of their role or job, not because they are feeling
frustrated.
So, does frustration play any role in aggression? The answer seems to
be yes. When individuals feel that their interests have been thwarted,
and that such thwarting is unfair, frustration can indeed be a powerful
cause of aggression. In fact, feelings of injustice have recently been
found to play an important role in instances of work place violence
violent outbursts in which the employees attack and even kill other
persons with whom they work.
Another social factor that often plays a role in aggression is direct
provocation from another person. Verbal insults or physical actions
interpreted as aggressive in nature often lead the party on the receiving
end to reciprocate, with the result that a powerful spiral of aggression
counter-aggression can develop. Large body of evidence indicates that
exposure to violence in the media television, movies, and so on has
been found to increase aggression on the part of viewers. Such results
have been obtained in literally hundreds of studies, so this is one of the
most consistent findings of research on aggression. Apparently, when
viewers witness scenes in which characters assault one another, they
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can acquire new and often ingenious ways of assaulting others. Further,
they learn that, such actions are an appropriate response to provocation
or frustration and that, moreover, aggression often succeeds. In addition,
they may experience reductions in their own restraints against such
behavior. Perhaps most alarming of all, exposure to a steady diet of
media violence can lead individuals to become desensitized to the harm
produced by violence: Scenes in which others are harmed, no longer
have any emotional impact on them. As you can see, the implications of
such findings are frightening for any society in which large numbers of
people are regularly exposed to scenes of violence in films and on
television.
If exposure to violence in the mass media has harmful effects on society,
why, you may be wondering, is there so much of it? One answer is that
the advertisers who pay for television programmes believe that violence
sells that violence is one way to increase audience size. Although this
may be true, findings reported by Bushman also suggests that the
television violence may actually backfire from the point of view of
increasing the sales of products advertised on the shows. Bushman
found that audiences who watch violent programmes are significantly
less likely to remember the content of commercials shown during these
programmes than audiences who watch nonviolent programmes.
Apparently, violent images on the television screen trigger the memories
of other violent scenes, and such thoughts distract viewers from paying
attention to commercials. These findings suggest that sponsoring violent
television programmes is not just questionable from a moral point of
view; it may also make little economic sense for sponsors.
ii) Environmental Factors
While social factors seem to be among the most important causes of
aggression, it is also noted that such behaviour sometimes stems from
other causes as well. Especially important here are any conditions in the
physical environment that cause the individuals to experience
discomfort, for instance, uncomfortably high temperatures disagreeable
crowding, or unpleasant, irritating noise. The negative feelings produced
by such conditions can increase aggressive motivation in several ways.
First, they may trigger aggression directly: When we feel bad whatever
the cause-we tend to lash out against others. Alternatively, such
unpleasant feelings may trigger negative thoughts and memories, or
may lead us to attribute others' actions to hostile intentions even when
this is not the case. In other words, unpleasant feelings may lead us to
think in ways that tend to activate aggressive motives. Whatever the

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precise mechanism that is involved, research findings do offer strong
support for the view that environmental conditions that we find
uncomfortable or unpleasant can sometimes increase our tendencies to
aggress something to keep firmly in mind the next time you are caught in
traffic on a sweltering day and feel your temper beginning to fray around
the edges.
iii) Hormonal Influences
Recent findings also suggest that sex hormones, especially the male sex
hormone testosterone, may play a role in aggression. Drugs that reduce
testosterone levels in violent human males seem to reduce their
aggression; and research on prisoners indicates that testosterone levels
tend to be higher in those who have committed unprovoked violet crimes
than among those who have committed nonviolent crimes. Also
testosterone levels seem to be related not only to aggression but to
prosocial behaviours.

In sum, aggressive motivation and the overt aggression it produces,

stem from many different factors. Identifying these factors, of course, is
an essential first step toward the goal of reducing the frequency of
human violence. However, the number of variables involved does
suggest that achieving this objective will not be easy.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Motivation is concerned with the forces that direct future
behaviour. True/False
2. Physiological motives are ________ bodily needs
a) external b) internal
c) both a and b d) none of the above
3. The tendency of the broadly to maintain a balance among internal
physiological conditions is known as homeostasis True/False
4. __________ is a center for the regulation of body temperature.
a) Hypothalamus b) Cerebral cortex
c) Amelia d) Cerebral medulla
5. Among the human several behaviour the sex hormones are

relatively more important than the habit and experience. True/False

154
6. __________approach proposed that people and animals are born
with pre programmes sets of behaviours essential to survival.
a) Drive-reduction b) Instinct
c) Animal d) Incentive
7. People vary widely in the optimal level of arousal they seek out.
True/False
8. The motivation which compels us to do something for a tangible
reward is known as
a) Intrinsic motivation b) Extrinsic motivational
c) none of the above
9. The need in which people realize their highest potential is known
as
a) Self-esteem needs b) Self-actualization need
c) None of the above
10. Incentive approach proposed that the external stimuli direct and

energize behaviour. True/False

11. The concept of achievement motivational was proposed by
a) Maslow b) McClelland
c) Atkinson d) None of the above
12. _________ is useful in measuring achievement motivation
a) T.A.T. b) Research Ink-blot test
c) WISC d) WAIS
13. A tendency to seek impact control or influence over others is
known as the need for power. True/False
14. There are no gender differences in the need for power.
True/False
15. The desire to harm/injure others in some manner is known as
a) Assertion b) aggression
c) aversion c) None of the above
LET US SUM UP

The concept motivation can be explained through motives. Motives are

composed of needs deficits within the person and drives needs that
155
cause the person to act. The whole sequence is called motivational
when the drive is goal-directed. Various emotional states may act to
influence motivated activity. People will under different emotional sets.
The physiological arousal associated with an emotion may even transfer
from one motive to another. Psychologists not only considered the
physiological motives hased on physical needs like food, sex etc but
also considered the social motives need for achievement, affiliation etc.
Human beings often have powerful desires to harm others and are
referred as aggressive motivation. Aggression has been influenced by
the entire social, environmental and ho factors.

KEY WORDS
Motives Homeostasis Physiological motives
Hypothalamus Instinct Arousal
Intrinsic motivation Aggression Extrinsic motivation

Hierarchy of needs Self-actualization Achievement motivation

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. True 2. b 3. True 4. a
5. False 6. a 7. True 8. True
9. b 10. True 11. b 12. a
13. True 14. False 15. b

MODEL QUESTIONS
1) Enumerate the physiological basis of motivation
2) Compare the different theories of motivation.
3) Elucidate the key concepts in Maslowian approach and discuss its
practical implications.
4) Examine the various motivational factors in aggression.

156
GLOSSARY
Affiliation – The state of being closely associated with or connected to
an individual, organization, company, etc.
Aggression – Aggression is a forceful and hostile behavior toward
another person that can result in emotional or physical harm.
Cognitive – Relating to or involving the process of thinking and
reasoning.
Hierarchy – Arranged according to people’s or things’ level of
importance, or relating to such a system.

Homeostasis – The process by which the body reacts to changes in

order to keep conditions inside the body, for example temperature, the
same.
Instincts – The natural force that causes a person or animal to behave
in a particular way without thinking or learning about it.
Motivation - Goal directed behavior

SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Clifford T. Morgan, Richard a King, John R. Weis and John Schopler,
"Introduction to Psychology" - 7th Edition. Tata McGraw Hill Book Co.
New Delhi, 1993.
2. Ernest R. Hilgard, Richard C. Atkinson, Rita L. Atkinson, "Introduction
to Psychology" 6th Edition, Oxford IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi, 1975.
3. Baron A. Robert, Psychology, Pearson Education Vth Ed., 2002.

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Unit - 9
EMOTIONS
STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
9.1 Emotions: An Introduction
9.2 Theories of Emotion
9.3 The Biological Basis of Emotions
9.4 Emotional Habits and Motives
9.5 Emotional Expression
9.6 Emotion and Cognition
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Keywords
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
In the previous unit we have discussed about the meaning, theories and
factors of motivation. Motivation is the state which drives the organism
towards action. Similarly, it is also observed that our emotions govern
action. Today, virtually all the psychologists acknowledge the impact of
emotions on the human behaviour. Emotions colour the human lives and
hence it is imperative to discuss the emotions of human in detail. This
unit provides a meaning for emotion. The various theories of emotion
with the biological basis of emotion have also been presented in this
unit. Further, the relationship between the emotions and the cognition is
also discussed in this Unit.
OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you will be able to
• explain the meaning of emotions
• analyze the various theories of emotions
• describe the biological basis of emotions
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 • list out the different emotional habits and motives
• identify the relationships between emotion and cognition

9.1 EMOTIONS: AN INTRODUCTION

At one time or another, all of us have experienced the strong feelings
that accompany both very pleasant and very negative experiences.
Perhaps it was the thrill of getting a sought-after job, the joy of being in
love, the sorrow over someone's death, or the anguish of inadvertently
hurting someone. Moreover, we experience such reactions on a less
intense level throughout our daily lives; the pleasure of a friendship, the
enjoyment of a movie, or the embarrassment of breaking a borrowed
item.
Despite the varied nature of these feelings, they all represent emotions.
Although everyone has an idea of what an emotion is, formally defining
the concept has proved to be an elusive task. We'll use a general
definition; Emotions are feelings that generally have both physiological
and cognitive elements and that influence behaviour.
Think, for example, about how it feels to be happy. First, we obviously
experience a feeling that we can differentiate from other emotions. It is
likely that we also experience some identifiable physical changes in our
body; perhaps our heart rate increases, or we find ourselves “jumping for
joy.” Finally, the emotion probably encompasses cognitive elements; our
understanding and evaluation of the meaning of what is happening
prompts our feelings of happiness.
It is also possible, for us, to experience an emotion without the presence
of cognitive elements. For instance, we may react with fear to an
unusual or novel situation such as coming into contact with an erratic,
unpredictable individual, or we may experience pleasure over sexual
excitation without having cognitive awareness or understanding of what
it is about the situation that is exciting.

Some psychologists argue that entirely separate systems govern

cognitive responses and emotional responses. One current controversy
is whether motional response takes the predominance over the cognitive
response or vice versa. Some theorists suggest that we first respond to
a situation with an emotional reaction and then later try to understand it.
For example, we may enjoy a complex modern symphony without at first
understanding it or knowing why we like it.

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In contrast, other theorists propose that people first develop cognitions
about a situation and then react emotionally. This school of
thought suggests that, it is necessary for us to first, think about and
understand a stimulus situation, relating it to what we already know,
before we can react on an emotional level.
Both sides of this debate can cite, the research to support their
viewpoints, and so the question is far from resolved. It is possible that
the sequence varies from situation to situation, with emotions
predominating in some instances and cognitive processes occurring first
in others.
Regardless of the sequence, it is clear that our emotions play a major
role in influencing our behaviour. On the other hand, not everyone
seems to experience emotions in an identical way. For instance, there
seem to be gender differences in the emotional experiences. Results of
a variety of studies confirm what popular literature suggests. Women
consistently report experiencing emotions more intensely than men and
expressing them more readily than men.
Although some researchers have suggested that this gender difference
is due to innate biological factors, a more recent analysis suggests that
the variation may be due to different societal expectations for men and
women. Psychologists suggest that women's greater emotional intensity
stems from the different social roles played traditionally by women and
men in society. Women for example, are more apt to fill nurturing,
caretaker roles in the home, such as those of mother and wife.
Furthermore, even when women work outside the home, they are more
likely to engage in professions in which nurturance is an important
component, such as teaching or nursing.

The functions of Emotions

Imagine what it would be like if we didn't experience emotion - no depths
of despair, no depression, no remorse, but at the same time any
happiness, joy or love, Obviously life might be considerably less
satisfying, and even dull, if we lacked the capacity to sense and express
emotion.
Psychologists have identified a number of important functions that
emotions play in our daily lives. Among the most important of those
functions are the following:

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Preparing us for action: Emotions act as a link between events in the
external environment and behavioural responses that an individual
makes. For example, if we saw an angry dog charging toward us, the
emotional reaction (fear) would be associated with physiological arousal
of the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. The role of
the sympathetic division is to prepare us for emergency action, which
presumably would get us moving out of the dog's way-quickly. Emotions
are the stimuli that aid in the development of the effective responses to
various situations.
Shaping our future behaviour: Emotions serve to promote learning of
information that will assist us in making appropriate responses in the
future. For example, the emotional response that occurs when a person
experiences something unpleasant - such as the threatening dog -
teaches that person to avoid similar circumstances in the future.
Similarly, pleasant emotions act as reinforcement for prior behaviour and
therefore are apt to lead an individual to seek out similar situations in the
future. Thus, the feeling of satisfaction, that follows, giving to a charity is
likely to reinforce a charitable behaviour and make it more likely to occur
in the future.
Helping us to regulate social interaction. The emotions we
experience are frequently are communicated through our verbal and
nonverbal behaviours. These behaviours can act as a signal to
observers, allowing them to better understand what we are experiencing
and to predict our future behaviour. In turn, this promotes more effective
and appropriate social interaction. For instance, a mother who sees the
terror on her 2-year-old son's face when he sees a frightening picture in
a book is able to comfort and reassure him, thereby helping him to deal
with his environment more effectively in the future.
9.2 THEORIES OF EMOTION
i) The James-Lange Theory
To William James and Carl Lange, who were among the first
researchers to explore the nature of emotions, proposed that emotional
experience is a reaction to instinctive bodily events that occur as a
response to some situation or event in the environment.
James and Lange took the view that the instinctive response of crying at
a loss leads us to feel sorrow, that striking out at someone who
frustrates us results in our feeling anger; that trembling at a menacing
threat causes us to feel afraid. They suggested that for every major
emotion there is an accompanying physiological, or “gut," reaction of

161
internal organs - called a visceral experience. It is this specific pattern of
visceral response that leads us to label the emotional experience.
In sum, James and Lange proposed that we experience emotions as a
result of physiological changes that produce specific sensations. In turn
these sensations are interpreted by the brain as particular kinds of
emotional experiences. This view has come to be called the James-
Lange theory of emotion.
The James-Lange theory has some serious drawbacks. However in
order for the theory to be valid, visceral changes would have to occur at
a relatively rapid pace, since, we experience some emotions such as
fear upon hearing a stranger rapidly approaching on a dark night almost
instantaneously. Yet emotional experiences, frequently occur, even
before there is time for certain physiological changes to be set into
motion. Because of the slowness with which the some visceral changes
take place, it is hard to see how they could be the source of immediate
emotional experience.
The James-Lange theory poses another difficulty: Physiological arousal
does not invariably produce emotional experience. For example, a
person who is jogging has an increased heartbeat and respiration rate,
as well as many of the other physiological changes associated with
certain emotions. Yet joggers do not typically think of such changes in
terms of emotions. There cannot be a one-to-one correspondence,
between the visceral changes and emotional experience. Hence,
visceral changes by themselves may not be sufficient to produce
emotion.
Finally our internal organs produce a relatively limited range of
sensations. Although some types of physiological changes are
associated with specific emotional experiences it is difficult to imagine
how the ranges of emotions that people are capable of experiencing
could be the result of unique visceral changes. Many emotions are
actually associated with relatively similar sorts of visceral changes, a fact
that contradicts the James-Lange theory.
ii) The Cannon-Bard Theory
In response to the difficulties inherent in the James-Lange theory, Walter
Cannon and Philip Bard suggested an alternative view, which has come
to be known as the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion. The major thrust of
the theory is to reject the view that physiological arousal alone leads to
the perception of emotion. Instead, the theory assumes that both
physiological arousal and the emotional experience are produced

162
simultaneously by the same nerve impulse, which Cannon and Bard
suggested emanates from the brain's thalamus.
According to this theory, after an emotion inducing stimulus is perceived,
the thalamus is the initial site of the emotional response. In turn, the
thalamus sends a signal to the autonomic nervous system, thereby
producing a visceral response. At the same time, the thalamus
communicates a message to the cerebral cortex regarding the nature of
the emotion being experienced. Hence, it is not necessary for different
emotions to have a unique physiological pattern that is associated with
them as long as the message sent to the cerebral cortex differs
according to the specific emotion.
The Cannon-Bard theory seems to have been accurate in its rejection of
the view that physiological arousal alone accounts for emotions.
However, recent research has led to some important modifications of the
theory.

iii) The Schachter-Singer Theory

Suppose as in our earlier example, you were walking down a dark street,
fearful of the stranger who appeared to be following you? Additionally
assume that you notice a woman on the other side of the street who also
appears to be followed. However, suppose that the women, instead of
reacting with fear, begin to laugh and act gleeful. Might the reactions of
this woman be sufficient to lay your own fears to rest? Might you, in fact,
decide there is nothing to fear, and get into the spirit of the evening by
beginning to feel glee yourself?
According to an explanation that focuses on the role of cognition, the
Schachter-Singer theory of emotion, this might very well happen. This
approach to explaining emotions emphasizes that we identify the
emotions, we are experiencing by observing our environment and
comparing ourselves with others.
A classic experiment found evidence for this hypothesis. In the study,
subjects were told that they would receive an injection of a vitamin called
Suproxin. In reality, they were given epinephrine, a drug that causes an
increase in physiological arousal, including higher heart and respiration
rates and a reddening of the face, responses that typically occur during
strong emotional reactions. Although, one group of subjects was
informed of the actual effects of the drug, another was left unaware.

Subjects in both groups were then individually placed in a situation

where a confederate of the experimenter acted in one of two ways. In
one condition, he acted angry and hostile, complaining that he would
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refuse to answer the personal questions on a questionnaire that the
experimenter had asked him to complete. In the other condition, his
behavior was quite the opposite. He behaved euphorically, flying paper
airplanes and tossing wads of paper, in general acting in an exuberant
manner.
The purpose of the experiment was to determine, how the subjects
would react emotionally to the confederate's behavior. When they were
asked to describe their own emotional state, at the end of the
experiment, subjects who had been told of the effects of the drug were
relatively unaffected by the behaviour of the confederate. They thought
their physiological arousal was due to the drug and therefore were not
faced with the need to find a reason for their arousal. Hence, they
reported experiencing relatively little emotion.
On the other hand, subjects who had not been told of the drug's real
effects were influenced by the confederate's behaviour. Those subjects
exposed to the angry confederate reported that they felt angry, while
those exposed to the euphoric confederate reported feeling happy. In
sum, the results suggest that uninformed subjects turned to the
environment and the behaviour of others for an explanation of the
physiological arousal they were experiencing.
The results of the Schachter-Singer experiment, then, support a
cognitive view of emotions, in which the emotions are determined jointly
by a relatively nonspecific kind of physiological arousal and the labeling
of the arousal based on cues from the environment. The Schachter-
Singer theory of emotion has led to some clever experiments in several
areas of psychology.
The Schachter-Singer theory of emotions is important because of its
suggestion that, at least under some circumstances, emotional
experiences are a joint function of physiological arousal and the labeling
of that arousal. When the source of physiological arousal is unclear, we
may look to our surroundings to determine just what it is we are
experiencing.
iv) Opponent-Process Theory of Emotion
The opponent-process theory of emotion (Solomon, 1982) suggests that
an emotional and reaction to a stimulus is followed automatically by an
opposite reaction, and repeated exposure to a stimulus causes the initial
reaction to weaken and the opponent process or opposite reaction to
strengthen.

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For example, consider a surgeon who initially experiences very positive
emotions each time she successfully completes a lifesaving operation.
Later, however, she experiences a sharp emotional letdown. Over time,
her positive reactions decrease, while the letdown intensifies or occurs
sooner after each medical procedure. As a result: she may gradually
reduce the number of operations she performs or, at least, become
increasingly bored with and indifferent to her work.
Opponent-process theory provides the important insights into drug
addiction. For instance, heroin users initially experience intense pleasure
followed by unpleasant sensations of withdrawal. With repeated use of
the drug, the pleasure becomes less intense and the unpleasant
withdrawal reactions strengthen (Marlatt et al., 1988). In response,
addicts begin to use the drug not for the pleasure it provides, but to
avoid the negative feelings that occur when they don't use it.
In sum, opponent-process theory suggests that a law of physics every
action produces a reaction may apply to emotions as well. Every
emotional action produces a reaction, and such cycles can have
important effects on many aspects of our behaviour.

Theories of Emotion: An Over view

Theory of Emotion Basic Assumptions

i) James-Lange Theory Subjective emotional experiences result

from physiological changes within our
bodies. e.g., we feel sorry because we
cry, frightened because we run away
from something etc.

ii) Cannon-Bard Theory Emotion-provoking events induce

simultaneously the subjective
experiences we label as emotions and
the physiological reactions that
accompany them.

iii) Schachter-Singer Emotion-provoking events produce

increased arousal; in response to the
(Two - Factor) Theory
arousal we search the external
environment in order to identify the
causes behind it. The factors we
identify then determine the label we
place on our arousal and the emotion we
experience.

iv) Opponent Process Emotional reactions to a stimulus

Theory are followed automatically by an
opposite reaction; repeated exposure to

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 a stimulus causes the initial reaction to
weaken and the opponent process
(opposite reaction) to strengthen.

9.3 THE BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF EMOTIONS

Emotions are complex reactions, involving not only the intense
subjective feelings we label as "joy, "anger", "sorrow” and so on, but also
outward emotional expressions and the ability (or abilities) to understand
emotional information e.g., the ability to read” the emotional reactions of
the others. Research on the biological and neural bases of emotions
indicates that different portions of the brain play a role in each of these
components. Research concerning the neural basis of emotion is
complex, hence let us simply summarize a few of the key findings.
First, it appears that the right cerebral hemisphere plays an especially
important role in emotional functions. The right hemisphere seems to be
specialized for processing emotional information. Individuals with
damage to the right hemisphere have difficulty in understanding the
emotional tone of another person's voice or in correctly describing
emotional scenes. Similarly, among healthy persons with no damage to
their brains, individuals do better at identifying others emotions when
such information is present to their right hemisphere rather than to their
left hemisphere. The right hemisphere also seems to be specialized for
the expression of emotion, for instance, patients with damage to the right
hemisphere are less successful at expressing emotions through the tone
of their voice than persons without such damage.
In addition, there appear to be important differences between the left
and right hemispheres of the brain with respect to two key aspects of
emotion: valance - the extent to which an emotion is pleasant or
unpleasant; and arousal - the intensity of emotion. Activation of the left
hemisphere is associated with approach, response to reward, and
positive affect (i.e., positive feelings), whereas activation of the right
hemisphere is associated with avoidance, withdrawal from aversive
stimuli and negative affect. Further, anterior regions of the hemispheres
are associated primarily with the valence (pleasant-unpleasant)
dimension, while posterior regions are associated primarily with arousal
(intensity). These findings have important implications for our
understanding of the neural basis of various psychological disorders. For
instance, depression and anxiety disorders involve negative feelings or
emotions, but depression is usually associated with low arousal that the
depressed people lack energy while anxiety is associated with high
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arousal. This leads to interesting predictions: Persons suffering from
depression should show reduced activity in the right posterior region,
while persons suffering from anxiety should show increased activity in
that brain region. These predictions have been confirmed in several
studies. Insight into the neural mechanisms that underlie such disorders
can be an important first step toward developing effective treatments for
them, so our growing knowledge of the neural bases of emotions has
important practical as well as scientific implications.
Additional research indicates that structures deep within the brain, too,
play an important role in emotions. In particular, the amygdala seems to
be involved in our ability to judge the intensity, although not the valence,
of other's emotions. Studies suggest that the amygdala plays a key role
in our interpretation of emotional information relating to threat or danger
for instance, signs of fear or anger on the part of other persons. From an
evolutionary perspective, the existence of the systems within the brain
that focus on expressions of fear on anger makes considerable sense:
Being able to respond quickly to such stimuli can mean the difference
between survival and death.

9.4 EMOTIONAL HABITS AND MOTIVES

Emotions can function in human life both as habits (learned reactions)
and as motives. Learned emotional habits can be reactions not only to
physical things and the actions of other people, but also to one's own
thoughts and expectations. Emotions are also motives when they impart
an impetus to behavior and give it direction to-ward certain goals. Let us
then consider in detail how emotional habits are acquired and the role of
these habits are applied in motivation. The discussion will revolve
around three basic emotional patterns: pleasure, fear, and anger.
i) Pleasure
Pleasure, is the accompaniment of satisfying a drive. Hence the
achievement of any goal, whether it is a primary goal, such as eating or
drinking, or a secondary goal, such as social approval or academic
achievement, is experienced as pleasant. This general principle can be
extended to the relief of any tension and indeed to relief from such
emotions as fear and anger. The goal of fear is to escape a fear-
producing situation or fear itself; the goal of anger is to attack, destroy,
or hurt the thing provoking anger. Hence the achievement of these goals
is also regarded as pleasant.

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Any situation regularly associated with a goal becomes a secondary goal
itself. This principle applies to the pleasure we take in the achievement
of goals. Anything connected with the satisfaction of drives may itself
become a goal and, when achieved, gives pleasure. Thus we like to be
around people with whom we have shared satisfying experiences. We
like to make money because it satisfies other needs. We like to go back
to places where we formerly had a good time.
ii) Fears
Responses to an object or situation perceived as threatening and which
the individuals believe he cannot cope with is termed as Fear, which is
one of the important emotions.
The experiment done by Watson and Rayner with little Albert
demonstrates two points: One is the conditioning of fear. Any stimulus
regularly present when a fear response is made can itself become a
stimulus for fear. The other is the phenomenon of generation. The fear
that is learned is not restricted to the conditioning stimulus but
generalizes to similar objects. Both conditioning and generalization are
important factors in building up our repertory of learned fears.

People acquire many different sorts of fears. If a person has a bad fall
from a height, he may go through life fearing high places. A child who is
lost and terrified in a crowd of people may, even as an adult, fear being
in a crowd. If at some time he is locked up in a dark closet, he may
thereafter be afraid of being in a room with all the doors closed. Since
people may have varied experiences of this kind, a very large number of
specific fears may be found in any one person.
Parents and society deliberately use the fear of punishment to enforce
their will and to teach approved ways of behaving. The punishment may
be something painful, such as a whipping. But most often it is the
frustration of other drives loss of money: loss of freedom (imprisonment),
which frustrates a number of drives; or loss of social approval, status,
and related social goals. Our government uses fear of fine or
imprisonment to enforce its laws, and people use fear of loss of friends,
privileges, and social prestige to control each other's behavior. Fear of
loss of freedom appears to be a most potent motive for getting nations to
fight. Indeed, everywhere we look, we see fear profoundly influencing
what people do and what they work for.
Fears become important motives in life because we have so many
opportunities to acquire them. In childhood there are physical hazards
like falling down the steps and getting burned in the fire, and the child

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comes to fear those situations in which he has been harmed. Soon the
parent starts using fear deliberately. By punishing and at the same time
saying "no, a parent soon teaches an infant to fear punishment, and the
signal for evoking this fear is the word "no." Later on, the teaching of
fear becomes more complicated. To motivate the child, the parent may
put him to bed without his supper, deny him his ice cream or chocolate,
or not allow him to go out and play. Thus the child is taught to fear/ loss
or denial of the things he wants.
iii) Anger
Anger, is provoked by restraints, including any interference with the goal
directed activity. This means that anger is produced by frustration by not
having or getting what one wants. Frustration may not always elicit
anger, but anger is usually caused by frustration or by circumstances
that have previously caused frustration. Keeping this point in mind, we
can note the following points about anger as a habit and as a motive.

Anger can be learned as a social technique for achieving goals.

The persistence of temper tantrums in children is a good example. In
many children, the temper tantrum is a natural reaction to frustration. If
the baby wants something he cannot have, he gets mad and throws a
tantrum. If this does not work, he will probably try other, more
reasonable approaches, and the temper reaction to frustration will tend
to die out. Thus he learns not to get mad, but to find other means of
relieving his frustration. If, on the other hand, the temper tantrum does
get him what he wants as it often will, when parents give in because they
cannot stand the annoyance of the tantrum, then the baby learns to
throw tantrums whenever he is frustrated. If the tantrums continue to be
successful, he will habitually get angry, whenever he is frustrated, using
anger as a device for getting what he wants.
There is a corollary to this: if fighting generally is successful, fighting
tends to be learned. If it is not successful, it tends to drop out. This point
is demonstrated in laboratory experiments with fighting mice. When
strange mice are paired up, they tend to fight. One usually wins and the
other loses. The mouse that wins is more likely to fight again; the one
that loses is more likely to retreat and give up without a fight. The same
general principal probably applies to fighting in children. The boy who
usually wins his battles is likely to become a bully who is always picking
fights, but the boy who has lost a few times learns to avoid fighting if he
can.
Parents and society try in various ways to suppress angry behaviour.
Children are usually punished for outbursts of anger. In adults, even the
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slightest display of anger may be perceived upon as socially
disapproved behavior. So, both by failing to reward anger and by
punishing its expression, society attempts to teach us not to get angry.
This raises an interesting problem. The punishment of anger is itself
frustrating and hence anger provoking. First, inability to express anger to
blow off steam is frustrating because it prevents achievement of one's
goal, namely, to attack or destroy whatever is doing the frustrating.
Secondly, any sort of punishment can be frustrating, and the threat of
punishment can thus be anger provoking. Society, therefore, in its effort
to suppress anger actually provokes anger. The result then is not so
much to teach people not to be angry as it is to teach them not to
express anger. Anger merely smolders inside instead of coming out into
the open.
Anger can be conditioned and generalized in the same way as fear. We
get angry at whatever keeps us from achieving our ends, and if the
same thing a conditioned hostility toward the obstacle and other things
similar to it. A harsh father, for example, who frequently makes his son
angry by restricting the son's activities, may become such a stimulus for
anger that the boy becomes generally hostile toward him even when he
is doing nothing to frustrate the boy. When the boy grows up, he may be
hostile to all the superiors, if he generalizes to them, the feelings he has
toward his father. Such conditioned hostility is fairly common among
older children and adults.
Attitudes and Prejudices: The tendency to react emotionally to people
and things formerly associated with emotional behaviour helps to
account for our preferences and aversions. We prefer the kinds of things
which formerly gave us pleasure, and we are averse to those which
made us fearful or angry. This is also true of our attitudes and
prejudices. An attitude is a tendency to respond positively (favourably) or
negatively (unfavorably) to certain per-sons, objects, or situations.
Hence it is a tendency to react emotionally in one direction or another.
An attitude may be fearful, hostile, or pleasant. Whichever it is depends
on our previous conditioning of emotional reactions to certain kinds of
people or things and then the generalization of these reactions to similar
people or things. This is the general way we learn about our prejudices.
Attitudes and prejudices are discussed at length in a later chapter. Here
we simply want to point out that they are emotionally toned tendencies
learned through conditioning and generalization.
Conflict and Frustration: Frustration, we have just seen, is a key to
under-standing anger and hostility. We have seen too that fear of
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punishment is frustrating and hence a source of anger. For that reason,
we need to consider more carefully the common sources of frustration.
Generally speaking, sources of frustration may be classified into the
three categories described below.
Environmental frustration: Environmental obstacles frustrate the
satisfaction of motives by making it difficult or impossible for a person to
attain his goal. These environmental obstacles may be something
physical, such as a locked door or lack of money. They may be people
parents, teachers, or policemen who prevent us from achieving our
goals. In general, environmental obstacles are the most important
sources of frustration for children. What usually prevents children from
doing the thing they want to do is some restraint or obstacle that is
imposed by their parents or teachers.
Personal frustration: As children grow up and move toward adulthood,
unattainable goals loom increasingly more important as sources of
frustration. These goals are largely learned goals that cannot be
achieved because they are out of reach of the person's abilities. A child,
for example, may learn to aspire to high academic achievement, but lack
the ability to make better than a mediocre record. He may want to make
the school band, the football team, to be admitted to a certain club, or to
have the lead in a play, but be frustrated because he doesn't have the
necessary talents. The trouble here is that one may learn goals levels of
aspiration that are too high for one's level of performance.
Conflict frustration: The adult, as well as the child, has his share of
environmental obstacles and unattainable goals, but his most important
source of frustration is likely to be motivational conflict. This is
frustration caused by a conflict of motives. The expression of anger, for
example, is usually caught in such a conflict. On the one hand, a person
would like to vent his anger, but on the other hand, he fears the social
disapproval that would result if he did. The anger motive is thus in
conflict with the motive for social approval. In Western societies, sexual
motivation is often in conflict with society's standards of approved sexual
behavior. There are hundreds of possible examples of motivational
conflict, and more will be described later. The important point is that,
frustration takes place because of two motives that are in conflict, and it
is not possible to satisfy one without frustrating the other. For this
reason, many adults are forever being frustrated and hence have
occasion to feel angry or hostile.
Anxiety and Hostility. In our society, there is plenty of cause to feel
anger, yet reason to suppress it. The consequence is kind of smoldering
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anger hostility toward numerous things and people, de-pending on the
particular sources of frustration in an individual's life.
There is also plenty of cause for anxiety. Fear, we have seen, is a
reaction to a specific thing or situation. Anxiety is a general state of
apprehension or uneasiness that occurs in many different situations. In
other words, anxiety is a rather vague fear or an "objectless" fear, it is
sometimes called. The person usually is not quite sure what he is afraid
of and it may, in fact, be rather difficult for anyone to ascertain. Anxiety is
like a mosquito in the dark. You know it is near, but, you do not know
quite where, and you somehow cannot locate it to make the killing slap
and be rid of it. Anxiety is usually less intense but more persistent than
fear, although some individuals suffer brief or prolonged attacks of
anxiety that are agonizingly severe.
Several sources of anxiety may be distinguished. One is linked to
hostility. Since society teaches us, through threats of punishment or loss
of social approval, that we should not be angry or hostile, feelings of
hostility become associated with vague fears of what might happen if we
expressed our feelings. Secondly, through simple conditioning of fear,
we may learn to be anxious. If we have many fear provoking
experiences with parents, teachers, and associates, these can
generalize to almost everyone so that, we become anxious in the
presence of people generally. Human beings, thirdly, are peculiarly
prone to anxiety, because they have the ability to recall and imagine
their experiences. By thinking of fear provoking situations that have
happened or might happen, people elicit in themselves the same fear or
anxiety that they would have if they were in the real situation.
For these reasons, then, people are often anxious, and some people are
generally anxious a good part of the time. Thus, anxiety and hostility
become prominently linked in much of everyday behavior.
9.5 EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION
Emotions are a private affair. No one, no matter how intimate with us
they are, can truly share our subjective inner experiences. Yet we are
able to recognize the presence of various emotions in others, and we
are able to communicate our own feelings to them as well. How does
such communication occur? A large part of the answer involves
nonverbal cues outward signs of others; internal emotional states shown
in their facial expressions, body posture, and other behaviors.

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Nonverbal cues: The Basic channels
Decades of research on nonverbal cues suggest that this kind of
communication occurs through several different channels or paths
simultaneously. The most revealing of these involve facial expressions
and body movements and posture.
(i) Unmasking the Face: Facial Expressions as Clues to Others'
Emotions
It is accepted by the psychologists that, the face is the image of the soul.
By this, we meant that feelings and emotions are often reflected in the
face and can be read there from specific expressions. Modern research
suggests that it is possible to learn much about others' current moods
and feelings from their facial expressions. In fact, it appears that six
different basic emotions are represented clearly and from an early age,
on the human face anger, fear, sadness, disgust, happiness, and
surprise. In addition, some findings suggest that emotion contempt may
also be quite basic. However, agreement on what the specific facial
expression represents, this emotion is less consistent than that for the
other six emotions just mentioned.

Until fairly recently, it was widely assumed that basic facial expressions
such as those for happiness, anger, or disgust are universal that they
are recognized as indicating specific emotions by persons all over the
world. The findings of several studies indicate that although facial
expressions may indeed reveal much about others' emotions,
interpretations of such expressions are also affected by the context in
which the expressions occur, and by various situational cues. For
instance, if participants in a study are shown a photo of a face showing
what would normally be judged as fear but are also read a story
suggesting that the person is actually showing anger, many describe the
face as showing this emotion not fear. Findings such as these suggest
that the facial expressions may not be as universal in terms of providing
clear signals about underlying emotions as was previously assumed.
These findings are somewhat controversial, however, at present it would
be unwise to reach firm conclusions about this issue.
ii) Gestures, Posture and Movements
Try this simple demonstration: First remember some incident that made
you angry the angrier the better. Think about it for a minute. Now try to
remember another incident one that made you feel happy the happier
the better. Did you change your posture or move your hands, arms, or
legs as your thoughts shifted from the first incident to the second? The

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changes are good that you did, for our current mood or emotion is often
reflected in the posture, position, and movement of our body. Together,
such nonverbal behaviours are sometimes termed body language or,
more scientifically kinesics and they can provide several kinds of
information about others' emotions.
First, frequent body movements, especially ones in which a particular
part of the body does something to another part, such as touching,
scratching, or rubbing, suggest emotional arousal. The greater the
frequency of such behaviour, the higher a person's level of arousal or
nervousness seems to be.
Larger patterns of movements involving the whole body can also be
informative. Such phrases as “she adopted a threatening posture" and
"he greeted her with open arms" suggest that different body orientations
or posture can be suggestive of contrasting emotional reactions.
Finally, more specific information about others' feelings is often provided
by gestures body movements carrying specific meanings in a given
culture.
9.6 EMOTION AND COGNITION

In many instances, our thoughts seem to exert strong effects on our

emotions. This relationship works in the other direction as well; being in
a happy mood often causes us to think happy thoughts, while sad tends
to bring negative memories and images to mind. In short, there are
important links between emotion and cognition between the way we feel
and the way we think. Let's take a brief look at some of the evidence for
such links.
The boundary between emotions and affective reactions is modest shifts
in mood the kinds of changes we experience many times each day as a
result of runs of the mill experiences these will be the focus here. For
many years, it was assumed that affective reactions are bipolar in
nature; that is, that positive affect and negative affect represent opposite
ends of a single dimension, and that our moods fall somewhere along
this dimension at any point in time. However, in recent years this
assumption has been challenged by the suggestion that perhaps
positive affect and negative affect are actually independent dimensions
so that we can be high in one, low in the other, high in both, or low in
both. This issue has not yet been resolved, although the recent findings
seem to offer a fairly strong support for the idea that positive and
negative affect are indeed two ends of a single dimension. But

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remember, this conclusion is tentative; the scientific jury is still out on
this one.
How Affect Influences Cognition? The findings of many studies
indicate that our current moods can strongly influence several aspects of
cognition. One such effect involves the impact of our current moods, or
affective states, on our perception of ambiguous stimuli. In general, we
perceive and evaluate these stimuli more favorably when we are in a
good mood than when we are in a negative one. For example, when
asked to interview applicants whose qualifications for a job are
ambiguous neither very strong nor very weak research participants
assign higher ratings to applicants when the interviewers are in a
positive mood than when they are in a negative mood.
Another way in which affect influences cognition is through its impact on
the style of information processing we adopt. A growing body of
research findings indicates that a positive affect encourages us to adopt
a flexible, fluid style of thinking, while negative affect leads us to engage
in more systematic and careful processing. Why? Perhaps because we
interpret negative affect as a kind of danger signal, indicating that the
current situation requires our full attention.
Our current moods also influence the other important aspect, of
cognition creativity. The results of several studies suggest that being in a
happy mood can increase creativity perhaps because being in a happy
mood activates a wider range of ideas or association than being in a
negative mood, and creativity consists, in part, of combining such
associations into new patterns.
A fourth way in which affect can influence cognition involves its impact
on our plans and intentions in a wide range of social situations. For
instance, recent findings reported suggest that negotiators who are in a
good mood adopt more cooperative strategies and expect better
outcomes than ones who are in a bad mood.
How Cognition influences Affect? Most research on the relationship
between affect and cognition has focused on how feelings influence
thought. However, there is also compelling evidence for the reverse the
impact of cognition on affect. The two factor theory of emotion
(Schachter) suggests that often we don't know our own feelings or
attitudes directly. Rather, because these internal reactions are often
somewhat ambiguous, we look outward at our own behaviour or at other
aspects of the external world for clues about the nature of our feelings.
In such cases the emotions or feelings we experience are strongly
determined by the interpretation or cognitive labels we select.
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A second way in which cognition can affect emotions is through the
activation of schemas containing a strong affective component. For
example, if we label an individual as belonging to some group, our
schema for this social category may suggest what traits he or she
probably possesses. In addition, it may also tell us how we feel about
such persons. Thus, activation of a strong racial, ethnic, or religious
schema or stereotype may exert powerful effects upon our current
feelings or moods.
Third, our thoughts can often influence our reactions to emotion-
provoking events. For example, anger and resulting aggressive
motivation can often be reduced by apologies and other information that
helps explain why others have treated us in a provocative manner anger
can sometimes be reduced or even prevented by techniques such as
thinking about events other than those, that generate anger. In such
instances, the effects of cognition on feelings can have important social
consequences.
In sum, as our everyday experience suggests, there are indeed many
links between affect and cognition. The ways we feel our current mood
influences the way we think, and our thoughts, in turn, often shape our
moods and emotions.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Emotions are Feelings that generally here True/False

2. The important functions of emotions are
a) Prepare we for action b) Shape our Future behaviour
c) Both a and b d) None of the above
3. We experience emotions as a result of physiological charges
that produce specific sensations is proposed
by ___________theory
a) James - Large theory b) The Control-Band theory
c) Schachter - Singer theory c) None of the above
4. Cannon - Bard theory of emotion is also termed as two factor
theory True/False
5. Emotional reactions to a stimulus are followed automatically by
an opposite reaction is explained through __________theory
a) James - large b) opponent process theory
c) Cannon - Bard theory c) Schachter - Singer theory

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6. Different portions of brain play a role on governing our
emotions True/False
7. ____________ hemisphere of the brain is responsible for
understanding the emotional tone
a) right b) left
c) None of the above
8. Amygdala plays a key role in our interpretation of
emotional information True/False
9. _______ _are important factors in building up our repertory of
learned fears
a) Conditioning and counter conditioning
b) Conditioning and generalization
c) Counter conditioning
d) None of the above
9. Motivational conflict is the most important source of
frustration True/False
11. Nonverbal cues are the basic channels for the communication
of emotions True/False

12. More specific information about others feelings is often provided by

gestures True/False
13. Our current moods influence our __________
a) perception b) creativity
c) both a and b d) None of the above
14. The activation of _______ containing a story affective component
a) perception b) Schema
c) creativity d) None of the above
15. Both affect and cognition influences our perception True/False
LET US SUM UP
Emotions are feelings that generally have physiological and cognitive
elements which influence behaviour. Emotions prepare us for the action.
It also shapes our future behaviour and helps us to regulate our social
interaction. Various theories of emotion help us to understand the
different attributes of emotion. Emotions can function in the human life
both as habits and motives. Facial expressions, body movements and
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postures are found to important channels of emotional communication.
Above all, our emotions affect the cognition and vice versa.

KEY WORDS
Visceral experience Physiological arousal
Emotion - provoking events Emotional reactions
Opponent - Process Non verbal cues
Learned emotional habits Attitudes
Conflict Frustration
Anxiety Hostility

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. True 2. (c) 3. (a) 4. False 5. (b) 6. True 7. (a) 8. True 9. (b) 9. True
11. True 12. True 13. (c) 14. (b) 15. True

MODEL QUESTIONS
1) Describe the various theories of emotions.
2) Discuss about the biological basis of emotions.
3) Write a note on “non-verbal web”.
4) Delineate the dialectic relationship between emotion and
cognition.
GLOSSARY
Anger – The strong feeling that you have when something has
happened or somebody has done something that you do not like.
Anxiety – Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension,
worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure.
Attitude – The way that you think, feel or behave.
Emotion – An emotion is a feeling such as happiness, love, fear, anger,
or hatred, which can be caused by the situation that you are in or the
people you are with.

Fear - The feeling that you have when something dangerous, painful or
frightening might happen.

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Pleasure – The feeling of being happy or satisfied
Prejudice – A strong unreasonable feeling of not liking or trusting
somebody or something especially when it is based on his/her/its race,
religion or sex.

SUGGESTED READINGS:
1. Clifford T. Morgan, Richard a King, John R. Weis and John Schopler,
"Introduction to Psychology" - 7th Edition. Tata McGraw Hill Book Co.
New Delhi, 1993.

2. Ernest R. Hilgard, Richard C. Atkinson, Rita L. Atkinson, "Introduction

to Psychology" 6th Edition, Oxford IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi, 1975.
3. Baron A. Robert, Psychology, Pearson Education Vth Ed., 2002.

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 BLOCK-V
UNIT- 10: MEMORY AND FORGETTING
UNIT- 11: THEORIES OF MEMORY

UNIT -12: LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT

UNIT -13: THINKING, REASONING AND CONCEPT FORMATION

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Unit 10
MEMORY AND FORGETTING
STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives

10.1 Kinds of remembering

10.1.1 Reintegrative memory
10.1.2 Recall
10.1.3 Recognition
10.1.4 Relearning
10.2 Two types of memory

10.3 Short-term memory

10.3.1 Storage capacity
10.3.2 Storage chunks

10.4 Long-term memory

10.4.1 Encoding
10.4.2 Storage and retrieval
10.4.3 Retrieval process
10.5 Nature of forgetting
10.5.1 Decay through disuse
10.5.2 Interference effects
10.5.3 Motivated forgetting
10.5.4 Emotional factors in forgetting

10.6 Amnesia
10.6.1 Psychological amnesias
10.6.2 Biological amnesias
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Keywords

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Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
Memory refers to the encoding, storage and retrieval of information. The
current trend emphasizes on cognitive or mental process. Cognition
concerns with the internal processing of information received from
senses, and memory is part of it. It consists of encoding, storage and
retrieval, and it follows some steps or stages, like sensory register, short
term and long-term memory. Not all the information that is stored can be
retrieved at once, which refers to the process of forgetting. In this unit,
we will focus on the concept of memory by looking into: kinds of
remembering, two types of memory, storage capacity, and nature of
forgetting and finally the amnesias.
OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you would be able to
• explain the different kinds of remembering
• describe the two types of memory
• explain about the storage capacity
• discuss about the process involved in short-term memory
• explain the long-term memory

• describe the Nature of forgetting

• define amnesia list out the various types of amnesias
10.1 KINDS OF REMEMBERING

Redintegration, recall, recognition, and relearning all give evidence of

memory, but each of these terms imply a different aspect of
remembering. Redintegration may also appear in the retrieval of the
factual information. Many memories lack this reintegrative quality. For
example, you may recall a poem, even if you do not remember the
circumstances under which you learned it. You can remember how to
climb stairs or ride a tricycle or sing a song without any direct reference
to the past. Since remembering through recall is easier to measure, it is
the kind of memory usually studied in the laboratory. A third kind of
memory is 'recognizing' someone or something as familiar. “That time is
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familiar”, “Some one I know has a copy of that picture - but I can't
remember now.
Finally, you may also find that what you learned once, you can
remember it better, by relearning it more rapidly. Now, we shall look into
each kind of remembering in more detail.
10.1.1 Reintegrative Memory
Less attention has been paid to reintegrative memory because it is
difficult to check details of the recovery of events in the personal of the
individuals.

A few research studies have used hypnosis; one such research by Reef
and Sheerer, 1959 has shown that the memories of school experiences
from the ages 7 year to 10 year can be more accurately recovered by
adults under hypnosis than in the waking state.
One way of remembering is to recollect or reintegrate and the
circumstances surrounding it. The word 'reintegrate' means 'to
reintegrate' or to re-establish' an earlier experience on the basis of
partial cues. For example, you reintegrate your high-school 'fare-well day
only if something reminds you of it. The stimuli to reintegrate are
souvenirs, remembrances or reminders of total past experiences. In your
recollection, you may remember the music played, your class mate
singing, the arrangements of the speaker's platform, your principal’s
speech, teacher’s words, and the emotions you are experienced as the
function was closing. Such reintegrative memories are often quite
detailed and complete. They are distinguished from other kinds of
remembering because they reconstruct a past occasion from your
personal auto-biography with its setting in time and place.
10.1.2 Recall
This is the kind of remembering most easily tested in the laboratory, the
active recall method of some performance learned in the past. You will
observe that you remember how to ride a bicycle by climbing and riding
away. You may show that you known any poem by reciting it. You are
demonstrating that your present performance is because of the residue
from the past.
To get a quantitative measure of recall in the laboratory, the investigator
allows time to elapse after a subject has memorized some material,
often by the paired - associate method. The elapsed time may be
minutes, hours, days, or even months. The subject returns to the
laboratory, and tries to recall the response previously paired with each

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stimulus as it is presented. The percentage of correct response words
recalled correctly is called the recall score.
Paired - associate words
Stimulus words - Response words
Prepared - Afraid
Careless - vacant
Hungry - Quiet
10.1.3 Recognition
When we recognize something, we do mention that it is familiar and that
we have met someone before. Recognition is a common experience, but
it is complex and a somewhat mysterious process. The entire process
takes place quite automatically. Sometimes we experience faulty
recognition, from a declining sense of familiarity.
Sense of familiarity is aroused in strange situations also. What may
happen is that a pattern of buildings along a street is actually somewhat
like one seen in earlier experience. It may also be that in a strangely
familiar garden, the scent of a flower permeating the air is, which is met
on an earlier occasion but since forgotten. The present situation, through
actually novel, seems vaguely familiar. This is a form of generalization
from past experience
10.1.4 Relearning
Another method to show that there is some residue from the past is to
demonstrate that previously familiar material can be learned more
rapidly than if it were unfamiliar. Even though something may be seem
to be completely 'forgotten' it may easier to learn the second time
because it was learnt in the past.
To use the relearning method in the laboratory, the experimenter
proceeds as in the study of recall. After the initial learning, a time period
is allowed to elapse; then retention is tested in a second learning. The
subject learns the material by one of the standard methods until a
perfect reproduction or recitation and learns the materials again to the
same criterion of perfect recitation.

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Basic Distinctions about Memory
Three Stages of Memory

10.2 TWO TYPES OF MEMORY

Differ between those situations that require us to store material for a
matter of seconds and those that require us to store material for longer
intervals from minutes to years. The former situations are said to tap
short-term memory while the latter reflect long-term memory.
This contrast between the short and the long term memory is similar to
the contrast between conscious knowledge and the subconscious
knowledge we have but are not currently thinking about. We can think of
memory as a vast body of knowledge, only a small part of which can
ever be active at any moment. The rest is passive. Short-term memory
corresponds to the active part, long-term memory to the passive.
10.3 SHORT-TERM MEMORY

Encoding
Attention is important to encode information into short-term memory.
Many difficulties labeled “memory problems" are really lapses in
attention. When information is attended to, it gets encoded into short-
term memory. Encoding means not only that information is deposited in
memory, but also that it is deposited in a certain form, or code. When
you look up a phone number and retain it while dialing. In what code do
you store the digits? Is the code visual-a mental picture of the digits? Or
is the code acoustic-the sound of the names of the digits?

A good deal of research indicates that short-term memory tends to favor

an acoustic code for verbal materials like digits, letters, and words.
Short-term memory sometimes uses a visual code. However, with verbal
materials, the visual code fades quickly and is soon dominated by the
acoustic one. The dominance of the acoustic code may apply mainly to
verbal materials. Recent research suggests that when one has to store
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nonverbal items, like pictures that are difficult to describe, the visual
code may become more important.
10.3.1 Storage Capacity
Short-term memory has very limited capacity. On the average, the limit
is seven items, plus or minus (2) some people store as few as five items;
others can hold onto as many as line. It may see s strange to give
such an exact number to cover all people when it is clear that individuals
differ greatly in their memory abilities. These differences, however, are
due to long term memory. For short-term memory, actually all normal
adults have a capacity of 72. This constancy has been down since the
earliest days of experimental psychology. Ebbinghaus, who began the
experimental study of memory in 1885, reported results showing his own
limit were seven items. Some 70 years later, Miller (1956) was so struck
by the constancy that he referred to it as the magic number seven.
Psychologists determined this number by using a task called the
memory span was first introduced by Jacobs In 1887. Subjects see a
different sequence of items (digits, letters, or words) on each trial and
must recall them in order. On the initial trials, they have to recall just a
few items, say four or five, which they can easily do. Then the number
increases until the experimenter determines the maximum number a
subject can recall in order. The maximum, almost always between five
and nine, is the subject's memory span, or capacity. This task, which is
part of many IQ tests, is so simple that you can easily try it yourself.
Each item entering short-term memory goes into its own slot. As long as
the number of items does not exceed the number of slots, we can recall
the items perfectly. When all the slots are filled and a new item enters,
one of the old ones must go. The new item displaces an old one. The
principle of displacement explains how an item is lost from short-term
memory.
10.3.2 Storage Chunks
Short-term memory holds 72 items. YTDRAES contains seven single-
letter items, but, when the letters are rearranged to form the word
STRAYED, there is only one item, the word itself. It appears that an item
is the largest meaningful unit we can find in the materials presented to
us. Such units are called chunks, and the capacity of short-term memory
is best expressed as 72 chunks.

The notion of chunks has some important implications. If short-term

memory could hold only seven letters, it could not retain even a simple
sentence. Fortunately, though, letters can be grouped into word chunks,
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and word chunks themselves can be grouped into phrase chunks. This
enables us to hold in short-term memory as much as the last few
sentences we have heard-a capacity critical for following conversations.
Language provides a natural chinking device, since it groups letters and
words into larger meaningful units.
Sometimes we can chunk letters without forming words. This occurs
when the letters stand for some meaningful (but non-word) unit. The
letter string IB-MFB-ITVU-SA is hard to recall because it contains more
than seven chunks. But suppose the spacing is changed so that the
string is IBM-FBI TV-USA. Each letter group is now a familiar unit. The
result is four chunks and a string that is easy to remember. Chinking can
occur with numbers as well. The string 149-2177-619-79 is beyond our
capacity, but 1492-1776-1979 is well with it. In both the examples, the
regrouped strings contain familiar units. The general principle seems to
be that we can boost our short-term memory by regrouping sequences
of letters and digits into familiar units.
Retrieval involves a search of short-term memory, in which each item is
examined one at a time.

10.4 LONG-TERM MEMORY

Long-term memory involves information that has been retained for
intervals as brief as a few minutes or as long as a few decades
10.4.1 Encoding
For verbal materials, the dominant code is based on the meaning of the
items. Encoding items in terms of their meaning is particularly striking
when the items are sentences.
How are meanings encoded for long-term storage? Consider the
meaning of “helicopter": one might encode its meaning in terms of a
mental picture, of image, of a typical helicopter; or one might encode
something more abstract, more conceptual-say, the kind of information
that a dictionary gives about helicopters where "a helicopter is a kind of
airborne vehicle...". The former is called an imagery code and the latter a
semantic code; both can capture the meaning of an item. The evidence
indicates that both codes play a role in long-term memory.
We often remember the meaning of sentences without experiencing
images either during encoding or during retrieval. Some evidence
suggests that pictures are more easily remembered than sentences.

Coding in long-term memory is like that in short-term memory: we have

a preferred code for verbal material-meaning for long-term memory,
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acoustic for short-term memory-but other codes can be used as well.
Coding by meaning, however, seems to result in the best memory. And
the more deeply or elaborately one encodes the meaning, the better
memory will be.
10.4.2 Storage and Retrieval
In long-term memory, storage and retrieval are considered together.
Many of forgetting from long-term memory seems to result from a loss of
access to the information, rather than from a loss of the information
itself. That is, poor memory may retrieval failure rather than a storage
failure. Everyone has been unable to recall a fact, only to have it come
to mind later. Another example is the "tip-of-the-tongue" experience, in
which a particular word or name lies tantalizingly outside our ability to
recall it. A more striking example of retrieval failure is that some people
under hypnosis feel they can recover memories of early childhood that
are otherwise unavailable. Similar experiences occur in psychotherapy.
While we lack firm experimental evidence for some of these
observations, they at least suggest that some seemingly forgotten
memories are not lost. They are just difficult to get at and require the
right kind of retrieval cue where anything that can help us retrieve
memory. Better the retrieval cues, the better our memory.
ORGANIZATION AND CONTEXT

Research has identified two factors that increase the chances of

successful retrieval: (1) organizing the information in storage and (2)
ensuring that the context in which we retrieve information is similar to the
context in which we encoded it. The more we organize the material we
store, the easier it is to retrieve.
Context is not always something external to the memorizer, like a
physical location or a specific face. What is happening inside of us when
we encode information our internal state is also part of the context. If we
experience some event while under the influence of a particular drug,
like alcohol or marijuana, perhaps we can best retrieve it when we are
again in that drug induced state. In such case memory would be partly
dependent on the internal state during learning-what is called state
dependent learning.
10.4.3 Retrieval Process
Memory depends on retrieval cues, so if interference results in problems
with the use of these cues, forgetting will result. Retrieval is facilitated by
organization of the stored material and the presence of retrieval cues
that can guide our search through our long-term memory for stored
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information. Without appropriate retrieval cues, the sought for items
stored term memory may not be found one forgets.
Emotional factors can also play a role in the retrieval failure that is the
cause of so much forgetting. State-dependent memory is an example. If
we encode information while in one emotional state and try to retrieve it
while in another, our recall may suffer.
Psychologists have adopted a more cognitive view of memory in an
attempt to isolate some of the processes that act between the input of a
stimulus and the response output. The cognitive view divides memory
into three stages: (a) encoding, (b) storage, and (c) retrieval.
Encoding implies transforming the sensory input into a form that can be
processed by the memory system. If something is to he remembered,
then storage must occur which requires transfer of the encoded
information into memory, Finally, the process of retrieval involves
locating the memorized information when needed.

These three stages can be compared to an office filing system. A phone

message is received and encoded into a typed document suitable for
filing. The document is then stored in the files using possibly the date,
the caller's name, or the topic of the conversation to determine where it
is placed. When the information is needed, at a later time, it must be
retrieved by searching the files. The failure to remember may involve
faulty encoding, failure to have stored the information, or inability to
retrieve it when needed.
Our ability to retrieve a word or name from memory is so efficient.
Sometimes, an item cannot be retrieved immediately, although we feel
certain that we know it. For example, you may not recall off hand the
name of your third grade teacher. But, if you think for a while, trying the
various possibilities, you probably will recall the name. In some cases,
the name may suddenly come to you, long after you stopped
thinking about it. Events of this kind suggest that an active search of the
memory store is going on even though consciously we may not be
aware of it.
10.5 NATURE OF FORGETTING
We know that our memories are not permanent. There are songs we
once sang whose words we have now forgotten.
There are childhood playmates whose names we no longer remember.
There are hobbies forgotten, skills diminished. This is called forgetting.

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Why do we forget? There are three traditional explanations. Each one of
them helps us to understand the nature of what we remember and why
we forget. The three explanations for forgetting are
1. Decay through disuse
2. Interference effects
3. Motivated forgetting.
10.5.1 Decay through disuse
One of the oldest explanations of forgetting is that it takes place simply
because of passage of time. This explanation is based an assumption
that learning leaves a "trace" in the brain; the memory trace involves
some sort of physical change that was not present prior to learning. With
the passage of time the normal metabolic processes of the brain cause a
fading or decay of the memory. Therefore, traces of material once
learned gradually disintegrate and eventually disappear altogether.
You may notice that lightly learned material rapidly fades away; that
verbatim report of a lecture fades away. Pictures or stories also suggest
a process of fading with the passage of time. When you look at a picture
for the first time, a picture may reveal wealth of detail. But as time
passes, the details are rapidly forgotten and only the main outlines are
remembered.
Research evidence suggests that it is atleast incomplete explanation. In
many instances, learning is retained over long intervals of time with no
intervening practice. Most motor skills like swimming or driving a car, are
not easily forgotten even though, we may not have used these skills for
many years.
Some verbal material may be retained over long periods, while other
material is forgotten. We may be able to recall quite accurately a poem
memorized in sixth grade, yet be unable to remember a part use learned
in a high-school play. People approaching senility, who can barely
remember the events of the decay, often vividly recall events of their
youth.
There is much evidence against a theory of passive decay. It cannot be
denied that some forgetting may occur through the organic changes
taking place in the nervous system with the passage of time but doesn't
refer to all the facts about forgetting.

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10.5.2 Interference effects
It is not necessary that the passage of time alone that determines the
course of forgetting but it may depend more upon what we do in the
interval between learning and recall. New learning may interfere with
material previously learned.
The theory of interference is illustrated by a story about Stanford
University's first president, David Stam Jordan, who was an authority in
fishes. As the president of a new university, Jordan began to call the
students by name, but every time he learned the name of a student he
forgot the name of a fish. Although the story lacks foundation in fact, it
explains how new learning may interfere with the recalling of old
learning. The theory that the new learning may interfere with the old is
known as retroactive inhibition.
Another theory of interference explains the prior learning may also
intervene with the learning and recall of new material. This theory is
called pro-active inhibition.
Research Design for testing Retroactive Inhibition

Experimental Phase l Phase II Phase III

Group
Learns list A Learns list B Recalls list A

Learns list A Rest or unrelated

Control Group Recalls list A
activity

(a) Retroactive Inhibition: This can be easily explained through an

experiment. Two groups of subjects were selected at random for the
experiment. One group which can be called experimental group was
asked to learn list A and then list B. This group of subjects was asked to
recall list A after an interval of time. The second group, which is a control
group, was given list A to learn and was asked to recall list A after a
period of rest during which they were allowed to engage in any activity.
If the control group (which didn't learn list B) recalled list A significantly
better than the experimental group, he has learned the new list also, we
can attribute the difference to retroactive inhibition. The later learning of
list B has interfered with the recall of the earlier learning of list A.
If the recall is tested after an interval of rest, without any interpolated
activity, some forgetting occurs. Perhaps this can be tested with another
experimental research. This theory can be tested of comparing, retention
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of learned material after periods of sleep and waking. If waking activity
interferes with recall, the retention should be better after sleep, when
less interfering activity has occurred. It is seen in the group that we do
forget more when awake than when asleep. We lose a little during the
first hour or two of sleep, but after that we forget very little, during the
night.
We can therefore accept the hypothesis that retroactive inhibition occurs
not only when formal learning takes place between initial learning and
recall, but also when ordinary waking life interferes. Retroactive
inhibition has a secure place as are phenomenon of forgetting.
(b) Proactive Inhibition: Another kind of interference occurs when
material that is previously learned interferers with the recall of something
newly learned. The following research plan can be compared with the
research design that is used in the study or retroactive inhibition.
The extent of proactive effect is quite remarkable when it involves a long
series of successive cycles of learning and recall. In one experiment, a
list of paired-associates was learned to a criterion of perfect recitation by
subjects, these subjects were asked to recall the list two days later.
Immediately upon completion of the recall test a new learning recall
cycle was begun. Data were obtained on 36 successive cycles, each
involving a new list of paired associate items. Recall for the list in the
initial cycle was about 70 percent, recall for one list in the last cycle was
virtually zero.
Effects of Proactive and Retroactive inhibition are much less striking
when meaningful materials are learned when compared to the learning
of nonsense Syllables. In addition, if any material is mastered well, an
individual is less susceptible to interferences of either proactive or
retroactive type. However there is considerable evidence supporting the
roles of inhibition in forgetting.
10.5.3 Motivated Forgetting
The previous explanations of forgetting emphasize that it is either
because of physiological processes affecting the memory trace or of
interference between new and old material. Both the theories don't give
attention to an individual's motives in remembering and forgetting.
Repression: One aspect of motivated forgetting is the principle of
repression, in which some memories became in accessible to recall,
because of the way in which they relate to our personal problems. The
inaccessibility is neither, due to faded traces not due to disruptive
learning's; because the memories are still there and can be revealed
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under appropriate conditions. The theory of repression states that the
memories are not recalled because they would in some way is
unacceptable to the person. It can be possibly because of the anxiety
they would produce or the guilt they might activate.
The nature of forgetting that occurs in certain instances of amnesia
helps in the understanding of repression. The amnesia victim doesn't
forget everything, but has a rich store of memories and habits to crayon
current activities. They may usually forget the items like personal
reference name, family, home address and personal biography.
Amnesia can often be traced to some severe emotional shock that the
individual suffered and from which the amnesia provides and escape.
Psychoanalytic studies of normal people suggest that repression is a
very general phenomenon, but the laboratory studies are not yet very
satisfactory. Occasionally cases in psychotherapy give convincing
evidence of repressed memories and recovery from the repression.

10.5.4 Emotional Factors in Forgetting

Negative emotions hinder retrieval. Failure to deal with situations
produced some anxiety. Anxiety is often accompanied by extraneous
thoughts. These thoughts then interfere with any attempt to retrieve the
information and memory fails. According to this view, anxiety does not
directly cause memory failure. Rather, it causes, or is associated with,
extraneous thoughts, and these thoughts cause memory failure
(Holmes, 1974).
Two means by which emotion can influence memory-improving or
hindering retrieval, Rehearsal and interference. The third view of
emotion and memory Freud's repression hypothesis (1915) This theory
proposes that some emotional experiences in childhood are so traumatic
that to allow them to
enter consciousness many years later would cause one to be totally
overwhelmed by anxiety. Such traumatic experiences are stored in the
unconscious, or repressed. They can be retrieved only when some of
the emotion associated with them is defused, usually by therapeutic
means. Repression, therefore, represents the ultimate retrieval failure
which gives access to the target memories is actively blocked.
Psychologists generally use the term forgetting to refer to the apparent
loss of information already encoded and stored in long-term memory.

Much of what we think we have forgotten does not really qualify as

"forgotten" because it was never encoded and stored in the first place,

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With information processing theories in mind, some information, due to
lack of attention, may not have reached short-term memory from the
sensory register; or, due to inadequate encoding and rehearsal, the
information may not have been transferred from short-term to long-term
memory. The levels-of-processing theory would say that information was
not stored in long-term memory because rehearsal was not sufficiently
elaborate. Thus much information is lost before being stored in long-
term memory, and that the memory record of life's happenings is
incomplete. Because what we remember is not an accurate
representation of what really happened. The memory trace in the brain,
sometimes called the engram, decays with time.
10.6 AMNESIA
In everyday speech, we use the term amnesia to refer to “loss of
memory." This implies that amnesia is a king of forgetting, and indeed
some forms of memory disorder do result from a loss of what has
already been stored or an inability to retrieve stored information. But
amnesia is a more general "disease of memory." The term is also used
for cases in which encoding and storage are impaired so that new
memories cannot be formed. Thus amnesia is a profound memory deficit
due either to the loss of what has been stored or to the inability to form
new memories.

Some amnesia has a biological basis; the memory machine the brain is
disturbed in some way. These may be called biological amnesias. Other
amnesias may be called psychological amnesias. Without any known
brain malfunction, these amnesias result from major disturbances in the
processes of information encoding, storage, and retrieval.
10.6.1 Psychological Amnesias
a) Childhood Amnesia
Freud in 1938 used the “repression" concept to account for childhood
amnesia. He said that we are unable to retrieve childhood memories
because they are associated with the forbidden, guilt arousing sexual
and aggressive urges he thought characterized early childhood. These
urges and their associations are repressed and cannot be retrieved they
are "forgotten" because being aware of them would result in strong
feelings of guilt or anxiety.
Another interpretation of childhood amnesia, stresses the differences in
the ways young children and older people encode and store information.
As adults, much of our memory is encoded verbally and tied into
networks, or schemata, that are based on language; it is probably no
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accident that language development. But when we were very young and
without language, we encoded memories in a nonverbal form, perhaps
storing information as images or feelings. Early childhood memories are
thus said to be stored in forms no longer available to us as verbal adults;
our language dominated memories do not have retrieval cues
appropriate for gaining the access to the image-and-feeling memories of
early childhood.
A third interpretation of childhood amnesia is that it may not be very
"psychological" at all. The brain is maturing and growing in the first few
years after birth and is just not able to store long-term memories until its
maturations is essentially finished. Language ability and memory
develop together, according to this interpretation, because both depend
on brain maturation.
b) Dream Amnesia
Freud's (1900/1953) interpretation of dreams was based, as was his
interpretation of childhood amnesia, on repression. He considered
dreams to be expressions of forbidden sexual or aggressive urges.
These urges can produce strong guilt or anxiety if we become aware of
them in ourselves. So their expression, in the dreams is hidden behind a
disguise the actual content of the dream. But even the disguised urges
dreams have the capacity to generate some guilt or anxiety feelings.
Hence they are forgotten.
Other interpretations stress the differences in the symbol systems used
in dreaming and waking. If the memory-symbol networks of waking life
are different from those of dreaming, we may have difficulty retrieving
dreams in the waking state.
Dream amnesia may also have a biological basis. The dreaming brain
seems to be in a special state different from that of the waking brain.
Information stored in one state is difficult to retrieve when in another
state. Thus the dream amnesia may be just another example of state-
dependent memory.
c) Defensive Amnesia
People with this form of amnesia may forget their names, where they
have come from, who their spouses are, and many other important
details of their past lives. It is called defensive because this type of
amnesia is usually considered to be a way of protecting oneself from the
guilt or anxiety that can result from intense, intolerable life situations and
conflicts. We often wish we could forget a nagging problem. Defensive
amnesia is thus an extreme form of repression.
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10.6.2 Biological Amnesias
Concussions like brain bruises from blows on the head, other damage to
the brain, temporary disturbances in the brain's blood supply, certain
drugs, and brain diseases are some of the major biological causes of
amnesia.
A) Transient Global Amnesia: This is a profound memory problem with
no loss of consciousness. It without any obvious cause, it typically lasts
for only a few hours or days before memory becomes normal again, and
occurs only once. Both retrograde amnesia forgetting events one was
exposed to in the past and anterograde amnesia the inability to encode
and store new information characterize, transient global amnesia. It is
due to temporary alterations in the normal pattern of blood flow to the
brain.
B) Marijuana, Alcohol, and Amnesia: Marijuana appears to have a
limited, short-lived effect on the encoding, storage, and retrieval of
information, but it can hardly be said to result in amnesia. Even when
marijuana is taken in relatively high doses, its memory effects fall far
short of those of the most popular mind altering drug ethyl alcohol.

Heavy drinking over a period of years, however, can result, through

vitamin-B deficits and other chemical imbalances, in irreversible brain
damage and a pattern of symptoms known as the Korsakoff syndrome.
Anterograde amnesia (the inability to form new memories) is one of the
prominent symptoms of this syndrome. Korsakoff patients also have
some loss of what are called remote memories remembrances of events
that occurred early in their lives. Squire & Cohen, 1982. Korsakoff
patients; also have difficulties with attention and perception that may
impair their performance on some remote memory tests.
C) Diseases of the Brain: Korsakoff syndrome is the main one, senile
dementia, and primary degenerative dementia, are also common.
(i) Senile dementia (the world senile refers to old age) is characterized
by deficits in many intellectual abilities memory, attention, judgment, and
abstract thought, for example that can occur in aged people. Personality
changes, excessive dependence and irritability, are common. Delusions
thoughts which have no basis in reality and general disorientation not
knowing where one is in time or place can also occur.
(ii) Primary Degenerative Dementia

Is that the symptoms often begin in middle age. Alzheimer's disease is a

form of primary degenerative dementia in which there is a cluster of

196
specific degenerative brain changes of unknown origin. Some evidence
indicates that the amnesia in Alzheimer's disease is related to the
deficiencies in the brain neurotransmitter chemical disease is related to
deficiencies in the brain neurotransmitter chemical acetylcholine.
Check your progress
1. ___________ means 'to reintegrate' or ‘to re-establish' an earlier
experience on the basis of partial cues.
2. An irreversible brain damage and a pattern of symptoms known
as the ____________.

3. _____________ __________ ________ is a profound memory

problem with no loss of consciousness.
4. ________ is a profound memory deficit due either to the loss of what
has been stored or to the inability to form new memories.
5. Short-term memory has very limited capacity and the limit is
______________items.

6. The theory of ______________ states that the memories are not

recalled because they would in some way is unacceptable to the
person.

7. _________ _________ _______ occurs when material that is

previously learned interferers with the recall of something newly
learned.
Let us sum up
To remember means, to show or reveal in present responses some of
earlier learned responses. There are several ways in which our
memories appear. Redintegration, recall, recognition, and relearning are
the terms those imply a different aspect of remembering. Memory is
classified into the short and long term memories. The information which
is received by our sense organs were sent to the sensory register, from
there moved to the short term memory and forwarded to the long-term
memory. Forgetting refers to the inability to retrieve information. Usually,
it may due to decay through disuse, interference, and motivated
forgetting.
KEY WORDS
Redintegration Relearning Short term memory
Recall Recognition Long term memory
Korsakoff syndrome Amnesia Proactive inhibition

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Repression Transient global amnesia
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. Reintegrate 2. Korsakoff syndrome
3. Transient Global Amnesia 4. Amnesia
5. Seven 6. Repression
7. Proactive Inhibition
MODEL QUESTIONS
1. What is meant by memory?
2. Describe the different kinds of remembering.
3. Explain the process involved in memory.
4. What are reasons for forgetting? Illustrate with examples.
5. What is Korsakoff’s syndrome?

6. What is amnesia? Explain the different types of it.

Glossary
Remembering – To be able to bring back a piece of information into
your mind, or to keep a piece of information in your memory.
Recognition – The fact of knowing someone or something because you
have seen or heard him or her or experienced it before.
Attention – To watch, listen to, or think about something or someone
carefully or with interest.
Forgetting – Forgetting is h apparent loss or modification of information
already encoded and stored in an individual’s short or long-term memory.
Repression – The action or process of suppressing a thought or desire in
oneself so that it remains unconscious.
Amnesia – The loss of memories, such as facts, information and
experiences.

SUGGESTED READINGS:
1. Clifford T. Morgan, Richard a King, John R. Weis and John Schopler,
"Introduction to Psychology" - 7th Edition. Tata McGraw Hill Book Co.
New Delhi, 1993.

198
2. Ernest R. Hilgard, Richard C. Atkinson, Rita L. Atkinson, "Introduction
to Psychology" 6th Edition, Oxford IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi, 1975.
3. Baron A. Robert, Psychology, Pearson Education Vth Ed., 2002.

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Unit 11
THEORIES OF MEMORY
STRUCTURE
Overview

Objectives
11.1 Evidence for two kinds of memory
11.2 Two-process theory of memory

11.2.1 Two-process theories of memory

11.2.2 Physiological evidence for a two-process theory
11.2.3 Free-recall experiments

11.3 The levels of processing theory

11.3.1 Free-recall evidence
11.4 Improving memory
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Keywords
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
A number of theories of memory have been proposed. In the two
process theory memory is said to consist of three cognitive processes.
The levels of processing the theory of memory insist on the depth
analysis and the elaboration of incoming information. Usually when think
about memory it refers to long-term memory. In this unit, initially we will
focus on the two process theories of memory, general theory of memory
and information processing theory also. Then we shall look into the
various ways through which we can improve our memory.

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OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you would be able to:
• explain the two process theory of memory
• identify its physiological evidences
• explain the primacy and Recency effect
• describe the levels of processing theory
• suggest some techniques to improvement
11.1 EVIDENCE FOR TWO KINDS OF MEMORY
Short and long-term memory
In the differences between them, first, the encoding stage favors an
acoustic code in short - term memory, but based on meaning in long-
term memory. Second, the storage capacity of short-term memory is
limited to 7+2 items, while the capacity of long-term memory seems
unlimited for all practical purposes. And third, retrieval from the short-
term memory is thought to be more or less error free, while retrieval from
long-term memory appears to be very error-prone and a major cause of
forgetting.
Retrograde amnesia usually results from a concussion or severe injury
to the head. People with this condition often have no memory for the
events that immediately preceded the injury, though their memory for
earlier events may be intact. The brain injury affected only short-term
memory and not long-term memory. The clinical facts on retrograde
amnesia therefore support the idea of two different memories.
Another kind of memory disturbance, anterograde amnesia, has been
observed in patients who have undergone surgery for relief of epileptic
seizures. These patients, from whom part of the hippocampus an area
deep in the brain's temporal lobes has been removed, seem incapable of
learning new material. They have no trouble remembering skills and
information learned before the operation, so their long-term memory is
intact.
11.2 TWO-PROCESS THEORY OF MEMORY
A Theory of Dual Memory
This theory assumes that information we have attended to enters a
limited Short-term memory, where it can be either maintained by
rehearsal or lost by displacement. . Long-term memory is considered to
have virtually unlimited capacity but to be vulnerable to retrieval failures.

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In addition, in order for information to be encoded into long-term
memory, it must be transferred there from the short-term memory. This
is the critical assumption that relates the two memories. In its strongest
from, it means that we can learn something that encodes it in the long-
term memory) only by first processing it in short-term memory.
Rehearsing an item not only maintains it in short-term memory but also
causes it to be transferred to long-term memory. Dual memory
theory provides a way of classifying severe memory disturbances.
Retrograde
amnesia may reflect a disruption of short-term memory. We can now see
that the memory disturbances caused by removal of the hippocampus
may be manifestations of a breakdown of the transfer processes that
relate short-and long-term memory. And of course, there is the classical
type of amnesia, where individuals forget many of the personal
memories that contribute to their sense of identity, such as their name
and family ties. Clearly, this seems a disturbance in long-term memory.
Furthermore, the fact that such amnesic victims can recover missing
memories indicates that the loss was of access or retrieval, which again
fits the notion of a long-term memory disturbance.
11.2.1 Two-process Theories of Memory
No single explanation provides an adequate account of forgetting.
Psychologists propose that one type of storage mechanism is involved in
remembering events just recently experienced. A different type is
involved in the recall of information that has received repeated attention.
These mechanisms have been labeled short-term memory (STM) and
long-term memory (LTM). The difference between them is like the
difference between recalling a telephone number you first looked up in
the directory and recalling your own telephone number. Your own
number is stored in LTM along with memories of such items as your
name, the words and grammar of the language, and important events in
your life. Except for occasional mental blocking of a word or the name of
an acquaintance these memories are relatively permanent. In
contrast, the telephone number you have just booked up, the definition
the lecturer has just given in class, and the name of a stranger just
introduced remain in STM only momentarily. Unless you make a
conscious effort of focus your attention on the information, to transfer it
to LTM, it is quickly lost. This is also referred to as the information
processing theory, developed by Atkinson and Richard Schifrin (1968)
Two storage mechanisms are postulated one for short-term memory and
the other for long-term memory, The short-term memory STM is viewed
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as a rapidly decaying system, whereas LTM long-term memory is a
permanent store. STM is characterized by trace-dependent forgetting.
This means the memory trace of items entering STM is subject to rapid
decay. In contrast, LTM is characterised by cue-dependent forgetting,
which means the information is permanently recorded in LTM. And our
ability to retrieve it depends upon having the appropriate cues.
Incoming information is constantly fed into STM and, if not attended to,
begins to fade away. It is possible to maintain selected information in
STM by means of rehearsal. By rehearsing the information, the trace in
STM is prevented from decaying atleast for a short period of time. Again
after some time it starts decaying again. If an item is not frequently
rehearsed enough, it will fade away. The set of traces being maintained
in STM at any particular time is referred to as the rehearsal buffer. It can
be compared with a box of fixed size that can hold only so many blocks.
Each block represents a stimulus input. When new blocks are added to
the box, old ones have to be removed to make room for them.
The information coming into STM is entered into the rehearsal buffer
unless the person regards it as particularly important; otherwise it begins
to decay rapidly. Information is temporarily stored in STM via rehearsal
until incoming information replaces it. While information resides in STM it
may be coded and transferred to the long-term storage. Information that
is allowed to decay in STM before such a transfer takes place is
permanently lost.
In contrast LTM is assumed to be virtually unlimited, so that any
information transferred from STM to LTM will have a place for
permanent storage. Even though the information is permanently stored,
sometimes, memory may fail because the cues needed to retrieve the
information from LTM are incomplete.
In this tip-of-the-tongue state an individual has inadequate cues to find
the desired information. When the person is unable to recall the
information immediately, she or he may narrow the area of search and
retrieve some words that are similar in certain characteristics to the
target word. These similar words may provide additional cues that lead
eventually to the target word.
Long-term memory storage is comparable to a large filing cabinet. It is to
toss items into various file drawers, so that it is a more difficult task to
retrieve a desired item. For example, Mr. Sunder’s letter to the city
corporation, complaining about a possible pollution of the water supply
may be filed under "Sunder”, “Complaints”, “Sanitation" or "Pollution".

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The two-process theory provides several reasons why forgetting may
occur.
• Immediate recall may fail because subsequent inputs to STM
have caused the information to decay.
• Long-term recall may fail because the information was never
transferred to LTM
• Not enough cues are available at the time of attempting to recall
locating the information in LTM.
• The person who "knew the material backwards and forwards" but
couldn't recall it for the exam may simply have started at the
textbook, with his mind thinking other things and never rehearsed
the material, to be encoded into LTM.
• The material may be stored in LTM but the examination
questions didn't provide sufficient cues to permit retrieval.
• If other items of information with similar codes are stored in
LTM, we have difficulty in retrieving the correct item upon recall.
The phenomena of retroactive and proactive inhibition can
demonstrate their effects in this manner.

• Frequently used items of information may be coded in such a

way that many different cues lead to their recall. Such items are
readily available and require no searching.
• Sometimes when the recall of certain information is painful to us,
we may instruct our “retrieval mechanism" to ignore the
information. It is not lost and can be retrieved once the need for
repression is gone.
11.2.2 Physiological Evidence for a Two-process Theory
Memories explained this just before are frequently called information
processing models. Such models don't explain any physiological details.
In the case of the two-process theory of memory, some neurological
data, from epileptic patients who have undergone surgery for relief from
seizures, provides evidence for the theory. If a lesion is made in a
specific area deep in the temporal lobes an area called the
hippocampus, then the patient appears to be unable to successfully
transfer new information from STM to LTM. Such patients have no
trouble remembering skills and information learned prior to the
operations but they have serious difficulty with new learning. In one
case, several months after the operation the patient's family moved to a
new house a few blocks away on the same street. A year later, the
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patient still couldn't remember his old address, and couldn't find his way
to the new house alone. He couldn't remember where he kept his things
continuously used, and he would read the same magazines over and
over without finding their contents familiar.
Some patients with hippocampus lesions consistently fail to recognize or
learn the names of the people they have met following surgery. They
might have talked with them countless times. If a person to whom they
are talking walks out of the room for a few minutes, they may fail to
recognize him on his return.
These patients don't seem to suffer from the deficiency, with short-term
memory after the operation. The patients can hold items, such as a
series of digits, in memory if they concentrate upon repeating them.
Such people can even carryout complicated mental arithmetic with
speed and accuracy. But the rehearsal doesn't produce permanent
learning. Patients can walk to the store for a newspaper if they keep
repeating verbally where and why they are going. When they stop
rehearsing, they quickly forget what they were supposed to do. The
difficulty appears to lie in an inability to transfer new material from STM
to LTM. The material can circulate in the short term memory buffer but
fails to get registered into long-term memory.
11.2.3 Free-Recall Experiments

Evidence for a two-process theory also comes from an analysis of a

memory task known as free-recall. The free-recall task is similar to the
situation when you are asked to name all the people present at the last
large party you attended. In free-recall experiments, a list of unrelated
words is presented to the subject one at a time. Later one subject
attempts to recall as many words as possible in any order. The
probability of recalling each item in list is depending on its place in the
list, or "serial presentation position". Plotting this influence of place in the
list yields a U-shaped curve.
Primacy and Recency Effect
The increased probability of recall for the first few words in the first list is
called the primacy effect. The large increase for the last seven to ten
words is called the Recency effect. According to a two-process theory,
the Recency effect is because the words are retrieved from STM. The
earlier portions are retrieved from LTM only.

The Recency effect is eliminated by the following experiment to study

the retrieval from LTM. In one experimental procedure, the subject is
required to carry out a difficult arithmetic task for 30 seconds
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immediately after presenting the list to learn and is then asked to recall.
It is easy to understand that the arithmetic task cause the loss of all
words in STM, and the recall reflects retrieval from LTM only.
In the similar manner, the variables that influence LTM but not STM can
be manipulated so that the recency portion is relatively unaffected. For
example, one such variable is the number of words in the list presented.
Recency effect is unaffected by list length. Increase in the rate of
presentation during study decreases the likelihood of words recalling
words preceding the recency region but does not change the recency
effect.
In free-recall experiments many lists are usually in a session to recall all
the words presented during the session. In this, the recall is expected to
reflect retrieval from long-term storage only. The subjects are expected
to recall the list in the serial position as presented immediately after the
presentation. This recall can be compared with recall at the end of
session. When compared, it can be observed that the primacy effect
remains in the delayed recall but the recency effect is eliminated, the
recency effect appears to reflect retrieval from both STM and LTM,

A two-process theory assumes that the subject sets up a rehearsal

buffer in STM that can hold only a fixed no. of items. At the beginning of
the presentation of a list the buffer is empty; successive items are
entered until the buffer where is filled. Thereafter, as each new item
enters the rehearsal buffer it replaces, one of the items already
rehearsed there. The items still being rehearsed when the last item is
presented are immediately recalled by the subject. This gives rise to the
Recency effect.
The transfer of information from STM to LTM is expected to depend on
the length of time an item resides in the rehearsal buffer. The longer the
time period, the more rehearsed the item receives and greater the
transfer of information to LTM. Since items presented first in a list enter
an empty or partly empty rehearsal buffer, they remain longer than later
items and consequently receive additional rehearsal. This extra
rehearsal causes more transfer of information to LTM for the first items,
giving rise to the primacy effect.
A theory of general memory functions
Three distinct processes of memory have been identified. These are

1) An encoding process
2) A sensory process and

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 3) A retrieval process.
Encoding is the process of receiving sensory input and transforming it
into a form, or code, which can be stored.
Storage is the process of actually putting coded information into memory
and the retrieval is the process of gaining access to the stored, coded
information when it is needed.
To illustrate these three memory processes, imagine on the way to work,
your vehicle was bumped by a bus and slightly dented or damaged. You
encoded your visual impressions of the accident in a form that you could
store in your memory. This simple process helps explain why your
memory of an accident may be inaccurate. The encoding you do may he
faulty, perhaps due to the emotion and distress you experience at the
time of the accident, or it may be distorted by events occurring after the
accident. Therefore, memory is seldom an accurate record of what was
experienced.

11.3 THE LEVELS OF PROCESSING THEORY

Information - processing theories of memory view the memory process
in terms of discrete stages. Furthermore, information is transferred from
stage to stage until some of it is finally registered in long-term memory.
A contrasting model of memory involves what are called levels of
processing.
According to the levels-of-processing idea, incoming information can be
worked on at different levels of analysis: the deeper the analysis goes,
the better the memory. The first level is perception, which gives us our
immediate awareness of the environment. At a deeper level, the
structural features of the input are analyzed and finally, at the deepest
level of processing, the meaning of the input is analyzed. Analysis to the
deep level of meaning gives the best memory.
Good memory results from deeper and more elaborate processing of
perceptual input Many times it is not necessary to process information
deeply; it is enough to hold the information long enough to act an some
structural feature of it and then discard it. Many of the daily routine
happenings are not processed deeply. It is enough to the respond
appropriately at the moment.
Rehearsal plays a role in the deeper processing of information, as it
does in the stage theories of memory. Rehearsal refers to keeping
information at the center of attention, perhaps by repeating it over and
over again to you. All this does is to maintain the information at a given

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level of depth; for deeper levels to be reached, the rehearsal must be
elaborative. In other words, rehearsal must process the information to
the meaning level if the information is to be well-retained. Rehearsal is
thus seen as a process which gives meaning to information.
The idea of elaboration has been added to the levels-of-processing
theory. Elaboration refers to the degree to which incoming information is
processed so that it can be tied to or integrated with existing memories.
The greater the degree of elaboration given to an item of incoming
information, the more likely it is that it will be remembered.
The amount depends on both the levels of processing and the degree to
which information is elaborated. The best memory is the result of
processing to the meaning level, where the amount of elaborations is
also greatest
11.3.1 Free-Recall Evidence
The dual-memory theory assumes that at the time of recall the last few
words presented are likely to still be in short-term memory, while the
remaining words are in long-term memory. Thus we would expect recall
of the last few words to be high, since items in short - term memory can
easily be retrieved. But recall for the first words presented is also quit
well. Why is this? Dual memory theory has an answer. When the first
words were presented they were entered into short-term memory and
rehearsed. Since there was little else in short-term memory, they were
rehearsed often and were therefore likely to be transferred to long-term
memory. As more items were presented, short-term memory quickly
filled up and opportunities for rehearsal and transfer to long-term
memory decreased to a low level. So only the first few items presented
enjoyed the extra opportunity of transfer, and that is why they are later
recalled so well from long-term memory.
11.4 IMPROVING MEMORY
Some of the general principles described in this lesson suggest methods
through which you can improve memory. You can apply these general
principles, but more specific aids to memory are available.
a) The Method of Loci: The word loci mean 'places'. The memory trace
in this system is parts of your image of a scene. Anything that can be
visualized clearly and contains a no. of discrete items in specific
locations to serve as memory traces.

In trying to memorize a poem, it often helps to visualize the action being

described. Most people will agree that they can form mental pictures;

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although they differ in the vividness of the pictures and the amount of
details included. People with remarkable memories often deal with new
material by forming visual images. For example, a Russian newspaper
reporter who would visualize the digits as written down on a piece of
paper, usually in his own handwriting. To remember a long list of objects
he would visualize the objects arranged in a row with their order
presented. In brief, this technique was to translate the verbal material
into imaged objects and maintain their order by locating them against the
background of a well-known route.
The method of loci requires very little practice. Try to visualize a walk
through the house or apartment in which you line. You enter each room
and observe every object in the rooms. When ready to recall the
shopping list, you take an imaginary walk trying to retrieve the image
associated with each room. This kind of mental imagery isn't the same
as eidetic imagery. An eidetic image is a literal projection before your
eyes. Here, the individual creates an image to help in the recall of
material that may not he pictorial.
In an experiment conducted in the laboratory, the imagery group showed
80 percent recall, whereas the control group remembered only 33 per
cent of the word pairs. Interviews with the control subjects revealed that
some of them were spontaneously using mental imagery to learn the
material, though they were instructed not to form images.
b) Mnemonics: This word comes from the Greek word for “memory"
and this refers to specific memory improvement techniques. People with
super memories sometimes use mnemonics. Most mnemonic
techniques rely on the thinking, or association of to-be-remembered
material. It is a systematic and organized set of images or words that are
ahead firmly established in long-term memory and can therefore serve
as reminder cues. The reminder cues are called memory pegs; the to-
be-remembered items are hung a these "Pegs". The order of the colors
in the spectrum can be remembered by collectively using the first letter
of each color. VIBGYOR = Red, orange, yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo,
Violet, Number and letter peg systems. In number systems you form an
image with each number.
For the number 1 through 10 thinks of a word that rhymes with the
numbers. For example,
1 is a bun 2 is a shore 3 is a tree 4 is a door and so on.
When you have a list to remember, you can associate the items on the
list with your images of the numbers. Letter systems are similar.

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c) Stories you tell yourself: If you have a list of unrelated item to
remember, a useful mnemonic device is to relate the items in a made-up
story. Doing this gives coherence and meaning to otherwise unrelate
items. It is a form of elaborative encoding.
d) Remembering names and faces: First steps in establishing a good
memory for names and faces, you should 1) be sure to hear the name
clearly when introduced 2) repeat the name when acknowledging the
introduced and 3) if the name is unusual, politely ask your new
acquaintance to spell it.
While you are making sure, you have heard and rehearsed the name,
you should he paying close attention to the individual's face. Voice
quality may also be important.
e) Chunking: The mnemonic technique illustrates systematic ways of
encoding information. To remember a telephone or cellular phone
number, you can break the number into chunks. For example, 98402278
as 9870 and 2278. Suppose you want to remember a number
1947/1832/1721 breaks them into small works as 1947/1832/1721. Use
your own creativity and group the numbers that is familiar and work for
you.
f) Dual encoding systems: Research suggests that encoding
information in memory involves two separate processes. These two
types of encoding systems are the nonverbal imagery process and the
verbal symbolic process. The non-verbal imagery process is best suited
for representing concrete-spatial events and objects. Whereas the verbal
symbolic process is best for representing abstract verbal information.
In a paired-associate study both processes are activated when the
subject is given imagery instructions. In the absence of specific
instructions to visualize, the subject relies primarily on the verbal
symbolic process. It is found that the right cerebral hemisphere seems to
play an important role in the imagery process. The left hemisphere pre-
dominates in the verbal symbolic process.
g) Self-recitation during practice: Recall during practice usually takes
the form of reciting to oneself. Such self-recitation increases the
retention of the material studied. Re reading the assignment four times is
likely to be much less effective than reading it once and clearing doubts
for oneself.

The percentage of study time that should be spent in self-recitation

depends of the (a) material and the (2) type of test for which you are

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preparing. The amount of material recalled is function of the percentage
of study time spent in self-recitation.
In self-recitation method, learner has an opportunity to define and select
what is to be remembered. In addition, recitation represents practice in
the retrieval of information.
h) Encoding and Storing Long : Term Memories The Role of
Organization One strategy in remembering things well is to organize, or
arrange, the input so that it fits into existing long-term memory
categories, is grouped in some logical manner, or is arranged in some
other way that makes "sense". The organizational encoding may be
inherent in the input itself or it may be supplied by individuals as they
learn and remember new things. The Method of Loci The word loci mean
“places”. Anything can be visualized clearly that contains a number of
discrete items in specific locations to serve as memory pegs.
i) Number and Letter Peg Systems

The main idea of these systems is to establish, in your long-term

memory, a well-organized set of images to which the to-be-remembered
items can be linked. In number systems, you form an image with each
number. For instance, a rhyming system can be used for the numbers 1
through 10 or example 1, 2, buckle my shoe etc. tell tea. Letter systems
are similar. You can establish mnemonic pegs by forming strong,
distinctive images of words that start with the sounds of the letters of the
alphabet
j) Studying To Remember
First, study is work and takes time, so plan a study schedule that you
can stick to. During the time you set aside for study, work at it instead of
talking to friends or watching television out of the corner of your eye.
Second, rehearsal is crucial for transferring information from short-term
to long-term memory or, alternatively, for the deeper and richer
processing of information that is necessary for a good memory.
Maintenance rehearsal consists of merely repeating information, while
elaborative rehearsal consists of thinking about what is being rehearsed
in an effort to relate it to other things that you know or are learning is
important. Elaborative rehearsal is the kind to use in studying. You
should spend a great deal of your study time in elaborative rehearsal:
Ask yourself what you have just read, what the new concepts and terms
are, and how they relate to other things you know or are learning.
Third, remember the importance of organization during encoding. Give
your own subjective organization to the material, and you will also be
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providing yourself with retrieval cues, or reminders, that will be important
when you try to recall what you are learning. If you can, form visual
images of abstract ideas.
Fourth, try to get some idea of how well you remember the material. If
you study by breaking the material up into parts, try to get some
feedback after you study each part. Go back over what you have just
studied and, using the headings as retrieval cues, ask yourself what is
under each heading. Turn to the terms at the end of the chapter and ask
yourself for definitions of the appropriate terms. Feedback will tell you
both what you both what you have mastered and where you are weak.
When you have finished a chapter, test yourself on it, and do some
additional work on any weak spots. By testing yourself, you will also be
practicing your retrieval skills.
Fifth, review before an examination. You will have forgotten many of the
details you learned. Use the organization of the text to test yourself
during review, and go back over the things you have forgotten,
relearning them the way you learned them in the first place. Thus
Planning, rehearsal, organization, feedback, and review will help you to
remember the study materials better. All the best for good memory!

LET US SUM UP
The two-process theory, in its strongest from, it means that we can learn
something encode it in long-term memory only by first processing it in
short term memory. Whereas, the Information - processing theories of
memory view the memory process in terms of discrete stages.
Furthermore, information is transferred from stage to stage until some of
it is finally registered in long term memory. Long-term memory storage is
comparable to a large filing cabinet. In a free recall list, the ability to
remember the first learnt words are called Primacy effect, whereas, the
last words are called, Recency effect. Some of the general memory
principles described in this chapter have suggested ways in which you
can improve your memory. You can apply some of these general
principles.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. ______________ ___________ usually results from a concussion or
severe injury to the head.

2. The short-term memory STM is viewed as a

rapidly _________system.

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3. Long-term recall may fail because the information was never
transferred to LTM. (True / False)
4. Dual-memory theory provides a way of classifying severe
memory disturbances. (True / False)

5. __________ is the process of receiving sensory input and

transforming it into a form, or code, which can be stored.
6. _____________ refers to keeping information at the center of
attention, perhaps by repeating it over and over again.
7. ____________ refers to the degree to which incoming information is
processed so that it can be tied to or integrated with
existing memories.
8. In the Method of Loci, the word loci means ____________

KEY WORDS
Anterograde Amnesia Chunking

Long term memory Method of Loci

Mnemonics Primacy & Recency effect
Rehearsal Buffer Retrograde Amnesia

Short term memory Tip of the tongue

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. Retrograde amnesia 2. Decaying
3. True 4. True
5. Encoding 6. Rehearsal
7. Elaboration 8. Places

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GLOSSARY
Anterograde Amnesia – Anterograde amnesia is a loss of ability to
create new memories after the event that caused amnesia, leading to a
partial or complete inability to recall the recent past.
Chunking: This mnemonic technique is a systematic way of encoding
information.
Lesion – An abnormal area of tissue inside or outside the body that may
get bigger or change appearance, and may or may not be cancerous.
Mnemonics – the study and development of systems for improving and
assisting the memory.
Recency Effect – It is a cognitive bias in which items, ideas, or
arguments that came last are remembered more clearly than those that
came first.
Retrograde Amnesia – Retrograde amnesia is loss of memory-access
to events that occurred or information that was learned in the past.

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. What is meant by memory?

2. Explain the two process theory of memory

3. Identify the physiological evidences for memory.
4. Explain the primacy and Recency effect
5. Describe the levels of processing theory.
6. How will you improve the memory? Suggest some techniques.

SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Clifford T. Morgan, Richard a King, John R. Weis and John Schopler,
"Introduction to Psychology" - 7th Edition. Tata McGraw Hill Book Co.
New Delhi, 1993.
2. Ernest R. Hilgard, Richard C. Atkinson, Rita L. Atkinson, "Introduction
to Psychology" 6th Edition, Oxford IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi, 1975.
3. Baron A. Robert, Psychology, Pearson Education Vth Ed., 2002.

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Unit 12
LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT
STRUCTURE
Overview

Objectives
12.1 Language and thought
12.1.1 The Thinking process

12.2 The production of speech

12.2.1 Morphemes
12.2.2 Phonemes and morphemes

12.2.3 Deep structure and surface structure

12.2.4 Recording in memory
12.3 Language and forms of thought

12.3.1 Linguistic - relativity hypothesis

12.4 Basic components of language development
12.4.1 From thoughts to sentences

12.4.2 Extracting propositions from sentences

12.4.3 Development of language
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Keywords
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
Thinking is the form of information processing that goes on during the
period between a stimulus event and the response to it. These thinking
activities are carried out through some languages only. Language is a
system of symbols, plus the rules for combining them, used to
communicate information. In this unit, we will focus on the nature of

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language and thought, the thinking process, and the production of
speech, language and forms of thought, basic components of language
development.

OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you would be able to
• explain the nature of language and thought
• analyze the thinking process
• describe the production of speech
• explain the concepts of morpheme and phoneme
• explain the linguistic-relativity hypothesis
• discuss about the basic components of language development

12.1 LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT

During most of our waking hours, and even when we are asleep and
dreaming, We are thinking; it is hard not to think. As you read these
words you are thinking, and even if you stop thinking about what you are
reading and your thoughts wander off to something else perhaps to what
you are going to do tomorrow you will still be thinking. Thinking
represents the most complex form of human behaviour, the highest form
of mental activity.
What do we do when we think? We might say that we mentally, or
cognitively, process information. Thinking consists of the cognitive
rearrangement or manipulation of both information from the environment
and the symbols stored in long-term memory. A symbol represents, or
stands for, some event or item in the world; as we will see, images and
language symbols are used in much of our thinking.
Thought is symbolic and can have a wider content than other kinds of
activity. It incorporates present perceptions and activities into its topics.
But it deals with their meanings which go beyond the present; hence
thought reflects upon and elaborates what is given in perception. The
general definition of thinking given above includes many different
varieties of though. One type of thinking which is highly private may use
symbols with very personal meanings. This kind of thinking is called
artistic thinking. Dreams are an example of artistic thinking.

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Some thinking is highly private and may use symbols with very personal
meanings. This kind of thinking is called autistic thinking; dreams are an
example of autistic thinking. Other thinking is aimed at solving problems
or creating something new; this is called directed thinking.
Thinking is the form of information processing that goes on during the
period between a stimulus event and the response to it. In other words,
thinking is the set of cognitive processes that mediate, or go between,
stimuli and responses.
12.1.1 The Thinking Process
The symbols that we use in thinking are often words and language, and
therefore thinking and language are closely related. A language makes
available hundreds of thousands of potential symbols and gives us rules
for using them. To a large degree, the availability of language symbols is
what makes human thinking so much more sophisticated that the
thinking of other animals.

For many people, much of the time, a good deal of thinking involves the
use of word symbols and the rules of grammar to join the words into
phrases and sentences. The words, their meanings, and the rules for
joining them together are stored in our semantic long-term memories.
When we think with language, we draw on this store of information to
use language as a tool of thought.
Some theorists view of the role of language in thinking; they claim that
language can actually determine the thoughts we are capable of
having. Because, so much thinking involves language, the idea arose in
psychology, that the thinking was actually, a kind of inner speech, a kind
of "talking to yourself under your breath." According to this idea, people
make small movements of the vocal apparatus when they think and
carry on their thinking by talking to themselves.
Language is a system of symbols, plus rules for combining them, used
to communicate information. Language uses symbols for communicating
information. For a set of symbols to be viewed as a language, however,
several other criteria must be met.
First, information must actually be transmitted by the symbols. The
words and sentences must carry meaning. Second, although the number
of separate sounds or words in a language may be limited, it must be
possible to combine these elements into an essentially infinite number of
sentences. Finally, the meanings of these combinations must be
independent of the settings in which they are used. In other words,
sentences must be able to convey information about other places and
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other times. Only if all three of these criteria are met can the term
language be applied to a system of communication. Language involves
two major components: the production of speech, and its
comprehension.
12.2 THE PRODUCTION OF SPEECH
All spoken language consists of phonemes, a set of basic sounds;
morphemes, the smallest units of speech that convey the meaning and
syntax, rules about how these units can be combined into sentences.
There are 40 or so phonemes, or categories of speech sounds that are
used in English.
12.2.1 Morphemes
A morpheme is the smallest linguistic unit that carries meaning. Most
morphemes are themselves words, like “time." Others and suffixes, like
"ly," or prefixes, like “un," which are added on to words to form more
complex ones, like “timely" or "untimely."

Structure of Language
Two major functions of language are as follows:
1) It allows us to communicate with one another

2) It provides a system of symbols and rules that facilitates our thinking.

The study of language involves both the linguistics and psychology.
Linguistics deals with the study of the structure of language, including
speech sounds, their meanings, and the grammar that relates to sounds
and meanings.
Psychologists study how we acquire language and how such a system
functions. Psycholinguistics incorporates the linguistic and the
psychological methods to study the mental processes underlying the
acquisition and use of language.
12.2.2 Phonemes and Morphemes
Elementary sounds on which language is based are known as
phonemes. The smallest meaningful units in the structure of a language
are called morphemes. Every language has certain restrictions on how
phonemes can be sequenced and combined. The restrictions a
language places on phoneme sequencing help prevent errors of
interpretation.

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Phrase Structure and Rule Learning: Rules also specify
1) How words are formed from morphemes (formation of plurals).
2) How sentences are formed from words.
A sentence can be analyzed at a number of levels. The speech sounds
can be analyzed and classified as phonemes. The phonemes can then
be grouped into meaningful units as morphemes and words. And the
words can be categorized into phrases to give structure to the sentence.
Linguists have found it useful to describe a sentence by the organization
of its various phrases. Such a description is called the phrase-structure
of the sentence.
Sentence (s) consists of a noun phrase (NP) followed by a verb phrase
(VP). These phrases can be similarly unpacked into their constituents.
A transformational rule is a rewrite rule that allows a complete sentence
to be rewriter as a different sentence. Transformations, at the level of
relationships among word that is the phrase-structure rules and
relationships among sentences that are transformational rules that are
assumed by some psycholinguists to reflect universal properties of the
mind.

The location of pauses is also fixed by phrase structure. Research

results suggest that the phrase structure of sentences function as
natural units in the perception of speech in normal conversation the
listener does not perceive each word as a unit, but rather the phrase
operates as a unit.
The effects of phrase structure are also evident in the retrieval of
information from memory. When a test occurs, the speed of response
depends on the location of the test word in the phrase structure of the
sentence.
12.2.3 Deep Structure and Surface Structure
Language is a system that relates sound to meaning. The some
meaning can be expressed by different patterns of sound. Conversely, a
single sound pattern can have more than one meaning. This has led to
the distinction between the surface structure and the deep structure of
a sentence. The concept of deep structure is used to refer to the intent
of sentences and the thought behind it. The surface structure is the
actual sound sequence the production of the sentence. It is assumed
that the deep structure is transformed into the surface structure by a
series of rules.

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12.2.4 Recording in Memory
Related to the issue of deep structure is the question of what information
is coded in memory when we hear something. We often cannot repeat
what we hear word for word. It appears that the meaning of the message
is remembered even when surface features of the sentence are
forgotten. Apparently, the original form of the sentence is held only long
enough for comprehension; once a semantic interpretation has been
made, the meaning alone is retained. The meaning of the sentence is
coded in memory. But surface structure and stylistic details are soon
forgotten.
12.3 LANGUAGE AND FORMS OF THOUGHT
Language in Children's Thinking: A child's ability to use language
corresponds closely to his ability to deal with concepts and relationships.
Older children are more developed as problem-solvers, regardless
of whether they relied upon languages, the younger children are able to
use language to some extent, but not well enough to serve as a tool for
thinking.
Studies compare the performances of deaf-mute children and those with
normal hearing indicate that language may aid in solving problems of
relationships and concept formation. But, it is not essential for the
development of such cognitive abilities.
12.3.1 Linguistic - Relativity Hypothesis
We commonly believe that any idea expressed in one language can be
translated into another language. But Whorf in 1956, who was a student
of American Indian languages, found such direct translation is often
impossible. One of the language, he studied, makes no clear distinction
between nouns and verbs; another language blurs the distinction ions of
past, present and future; a third uses the same name of the colors gray
and brown. These differences led Whorf to two conclusions:
1) The world is conceived differently by those whose languages
are of completely unlike structure.
2) The structure of language is a cause of these different ways
of conceiving the world.

Whorf's thesis is known to explain the linguistic-relativity hypothesis. It

proposed that though is relative to the language in which it is conducted;
that there is a close correspondences between language and thinking.

It is time that those experiences significant to people affect the way

things are expressed in language. Thus Eskimos have different words
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for different kinds of snow that we would not be able to tell apart. And
the Hanunoo of the Philippines islands have names for ninety-two
varieties of rice.
Simulation Models: Computer programs used to mirror the cognitive
activity of human beings are called simulation modes. The first attempt
to simulate complex cognitive processes was made by Newell and
Simon (1956) that developed and information processing model to prove
theorems in symbolic logic.
Surface Structure and Deep Structure
a) Surface Structure: The actual words of which sentences
consist.
b) Deep Structure: Information that underlies the forms of a
sentence and is crucial to its meaning.
12.4 BASIC COMPONENTS OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
a) Phonological Development: Development of the ability to
produce recognizable speech.

b) Semantic Development: Development of understanding of

the meaning of spoken or written language.

c) Grammar: Rules within a given language indicating how words

a) can be combined into meaningful sentences.
d) Babbling: An early stage of speech development in which
infants emit virtually all known sounds of human speech.

e) Do We Think What We Say or Say What We Think?

Although we often have vivid mental images, most of our thinking seems
to involve words. The linguistic relativity hypothesis, suggests that the
language, actually shapes or determines thought (Whorf, 1956).
According to this view, people who speak different languages may
actually perceive the world in different way because their thinking is
determined, at least in part, by the words available to them. The
opposing view is that thought shapes language. This position suggests
that, language merely reflects the way we think-how our minds work.
12.4.1 From Thoughts to Sentences
Propositions

The thoughts expressed in sentences often take the form of

propositions. Example, "Susan likes vegetables". In this example, the
assertion (Susan) likes vegetables is called the predicate; the person is
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called the subject. A proposition, then, consists of a subject plus a
predicate. All sentences, no matter how complex, can be broken down
into propositions.
How do propositions correspond to thoughts? A good deal of evidence
shows that people take longer to read a sentence that are expressing
two propositions, than one expressing a single proposition, even when
they contain the identical number of words. Simple thoughts, which
correspond to single propositions, often assert an attribute, state, or
activity about some person or object.
12.4.2 Extracting Propositions from Sentences
How do we extract propositions from sentences? We break a sentence
into phrases, where each phrase corresponds to either the subject or the
predicate of a proposition, or to an entire proposition. Things get more
interesting for more complex sentences. Consider “Serious scholars
read books." Intuition says the sentence divides into two phrases.
"Serious scholars" and "read books”. Since the first centers on a noun
(“scholars"), it is called a noun phrase; "serious scholars," we see it
expresses the entire proposition scholars are serious. The verb phrase,
“read books," expresses only part of another proposition, scholars read
books. Thus in this example the noun phrase expresses an entire
proposition while the verb phrase expresses only part the predicate-of a
proposition.
Breaking a sentence into noun and verb phrases may help greatly in
getting at the propositions or thoughts behind it.
12.4.3 Development of Language
From Primitive to Complex Sentences
During the first year of life, preverbal children acquire three types of
knowledge they will use when they begin to speak. First, children learn
specific facts about their world-their mother provides food, this toy
makes a noise, and so forth-and these are the things they will talk about
when they utter their first words. Second, preverbal children learn the
roles different things play in their world. Third, the preverbal that the
children learn to communicate with gestures. Seven or eight month olds
know that when an adult points to an object, they or to look at the object
and not at the adult's hand. About three months later, children
themselves begin to point in order to pick things out for individuals they
are trying to communicate with (Bruner, 1978). Knowledge of facts,
roles, and communication sets the stage for acquiring sentences.

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At about 12 to 18 months, children begin to utter single words that refer
to specific things they have had contact with. They talk predominantly
about people, food, toys, animals, body parts, and the like using words
like “Dada," "cookie," "block," "doggie," and "foot."
At about one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half years, the next stage of
language acquisition begins. Children start to combine single words into
two-word utterances-such as “There cow” There's the cow, “Jimmy bike”,
That's Jimmy's bike “Towel bed" The towel's on the bed. Their
utterances reflect an appreciation of the roles of agent, object, and
location.
Children progress rapidly from two-word utterances to more complex
sentences. Clearly they do not just acquire a larger and larger
vocabulary. They also learn more about how words are combined into
sentences to express propositions clearly. Thus “Daddy hat" may
become “Daddy wear hat" and finally “Daddy is wearing a hat." Such
expansions of the verb phrase appear to be the first truly complex
constructions that occur in children's speech.
Children also learn to use certain morphemes that are critical for making
sentences grammatical. Important grammatical morphemes include the
suffixes "in" that the added to verbs to form the progressive "kicking",
"ed" that is added to regular verbs to form the past "kicked"), "s" (added
to nouns to form the plural "boys" and added to verbs in the present
tense for the third person singular
Thus children progress from one word utterances about agents, objects,
and places that they know to two word "telegrams." Then they begin to
elaborate their noun and verb phrases.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. ____________ consists of the cognitive rearrangement or
manipulation of both information from the environment and the
symbols stored in long-term memory.
2. A __________ represents, or stands for, some event or item in
the world.
3. ___________ the smallest units of speech that convey meaning.
4. ___________ is a system of symbols, plus rules for combining
them, used to communicate information.

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 5. __________ rules about how these units can be combined
into sentences.

6. _______ _________ is the development of understanding of the

meaning of spoken or written language.

LET US SUM UP
Thinking consists of the cognitive rearrangement or manipulation of both
information from the environment and the symbols stored in long-term
memory. A symbol stands for, some event or item in the world, images
and language symbols. Thought is symbolic and can have a wider
content than other kinds of activity. Most of our thoughts involve several
concepts. According the linguistic relativity hypothesis help for the
conception of the world. Language development starts from the mono-
syllable word to the complex sentences.
KEY WORDS

Language Syntax Semantic development

Surface structure Thinking Symbol
Model questions Grammar Linguistic Relativity

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Thinking 2. Symbol 3. Morphemes
4. Language 5. Syntax 6. Semantic Development

GLOSSARY
Babbling – Babbling is a stage in child development and a state in
language acquisition during which an infant appears to be experimenting
with their own words.

Morphemes: The smallest unit of language that has its own meaning,
either a word or part of a word.
Phonemes: The smallest unit of speech distinguishing one word from
another.
Preverbal Communication: A form of communication that infants use
to interact with people around them.

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Simulation Models: Computer programs used to mirror the cognitive
activity of human beings are called simulation modes.

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Explain concept of the production of speech.
2. Explain the linguistic-relativity hypothesis.

SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Clifford T. Morgan, Richard a King, John R. Weiss and John Schopler,
"Introduction to Psychology" - 7th Edition. Tata McGraw Hill Book Co.
New Delhi, 1993.
2. Ernest R. Hilgard, Richard C. Atkinson, Rita L. Atkinson, "Introduction
to Psychology" 6th Edition, Oxford IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi, 1975.
3. Baron A. Robert, Psychology, Pearson Education Vth Ed., 2002.

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Unit 13
THINKING, REASONING AND CONCEPT FORMATION

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
13.1 Nature and types of thinking
13.1.1 Logical vs Illogical thinking
13.1.2 Cognition
13.2 Reasoning
13.2.1 Formal versus everyday reasoning
13.3 Some basic sources of error
13.4 Concept formation: nature of concepts
13.4.1 Typicality
13.4.2 Hierarchy of concepts
13.4.3 Acquiring concepts
13.5 Symbols and concepts
13.6 Concept formation
13.6.1 How concept is formed
13.6.2 Proposition: relations between concepts
13.6.3 Concepts and categories
13.7 Theories of concepts for concrete objects
13.8 The theoretical nature of concepts
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Keywords
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
Thinking represents the most complex form of human behaviour, and the
highest form of mental activity. Thinking is an activity that involves the
manipulation of mental representations of the various features of the
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external world. Thinking includes reasoning mental activity through
which we transform available information in order to reach conclusions.
Concepts are the building blocks of thought. Concepts develop into the
complex thoughts, which will be expressed in the language.

OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you would be able to
• explain the nature and types of thinking
• explain the various types of reasoning

• identify the sources of error in reasoning

• describe the nature of concepts
• explain the symbols and concepts
• describe how concepts are being formed
• analyze the theories of concept formation

13.1 NATURE AND TYPES OF THINKING

We all think as human beings and we know what thinking is. In fact the
famous quote saying that, "I think, therefore I am" does indicate the
significance of thinking and it's inter tenement with living. However,
thinking cannot be directly observed. The process of thinking, therefore,
must be inferred from your behaviour. It is behaviour which is being
directed by our thoughts, followed by actions.
This understanding of thinking by psychologists has led them to define
thinking as a response and according to them thinking could be just
talking to one's own self. This is a very simple definition and so limited.
Thinking is a complex chain of many ideas or symbols. It is not a mere
chain, it is a manipulation of ideas and symbols. Therefore, a more
comprehensive definition of thinking, would be a mental manipulation of
the information.
Thinking is not exclusive to human beings alone. Animals obviously do
some kind of thinking. Babies do think even before they learn language.
It seems therefore that thinking does not always require language. But
most of us think mostly in words atleast most of the time, and language
greatly enlarges the scope of our thinking. Thinking of the sounds and
the pictures for example, do not require any language.

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Whether we are remembering about our childhood, daydreaming about
television stardom, or trying fixing a leakage of water, painting a mural,
we are "thinking”. It is a very broad and complex term. It includes
processes from preoccupation and daydreaming to complex problem
solving and creativity and innovation. Psychologists often refer to the
thinking process as "cognition". Cognition refers to any mental activity
whether conscious or unconscious.
'Thought' comes in various forms. Sometime we think in terms of
images. For example, it we are asked to come up with a new scheme of
rearranging our drawing room in order to accommodate a TV, DVD or
new furniture, we would undoubtedly think in terms of visualizing our
room h the new addition in terms of what we call as 'images'. But certain
other situations will require only the verbal expressions like, say, for
example, our electricity charges or telephone call rates increase. Then
our thinking will be on increase. Then our thinking will be a mental
speech, to identifying attributes of the appropriateness or injustice of the
rates hike as the case may be.
Sometimes our thoughts are neither in the forms of words nor images.
Once again ideas of peace, kindness, sorrow are simply "concepts”
which you can feel. Concepts are formed from experiences. Most of our
thoughts involve a combination of images, words, and concepts. It is not
always easy to distinguish among them. To illustrate this, we can simply
think of a vacation we had last year. Are you able to separate the
images, words, and concepts in your thoughts? It is totally impossible.
We think of many things as we look around us. We are always in search
of meanings and relationships that enable us to form concepts and
categories. As we accumulate more knowledge these concepts change
and become more and more refined as elaborate. The mind, it has been
said, is constantly working on its knowledge. Trying to understand and
absorb the new revising the old, in light of the new.
We think about what we have learned about our world in the past and
we plan to do in the world tomorrow. We think about our food, clothing
and shelter, about our classes and job, about the people we know and
our relationships with them. We also think about ideas and develop our
own set of beliefs about religion, politics and what is good and bad in our
society.
13.1.1 Logical Vs Illogical Thinking
As we think of complex things and manipulate, it is most probable, that
we may be right or wrong in our thinking this is usually referred as logical

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or illogical thinking. Logical thinking means drawing conclusions that
follow inescapably from the rules we have learned and the premises we
have adopted. A simple example would be in answering the question:
"Does whale nurse its young?" We know the rule that all mammals nurse
their young. We also know that whale is a mammal. Therefore it follows
that a whale must nurse its young.
Logical thinking means drawing conclusions that are not justified, by
evidences as rules, facts and promises. For example, a young woman
may decide to become a teacher as a result of thinking that, “my mother
was enjoying her teaching." Therefore I will be happy only as a teacher".
This becomes illogical for the simple times even lower than that needed
for choosing a teaching job. So the illogical aspect, enters only in their
premises though the influences that, follow the appropriate rule of a
conclusion. This is why, we find people debating over same issues in
totally different or diagonally opposite directions. Arguments of their kind
never come to an end and left inconclusive since human beings involved
in such arguments are convinced about their premises however illogical
it may be.

Problem solving, involves processing information in various ways in

order to move toward desired goals.
13.1.2 Cognition

The activities involved in thinking, reasoning, decision making, memory.

problem solving and all other forms of higher mental processes. At any
given moment, consciousness contains a rapidly shifting pattern of
diverse thoughts, impressions, and feelings. In order to try to understand
this complex and ever changing pattern, psychologists have often
adopted two main strategies. First, they have focused on the basic
elements of thought and how, precisely the aspects of the external world
are represented in our thinking. Second, they have sought to determine
the manner in which we reason-how we attempt to process available
information cognitively in order to reach specific conclusions.
13.2 REASONING
Reasoning is also part of thinking. It is relevant information processing
form the environment on the basis of the particular motive or goal. This
reasoning is of three types namely, inductive, deductive and evaluative.
Inductive reasoning involves constructing an inference from a minimum
data. The thinker has to depend on a small set of data to draw
inferences.

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Deductive reasoning involves analysis and synthesis. It consists of
premised and inferences drawn. For example, the premise is “All human
beings are mortal" and when there is another premise "Socrates is a
man”, then the inference will be "Socrates is mortal".
The third type of reasoning, namely, evaluative reasoning is judging the
soundness or appropriateness of a decision, action or an idea. For
example, critical thinking is evaluative it involves judging the suitability or
goodness or effectiveness of an idea or representation, as distinguished
from trying to create or add to it. But, the validity depends on the criteria
that is used, as a standard for evaluation. If the standard is faulty, then
the judgment is also faulty.
13.2.1 Formal versus Everyday Reasoning
In formal reasoning, all the required information is supplied, the problem
to be solved is straightforward, there is typically only one correct answer,
and the reasoning we apply follows a specific method. One important
type of formal reasoning is syllogistic reasoning in which conclusions are
based on two propositions called premises. For example, consider the
following syllogism:

Premise: All people who love chocolate are extremely kind.

Premise: Saddam Hussein loves chocolate.
Conclusions: Therefore, Saddam Hussein is extremely kind.
Is the conclusion correct? According to the rules of formal reasoning, it
is. But you may find it hard to accept and the problem should be
obvious. At least one of the premises is incorrect: There is no strong
evidence that all people who love chocolate are extremely kind. This
simple example illustrates an important point: Formal reasoning can
provide a powerful tool for processing complex information, but only
when its initial premises are correct
Everyday reasoning involves the kind of thinking we do in our daily lives:
planning, making, commitments, evaluating arguments. In such
reasoning some of the premises are implicit, or unstated.
13.3 SOME BASIC SOURCES OF ERROR
The role of emotion and beliefs: The way we feel-our current moods or
emotions can strongly affect various aspects of cognition.
Oversight Bias: The tendency to overlook flaws if the overall topic or
issue is perceived as important.

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The Confirmation Bias
The confirmation bias leads individuals to test conclusions or
hypotheses by examining primarily or only evidence consistent with their
initial views. As a result, these views may be maintained regardless of
the weight of the opposing evidence.

Hindsight: The "I knew it all along" effect revisited

Confirmation Bias: The tendency to pay attention primarily to the
information, that confirms the existing views or beliefs.
Hindsight Effect: The tendency to assume that we would have been
better at predicting actual events than is really true.
13.4 CONCEPT FORMATION: NATURE OF CONCEPTS
What is the concept of apple? Roughly, it means that we know the
properties common to all or most apples, that they are edible, have
seeds, grow on trees, and round, have distinctive colors, and so on.
Having perceived some visible properties of the object, something round
and red, on a tree, we assign it to the concept or apple. This allows us to
infer properties that are not visible-for instance, that it is dibble. And this
ability is fundamental to thought.
We do not have to perceive the properties of an object or a person to
know a lot about it. If you are introduced to a doctor, you immediately
know he or she has a medical degree, extensive knowledge about
disease, and experience with patients, you do not have to see any of
these properties directly; you can infer them indirectly from the concept
of doctor. Concepts, then allow us to apply what we already know the

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common properties of a doctor or an apple-to people and objects we
encounter for the first time.
We also have concepts of activities, like eating; of states, like being old;
and of abstract things, like truth, justice, or even the number two.
Concepts with single word names are sometimes called semantic
concepts (they are used to from the semantic codes for long-term
memory.
13.4.1 Typicality
We rate red apples as more typical than green ones and robins as more
typical birds than chickens. Not only do people judge one member of a
concept to be more typical than the other, they also classify the more
typical one faster. The question "Is a robin a bird?" produces an
immediate "yes"; "Is a chicken a bird?" takes longer. We treat the ability
to fly as a property of the concept bird, even though some-such as
chickens or penguins-do not fly. A property that is true of most but not of
all birds is said to be only characteristic of the concept bird. Typical
members have more characteristic properties of their concept than do
less typical ones. A robin is a more typical bird than a chicken, in part
because a robin can fly.
Concepts about people also contain properties that are not true of all
instances. Consider the concept computer scientist. Some properties
like, knows how to program a computer-and has a need for order and
clarity. Typicality has important implications for mental life. When we
think of a concept, we are likely to think of a typical instance of it. Your
concept a doctors is probably those who are middle aged and male
why? Because most doctors you've seen, either directly or through the
media, have been middle-aged males. These characteristic properties,
have become a part of your concept. You are essentially thinking in
terms of stereotypes. If the Doctor Jones was young and female, you'd
be surprised. Our thoughts and expectations then are biased in
important ways. They can be changed by experience. With more and
more women becoming doctors, our concept of doctors should change.
13.4.2 Hierarchy of Concepts
Words in capital letters represent semantic concepts; lower-case words
depict properties of these concepts. The black lines show direct relations
between concepts, while the colored lines connect properties and their
appropriate concepts.

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In addition to knowing the properties of concepts, we also know how
they are Prevample, apples are momhain menntast men larger category,
fruit; robins are a subset or birds, which in turn are a subset or animals.
13.4.3 Acquiring Concepts
Children's Concepts
Knowledge about concepts is one of the most important things children
learn. We get an idea of how children acquire concepts by looking at
their first use of words. At the age of about one year, children begin to
name things. One year olds already know a good deal about the world
they probably have concepts for parents and household pets before they
know the names for them. To learn which word goes with which
concept, the children look at what is happening around them when a
word is used and when the take the important aspects of the situation as
the meaning of the word. They are essentially creating hypotheses.
Children often pick out only one or two properties of a concept when a
whole cluster of properties is relevant. A two-year-old boy might hear
"doggie" spoken in the presence of the family dog, focus on the fact that
it has four legs and moves, and hypothesize these two features define
"doggie.” He then applies the term to the cats and cows, which also have
four legs and move. He overextends the meaning of "doggie" to other
animals. Overextensions decrease as the child adds more properties to
the word's meaning-for example, sound (barks), size (relatively small),
and texture (furry), This restricts his use of “doggie". At the same time,
he is learning more about cats (they meow) and cows (they moo and
have horns). Thus, the meanings of these three animal terms become
further and further differentiated from one another.
13.5 SYMBOLS AND CONCEPTS
Basic Elements of Thought: Concepts, Proposition, Images
Concepts are mental categories for objects, events, experiences, or
ideas that are similar to one another in one or more respects. Concepts
play a central role in our task of understanding the world around us and
representing it mentally.
Artificial and natural concepts. Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?
Many people would answer, "A vegetable.” Botanists, however, classify
it as a fruit, since it contains seeds and its structure is definitely more like
that of apples and pears than those of potatoes and spinach. Artificial
concepts are defined by a set of rules or properties. Thus, a tomato is a
fruit because it possesses the properties established by botanists for this

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category. Natural concepts are ones that have no fixed and readily
specified set of defining features.
For example: is a psychologist a scientist?
Natural concepts are often based on prototypes the best or clearest
examples. Prototypes emerge from our experience with the
external world, and new items that might potentially fit within their
category are then compared with them. The more attributes new items
share with an existing prototype, the more likely that they are to be
included within the concept. For clothing, most people think of items like
shirts, pants, or shore. They are far less likely to mention wet suits, mink
coats, or coats of armor.
13.6 CONCEPT FORMATION
Concepts are formed passed on their features or attributes. As natural
concepts are formed, the attributes associated with them may be stored
in memory. Then, when a new item is encountered, its attributes are
compared with the ones already present. The closer the match, the more
likely is the item to be included within the concept. As a second
possibility is that natural concepts are formed, through visual image:
mental pictures of objects or events in the external world. When asked
whether chess in a sport, did you conjure up an image of two players
bending intently over the board while an audience looked on. If so, you
can readily see how visual images may play a role in the representation
of natural concepts.
Finally, it is important to note that concepts are closely related to
schemas, cognitive frameworks that represent our knowledge of
assumptions about the world. For example, each of us possesses a self-
schema, a mental framework holding a wealth of information about our
own traits, characteristics, and expectations. This framework, in turn,
may contain many different concepts, such as intelligence,
attractiveness, health, and so on. Some of these are natural concepts,
so the possibility exists that natural concepts are represented, as least in
part, through their links to schemas and other broad cognitive
frameworks.
13.6.1 How Concept is formed
Human beings when learning to think, also learn to form concepts. The
ability to form concepts starts developing from the time we are born. A
young child start developing from the time we are born. A young child for
example, has difficulty informing the concept, “food and consequently

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may eat strange and sometimes dangerous objects. We all learn to
classify and group objects appropriately.
The task of forming concepts was studied by many learning theorists
including Clark Hull. Their interest in concept formation focused on its
relationship to the processes of stimulus generalization and
discrimination. That is, the concept formation task requires that the same
response be given to several stimuli and this is called stimulus
generalization. In addition, concept formation requires stimulus
discrimination, because not all stimuli are correctly responded to with the
name of the concept. Responses paired incorrectly with stimuli are not
rewarded, and this eventfully leads to extinction and then to stimulus
discrimination. Rats and other animals can learn concepts based upon
colour, shape and pattern. While stimulus - response associations can
explain the simple types of concept formation, they do not fully account
for more complex concepts. We shall discuss some of these complicated
concepts in the following Para on information-processing approaches.
From an information processing view point, there is little difference
between problem-solving and concept formation. Both type of thinking
utilize manipulation of symbols according to rules: algorithms and
heuristics. The task is dependent on rules called serial pattern learning.
This task is very similar to traditional concept formation tasks, but with
this difference it used several symbols string out in a row rather than a
single symbol.
In additions to simple concepts and sets of rules that always go in the
same order, people can also master complex arrangements of rules.
They gradually learn lower order rules to higher order rules. These
higher order rules involve cognitive structures such as schema, script,
attribution, heuristics and inference strategies. A Schema is a network of
interrelated concepts. A script involves the sequences of interrelated
events. Attribution is an inference about causality and also gives
predictions. Heuristics are the cognitive strategies or rules of thumb on
which we base our behaviour. Based on these Strategies inferences and
judgments are made.
Concepts are important language symbols used in thinking. A concept is
a symbolic construction that represents some common and general
feature of features of many objects or events. Examples are “man,"
"red," "triangle", "motivation”, “atom", "anger", and the word concept
itself. In fact, most of the nouns in our vocabulary are names of
concepts; the only exceptions are proper nouns names of specific things
or persons
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The human ability to form concepts enables us to classify things into
categories. With a concept of "red", for example, we can sort objects into
red and not red; with a concept of "fruit", we can classify things into fruit
and not fruit. The feature or features we select define the concept and
form the basis for making classifications. When a classification has been
made, we tend to behave toward, and think about, members of the class
in similar ways. Thus, since concepts are ways of classifying the diverse
elements in the world a rounds us, they are convenient tools to use in
thinking about the world and in solving problems.
Some concepts seem "basic" and "natural". These concepts, or
categories, are acquired easily; appear in thinking very early in life; and,
to some degree, reflect the way the brain processes and sorts
information. An example of such a natural concept is the division of the
colors of the spectrum into the categories “red”, “green”, and so forth.
Basic categories such as chair”, "tree", and "fruit" are other examples of
natural concepts.
Unlike natural categories, many of our concepts are acquired more
slowly and with more effort. Discrimination learning plays a role in the
formation of some concepts. This type of learning occurs when some
responses are rewarded, or reinforced, and other responses are not
rewarded. A child, for instance, gradually learns the concept "apple" by
being rewarded with a “Right!" after saying "apple” and pointing to one,
but not after saying "apple: and pointing to something else. By seeing
examples of a concept in different contexts, or settings, we often learn
the defining features of the concept.
In addition to discrimination learning and context, a third way of
acquiring new concepts is, of course, by definition. Many of the concepts
acquired in the later stages of a person's education are learned in this
way. Definition then helps us acquire the concepts by describing them in
terms of other words or concepts with which we are already familiar.
13.6.2 Proposition: Relations between Concepts
Thinking involves active manipulation of internal representations of the
external world. The representations that are mentally manipulated are
often concepts. Propositions: Sentences that relate one concept to
another and can stand as separate assertions. For example, consider
the following propositions: “This is a very interesting lesson".
Lesson and interesting indicates some kind or relationship between the
concepts or between the concepts and one or more of their features.
Propositions are one of the basic elements of thought.

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Images: Mental Pictures of the World
Images, are mental pictures of the world, are a basic element of thinking.
Mental images serve important purposes in thinking. People report using
them for understanding verbal instructions, by converting the words into
mental pictures of actions for increasing motivation, by imagining the
successful performance; and for enhancing their own moods, by
visualizing positive events or scenes.
13.6.3 Concepts and Categories
Schemes played an important role in our sketch of the classical theory of
the cognitive architecture. We have endowed them with several
important properties. Once a schema is activated by some features in
the current external or cognitive environment, it exerts effects on the
allocation of attention and working-memory resources, serving as a filter
that discards irrelevant information and focuses processing on what is
relevant. Because it can function as a single chunk in working memory, it
can facilitate processing. Because it organizes attention and processing,
it can have effects on later memory white (these are discussed further
later in this chapter. Because a schema represents generalizations
about the world, it triggers inferences or predictions that guide thought
and action. Schemes act to classify objects and situations, to assign
them to categories. Once a classification is made, all the knowledge
associated with the relevant category can be brought into play. Finally,
we noted that schema-driven cognition can lead to various kinds of error.
The dominance of a particular schema can lead us to ignore features of
a situation that are actually relevant to current goals or to make
inappropriate or incorrect inferences.
Research on schemes is guided by a number of deep issues. There are
many questions about how schemes are represented, how they are
activated, and how they are learned. In this section we will explore some
of these questions further, focusing mostly on concepts for concrete
objects.
13.7 THEORIES OF CONCEPTS FOR CONCRETE OBJECTS
A great deal of psychological research has been devoted to the
information content of simple, concrete concepts, such as dog or chair.
One attractive theory of simple conceptual schemes is the definitional
theory, which has a long history in philosophy and thus is sometimes
known as the classical theory of concepts. This theory states that the
information content of a concept is a definition that gives the necessary
and sufficient conditions that an object must meet to fall under the

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concept. For example, a reasonable schema for grandmother would be
a small, network of propositions containing the information that a
grandmother is a female person, with at least one child who has at least
one child. Each proposition, or feature, of the schema is necessary for
grand motherhood, and the schema as a whole is sufficient to determine
grand motherhood. The definition is general because many possible
attributes of people are not mentioned in it, such as height or favorite ice
cream flavor. Even reasonably the probable attributes of grandmothers
are not mentioned, such as over forty years old nor has gray hair. The
power of definitional schemes is that reasoning from a definition to a
particular situation is completely reliable, because every property in the
definition is true of every instance.
In spite of the attractions of the definitional theory, many psychologists
have been impressed with its potential problems. The most immediate
problem is that we do not seem to have a very clear sense of the
necessary and sufficient conditions for most simple concepts. Many of
us, for example, are quite willing to apply the concept grandmother to a
woman whose only child is an adopted son who has children. Matters
are much worse for concepts such as dog. Just what makes an object a
dog seems to be unknown to most of the people who use the concept,
aside from an occasional professional biologist or breeder? Further, the
definitional theory gives no account of our use of characteristics of object
that could not figure in a definition because they are neither necessary
nor sufficient. Introspection suggests that our use of most ordinary
concepts frequently involves knowledge of properties that are clearly not
necessary. Without seeming to register any mental reservations, we
blithely assume that grandmothers are over forty and that dogs have
four legs (although a dog can lose a leg without ceasing to be a dog).
When we think very carefully, we realize such things, but it seems likely
that most of the time we opt for more efficient thinking. We classify
objects on the basis of features that are available in the current input but
that are logically insufficient. An object will be classified as a dog, not on
the basis of a careful assessment of its morphology or chromosomes but
on the basis of its shape, gait, or bark, although these characteristics
might also be true of a movie robot or of some unfamiliar marsupial from
an isolated island.
Such intuitions have led cognitive scientists away from the definitional
approach toward alternatives that allow a much broader range of
characteristics to play a role in conceptual sachems. Such approaches
are probabilistic in the sense that most of the features or characteristics
associated with a concept will have a likelihood that is less than
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absolute. Predictions based on a categorization decision will be
inherently probabilistic. The categorization decision itself also becomes
probabilistic. The available features do an object will assign it to a
category with some probability rather than absolutely. Some objects will
be difficult to classify because the available features do not support any
category very strongly or support more than one equally.
Under the probabilistic approach the instances of a concept tend to have
a family resemblance structure. They tend to resemble each other in the
way members of a family do. Some members of a conceptual family will
be very typical because they share many features with many of our
family members. Some members of a family might, however, be highly
atypical because they share only a few features with other family
members. The robin, for example, is a typical bird in that it is similar to
other common birds-for example, it shares the capacity for flight, a
length of about nine inches, a tendency to perch in the branches of
trees, and the ability to sing. None of these features is necessary for bird
hood, but the family resemblance theory assumes that they play a strong
role in our concept of bird, nonetheless. The penguin, however, has
none of these common features, although it does have feathers and lay
eggs, which are closer to being necessary features. The family
resemblance theory assumes that, the penguin is an atypical bird with
many uncommon features and therefore it is difficult to be viewed as a
bird.
The family resemblance structure of a concept can be captured in
various ways. One way is to set up a probabilistic schema. Such a
schema is an organized representation of the features that are relevant
to a concept, but the features are assigned probabilities or weights that
indicate, how strongly they are associated with the concept. The
probabilities can be used by cognitive processes to make categorization
decisions about particular exemplars or to reason about them. For
example, a probabilistic schema for dog could be used to decide
whether to categorize a fox as a dog or to predict the likelihood that a fox
can howl or that it eats meat. Another type of schema is called a
prototype. Each feature of a prototype is an average value of the feature
over all the examples of the concept that have been encountered.
Categorization and prediction are based on some measure of similarity
to the prototype.
13.8 THE THEORETICAL NATURE OF CONCEPTS
Our discussion of concepts and categorization so far has emphasized
what might be called a descriptive and statistical approach. Concept
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learning has been thought of mainly as a matter a gathering data about
the observable characteristics of objects, which are stored in the form of
exemplars or a summary schema. Categorization decisions can be seen
as evaluating hypotheses about the category membership of objects by
weighing the observable features against the accumulated knowledge by
measuring and summing up similarities. The fact that the learning and
decision making can be carried out very efficiently by connectionist
networks doesn't change the focus on a statistical characterization of
surface characteristics. Our discussion of conceptual complexity
admitted a wider range of conceptual knowledge into the picture, but this
knowledge was again differentiated only by its tendency to be activated
by various contexts. Conceptual knowledge can have a theoretical
character, however, which can alter and even override the influence of
observable features, similarity, or frequency of occurrence.
Concept acquisition can also be guided by goals, which can include the
desire to construct rules of theories that govern a domain. At the
simplest level, goals influence which concepts we acquire. We probably
miss many interesting patterns in our environments simply because our
goals never led us to attend to and process the relevant features. The
goal of making sense of a domain can also affect how we process
examples, because a current theory of the domain can lead us to attend
differentially to various features or to interpret them in a particular way.
Theoretical goals even affect which examples we are exposed to,
because our ideas might lead us to seek out particular kinds of
examples.
Dunbar in 1993 demonstrated that these phenomena are experiments
on scientific reasoning. Some subjects adopted find evidence, goal,
which led them to search for evidence consistent with a current
hypothesis, even when they had been exposed to some inconsistent
evidence. Upon exposure to the inconsistent evidence, other subjects
concluded that the current hypothesis was ruled out and adopted a find-
hypothesis goal, which led them to search for a hypothesis that could
account for the anomalous features. These two groups of subjects
interpreted some features of the evidence differently in setting their
goals, and in trying to meet their goals; they attended to and processed
different features of the evidence.
It is apparent that a complete theory of concepts will have to take into
account both perceptual statistical factors and factors that are due to the
pursuit of goals and the use of rules and theories. The former have a
bottom-up character, in which concept formation and use are driven by

240
incoming data. The latter have a top-down character, because the
theories and rules influence the interpretation of the data. Research by
Armstrong, Gleitman, and Gleitman (1983) and Landau (1982) suggests
that the findings from the two approaches do apply to the same
conceptual domains. They employed concepts add number or rectangle.
People reason correctly with these definitions in judging whether a
particular figure is a rectangle or whether, say, 57 is an odd number.
Nevertheless, typicality effects were found in these domains. People rate
3 a more typical odd number than 57, and they rate square a more
typical geometric figure than ellipse. In categorization tasks these ratings
predict relative response times. Thus, 3 can be classified as an odd
number much more quickly than 57.
The researchers accounted for these results by arguing for a
distinction between features that are at the core of a concept and more
probabilistic features that are useful in identifying instances or making
likely guesses about instances. Rating tasks are likely to activate many
useful probabilistic features. Speeded categorization tasks involve the
perceptual representations and possibly automat zed procedures for
making rapid, automatic identifications. The frequency and similarity
influenced strength of a representation or procedure will be influential in
such tasks. In tasks that allow or require more careful reasoning, the
people are able to define or be involved in a theory of the domain. One
basic reason for such findings is that core features are often not very
useful in identifying instances. For example, it is usually easier to see
whether someone is over forty-five years old than it is to see whether
that person has grandchildren. Thus, an assessment of a person's age
tends to be incorporated into the identification procedure for
grandparenthood, although it is not part of the definition.
Because simple concepts are, in a sense, part of the bedrock of
cognition, they will no doubt continue to be the focus of active research
in all of the cognitive science disciplines.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. ______ __refers to any mental activity whether conscious or
unconscious.
2. ______________ means drawing conclusions that are not justified,
by evidences as rules, facts and promises.
3. _________involves processing information in various ways in order
to move toward desired goals.

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4. ____________ involves analysis and synthesis. It consists of
premised and inferences drawn.
5. ________ is a reasoning in which conclusions are based on two
propositions called premises.
6. ________ are ones that have no fixed and readily specified set of
defining features.
7. _______ _are the cognitive strategies or rules of thumb on which we
base our behaviour.
8. ________ is an average value of the feature over all the examples of
the concept that have been encountered.
LET US SUM UP
Thinking is an activity that involves the manipulation of mental
representations of various features of the external world. Thinking
includes reasoning mental activity through which we transform available
information in order to reach conclusions. Reasoning refers to drawing
conclusions from available information. It involves the cognitive
transformations of appropriate information in order to reach specific
conclusions. Concepts are the building blocks of thought. Concepts into
complex thoughts and express them in language.
KEY WORDS
Prototype Cognition
Logical thinking Illogical thinking
Inductive reasoning Deductive reasoning
Syllogistic reasoning Artificial concepts
Natural concepts Prototypes
Heuristics
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Cognition
2. Illogical thinking
3. Problem solving
4. Deductive reasoning
5. Syllogistic reasoning
6. Natural concepts
7. Heuristics
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8. Prototype
MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Explain the nature of Thinking.
2. Differentiate logical and illogical thinking.
3. What is meant by reasoning?
4. Describe how concepts are formed.
5. Explain the theories of concept formation

Glossary
Hindsight – The ability to understand, after something has happened,
why or how it was done and how it might have been done better.
Concept –The abstract ideas that are understood to be the fundamental
building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs.
Overextensions –The act of extending something too far.
Prototype – An original model on which something is patterned.
Stimulus Generalisation – It is the ability to behave in a new situation
in a way that has been learned in other similar situations.
Stimulus Discrimination – The ability to distinguish among different
stimuli and to respond differently to them.

SUGGESTED READINGS:
1. Clifford T. Morgan, Richard a King, John R. Weis and John Schopler,
"Introduction to Psychology" - 7th Edition. Tata McGraw Hill Book Co.
New Delhi, 1993.
2. Ernest R. Hilgard, Richard C. Atkinson, Rita L. Atkinson, "Introduction
to Psychology" 6th Edition, Oxford IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi, 1975.
3. Baron A. Robert, Psychology, Pearson Education Vth Ed., 2002.

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 BLOCK-VI
UNIT 14: INTELLIGENCE
UNIT 15: PERSONALITIES

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Unit 14
INTELLIGENCE
STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
14.1 Nature of Intelligence
14.1.1 Intelligence - Definition
14.1.2 Mental Sub - Normality
14.1.3 The Mentally Gifted
14.2 Theories of Intelligence
14.2.1 Spearman's Two - Factor Theory
14.2.2 Thorndike's Multifactor or Atomic Theory
14.2.3 Thurstone's Group - Factor Theory
14.2.4 Guilford's S.l Model
14.2.5 Cattle's Model: Crystallized and Fluid Intelligence
14.3 Tests of General Intelligence
14.3.1 Binet's Method: A Mental - Age Scale
14.3.2 Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
14.4 Types of Intelligence Tests
14.5 Intelligence Tests Commonly used
14.6 Aptitude and Ability
14.6.1 Testing Aptitudes and Achievements
14.7 Creativity
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Keywords
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
Intelligence represents a focal point for the psychologist's intent on
understanding, how the people are able to adapt their behaviour to the
environment in which they live in. It also represents a key aspect of how
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individuals differ from one another in the way they learn about and
understand the world. In this unit, we begin with the difficulties involved
in defining the intelligence and explain the abnormality with reference to
the intelligence. We will explore the theories of intelligence, and their
implications. Then we will focus on the measurement of intelligence, and
finally the levels of aptitude and creativity.
OBJECTIVES
• After reading this unit you should be able to
• explain the nature of intelligence

• define the intelligence

• describe the mentally subnormal and the gifted
• discuss about Theories of intelligence
• explain the different Types of intelligence tests
• list out the Intelligence tests commonly used
• describe Creativity

14.1 NATURE OF INTELLIGENCE

The most unique adaptive resources that humans possess are their
intellectual capabilities, their superior capacity for learning, imagining
and reasoning. It is largely by virtue of these resources that they have
been able to learn about the different facets of their environment to
establish supremacy in the struggle for the survival over other members
of the animal kingdom and to gain some understanding of themselves. It
is their superior intellectual capability which provides them with the
resources for planning and shaping their own future.
On an individual level, the person who develops and learns to use his
intellectual capabilities effectively has a decided advantage in adjusting
to the problems of living. Such intellectual competence enhances his
feelings of adequacy and worth this enriches his understanding of
himself and his world. This permits him to predict accurately the
probable outcome of alternative choices and course of action. It also
enables an individual to cope with a wider range of stressful situations
that contribute to continued personal growth and increases his ability to
determine his own destiny.
It was recognized that every human being was born with a general
cognitive capacity which was termed intelligence. Similar to the concept
of energy in physics, the term intelligence is a convenient label to
designate a cognitive ability which is innate and general. Some
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psychologists have defined intelligence as the capacity to deal with
abstract intellectual operations connected with THE arithmetical and
verbal reasoning. Intelligence has also been defined as the ability to
learn quickly and efficiently.
14.1.1 Intelligence- Definition
Some of the definitions listed give an insight into the nature of this
construct. Binet in his conception of the nature of intelligence
emphasized four kinds of operations:
1. Taking a goal set, 2. Comprehension

3. Solution finding, and 4. Auto-criticism

Terman defined intelligence as the capacity for carrying on abstract
thinking.
Thorndike believed that intelligence is a conglomerate aggregation of a
multitude of independent specific habits or skills. He identified three
kinds of intelligence namely abstract intelligence, mechanical
intelligence and social intelligence. According to Spearman, intelligence
is the capacity for constructive thinking, which involves a discovery of
appropriate qualities and relations of the ideas that are before us and
bringing in other relevant ideas. He viewed intelligence as
encompassing a general factor (g) common to all forms of intellectual
behaviour as well as specific (s) factor.
Wechsler defined intelligence as "the aggregate or global capacity of the
individual to think rationally, to act purposefully and to deal effectively
with the environment". Baler and Charles, says that intelligence meant a
person's ability to learn, to adapt and to solve new problems.
In order to avoid the current profusion and confusion of definitions of
intelligence, simple operational definitions have been offered. Though it
is unsatisfactory, it is simple and direct. It is operationally defined as
"Intelligence is what the intelligence test measures". A second method of
defining intelligence is to consider it as a theoretical construct. According
to this conception, intelligence is basic ability underlying behavior in a
wide variety of to this conception; intelligence is a basic ability underlying
behavior in a wide variety of situations. In this sense the concept of
intelligence is similar to the concepts of habit, drive and personality. It
can be inferred from performance and its function, like that of all
theoretical concepts is to integrate and systematize knowledge and to
predict new facts.

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The definitions of intelligence, though diverse, most of them stress the
ability to think in abstract terms, to reason and the ability to use functions
of adaptive purposes. It is also the capacity by which the entire cognitive
life is built up.
14.1.2 Mental Sub-Normality
Mental deficiency, mental retardation, and feeble-mindedness are the
various terms used for below average intelligence. The retarded
individuals were classified as morons. imbeciles intermediate group) and
idiots (severely deficient group). The modern approach recognizes that
there are mentally subnormal children with a variety of handicaps.
Descriptive expressions such as more severely defective, less severely
retarded, trainable, or educable are used to avoid the stigma of harsh
labels. The potentially retarded constitute 3% of the population. Their
mental age is less than 7 years. The most severely retarded constitute
0.1% of the population. Their mental age is less than 4 years.

World Health Organization has made a distinction between the

individual who is mentally defective. A child is classified as mentally
retarded only if it is congenital, leading to intellectual impairment; that is,
if he is sound physically and there is o history of disease or injury that
might have caused intellectual impairment. A child is classified as
mentally defective if his mental impairment is caused by brain injury,
disease or accidents of development that preclude normal intellectual
growth. The causes may occur during fetal life, childhood or even adult
life. Such individuals may appear in any family, or socio-economic
groups, regardless of family history of retardation.
A mentally retarded child can be helped in some aspects. An increase in
his intellectual capacity is least likely to occur, but he can be taught
social habits, and he can learn vocational skills appropriate to his
intellectual level. The better institutions for the mentally deficient have
facilities and teachers for training these social and occupational skills.
Every year many such individuals who are capable to earning a living
and looking after themselves reasonably well, return to society.
14.1.3 The Mentally Gifted
At the other end of the scale from the mentally retarded and defective,
are those who are intellectually gifted. At the top end of the distribution
of intelligence scores are the very superior (130-140 IQ) and the near
genius (above 140). Gifted implies high aptitude; genius implies very
great and original achievement. Psychologists have studied the gifted in
two ways. They estimated the intelligence of gifted people who lived

248
years ago. They also followed the accomplishments and problems of
gifted children into adulthood.
One of the monumental studies in this area was conducted by Terman
and his associates. The result gives us a picture of the characteristics of
gifted individuals. Terman and his associates followed the progress of
over 1500 gifted children from their early school years through the
middle years of adult life. The group was chosen on the basis of IQ's of
140 or above. About 10 or 11 out of every 1000 children in the public
schools have IQ's of 140 or above. About 16 or 11 out of every 1000
children in the public schools have IQ's that high. Less than 1 out of
every 1000 has an IQ above 160.
Terman's gifted children were better than average physical specimens.
They were superior in height than others of the same age. Their birth
weights were above normal. They walked early and talked early. They
were grades ahead of their age groups in the school. None were below
grade level. They read an unusually large number of books but reading
did not interfere with their superiority in leadership and social
adaptability. These characteristics of the gifted children contradict the
notion that the very bright child is a weakling and a social misfit.
Differences in intelligence make a difference in the occupational and
educational achievements which can be expected from people. This is
one aspect of the problem of individual differences in intelligence.
14.2 THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence can be defined operationally as what the intelligence test
measures. The other method of defining intelligence is to consider it as a
theoretical construct. According to this conception, intelligence is a basic
ability underlying behavior in a wide variety of situations. In this sense,
the concept of intelligence is similar to the concepts of habit, drive and
personality. It can also be inferred, from performance and its function,
like all theoretical concepts to integrate and systematize knowledge and
to predict new facts.
For the most part, intelligence has been conceptualized as a unitary
global ability. The picture of intelligence, as revealed by factor analysis
that a refined statistical technique that can be used to find out the
components of intelligence, personality or any other construct, has
suggested that intelligence is not one unitary ability but instead consists
of different components. The technique originated with Spearman whose
theory is a well-known one. Some of the major theories include
Spearman's two-factor theory, Thorndike's multifactor theory,

249
Thurstone's primary mental abilities, Guilford's structure of intellect
model that is commonly known as the SKI. model, and Cattell's
crystallized and fluid intelligence.
14.2.1 Spearman's Two-factor Theory
Spearman propounded that all intellectual activity is dependent primarily
upon, and is an expression of, a general factor common to all mental
activity. This factor, designated by the symbol 'g' is possessed by all
individuals, but in varying degrees, of course, since people differ in
mental ability, and it (g) operates in all mental activity, though in varying
amounts, since mental tasks differ in respect to their demands upon
general factor as mental energy, because in the realm of intelligent
activity, he maintained, it has a role similar to that of physical energy in
the physical world. Further, he asserted that the general factor fan be
understood only through its specific manifestations, through the
psychological tests.

Spearman postulated 'g' factor, to explain correlations that he found to

exist among diverse sorts of perceiving, knowing, reasoning and
thinking. He concluded that all mental activity is to some extent
dependent upon, and an expression of, this general factor; and the
magnitude of the correlation coefficient found between any two forms of
mental activity reveals the extent to which this 'g' factor is operative in
each and common to both.
However, since the intercorrelating are by no means perfect, Spearman
postulated the existence of specific factors, called 's' factors, each of
which is specific to a particular type of activity. Thus, the two-factor
theory states that all mental activities have in common some of the
general factors; each mental activity might also be a member of a
'group', and each has also its own specific factors. The only negative
aspect in this theory is that it portrays too much of importance to the
intercorrelating. If the correlation between the two mental activities is
spurious then it will definitely affect the general factor and that would
distort the test results.
14.2.2 Thorndike's Multifactor or Atomic Theory
One of the sharpest critics of Spearman's two-factor theory was
E.L.Thorndike. He believed that the inter correlations studied by
Spearman were often too small to test the question of a common factor.
He objected very strongly to the existence of a characteristic such as
general intelligence. Instead of one kind of factor, he maintained that
there were a large number of separate characteristics which made up

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intelligence. He argued that there was no generality to intelligence but
rather communality in the acts that people perform. The common
element does not reside in the individual but in the nature of the tasks
themselves. People differ in their ability to perform any specific act, that
is, in terms of the level of difficulty they can manage. They also differ in
the range or number of tasks they can perform. For Thorndike,
intelligence was more like a series of skills or talents. Several or many
tasks may call for the same kind of ability. The correlations between the
various tests are the result of the fact, that the tests have features in
common with each other, even though they are called measures of
different things.
Thorndike's theory appears to be a thoroughly atomistic one, as he
conceived that intelligence is said to be composed of a large number of
separate facts or elements. There is no general intelligence but very
specific acts. The number of these depends upon how broad or narrows
a classification one can or wants to make. Some tasks have so many
elements in common that it is desirable to classify them into groups.
Tasks can be classified into categories such as arithmetical reasoning,
visual perception, word meaning etc. Despite the atomistic approach,
Thorndike has actually seen fit to classify intellectual activity into three
broad types, namely: social intelligence, concrete intelligence and
abstract intelligence. The kind of intelligence that is involved in
understanding and in dealing with people is called the social intelligence.
Concrete intelligence refers to the ability that is involved in dealing with
mechanical objects or equipment or appliances. Abstract intelligence is
the one that comes into play in dealing with numbers, letter or any kind
of symbolic material.
This is a classification of the types of tasks and not an analysis of the
mental organization itself. Thorndike conceived of mental organization
as a multitude of simple intellectual acts. This discrepancy of point of
view between Spearman and Thorndike is basically a theoretical one
and does not greatly affect what one does in the actual measurement of
intelligence.
They are:
1. Verbal comprehension (V) - Vocabulary tests represent this
factor.
2. Word fluency (W) – This factor calls for the ability to think of
words rapidly, as in solving anagrams or in thinking of words that
rhyme.

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 3. Number ability (N) Simple arithmetic tests, especially those
calling for computations, represent this factor.
4. Spatial relations (S) - This factor deals with visual form
relationships, as in drawing a design from memory.
5. Perceptual speed (P) - This ability calls for the grasping of
visual details and of the similarities and differences between
pictured objects.
6. Memory - This is his ability to memorize verbal materials
as measured by the usual methods of recall and recognition.

7. Reasoning (R) - This ability calls for finding a general rule on the
basis of presented information, as in determining how a
number series is constructed after being given only a portion of
that series.
Thurstone's method and his results gave hope that there might be a
smaller number of primary abilities. Discoverable by factor analysis, that
it might be possible to break intelligence into its fundamental elements.
This hope had not been realized because the so-called primary abilities
turned out to be dependent, and the number of factors can be multiplied
by an appropriate choice of items out of which the tests are constructed.
14.2.3 Thurstone's group - Factor Theory
According to the group-factor theory, intelligent activity is not an
expression of specific factor as called by (Thorndike) or the general
factor as called by Spearman, but, it is certain mental operations that
have in common a 'primary' factor which gives them psychological and
functional unity and it differentiates them from other mental operations.
These mental operations then constitute a 'group'. A second group of
mental operations has its own unifying primary factor; a third group has
a third; and so on. Each of these primary factors are said to be relatively
independent of the others.
In this theory, the independence which is spoken about can be attained
only by statistical means and not by the actual psychological and
functional operations. That is, from the factors by Thurstone, it can be
ascertained that "the Number factor' and 'the Reasoning factor' are the
two primary factors which are independent (statistically), but looking into
the psychological and functional aspects, the calculations in Number
factor cannot be done without Reasoning. Hence, Thurstone and others
concluded that in addition to the primary abilities there is a 'second order
general factor'.

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14.2.4 Guilford's SI. Model
Guilford has proposed a cubical model of the structure of intelligence.
He has likened intelligence to a cube with each edge representing a
different intellectual characteristic. The structure of intellect model
illustrates that there are 5 kinds of operations, 6 kinds of products and 4
kinds of contents, thus resulting in 120 cells (5 x 6 x 4) each
representing a specific intellectual factor. Each factor stands for a
potential ability. For example, the factor of verbal comprehension (the
understanding of individual words) is represented by the intersection of
the cognitive, unit product and the semantic content.
Content refers to the broad classes or types of information distinguished
without regard to formal properties. Operation refers to the major kind of
intellectual activity or process, something that the organism does with
information. Products are the form that information takes in the
organism's processing of it Products are different kinds of mental
constructs.
a) Categories in the structure-of-intellect

The model has three categories:

1. Content
2. Operation and
3. Product categories
1. Content categories Three distinct, parallel content categories were
recognized and were referred to as the figural, symbolic and semantic.
A hierarchical model does not take care of parallel members, nor are
parallels needed to form a hierarchy, except for the parallel levels of
generality; and there are no apparent; levels of generality among the
factors obtained.
A fourth kind of content was added by Guilford (1958), referred to as
'behavioural. The term 'behavioural was added to take care of the kind of
information involved in cognition and in other operations pertaining to the
behaviour of other person's feelings, thinking, perceptions, etc., the
inferences are drawn and utilized to control our actions.
2. Operation categories In addition to memory and reasoning
factors, new operational categories were needed. Reasoning proved to
be a poor categorical concept because it could not be uniquely defined.
Hence, divergent thinking the tests are all of completion form, and the

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examinee makes a good source for the number and variety of his
responses and sometimes for high quality, e.g., creative thinking;
convergent thinking-in accordance with the information given in the item,
the respondent must converge upon one right answer. To avoid the
ambiguity of the term 'thinking' the later substitution of the term
'production' is used. Thus, two operation categories, divergent
production and convergent production, were used.
With memory and evaluation abilities it became four categories and a
last category, 'cognition', took care of the remaining factors, in a limited
way, to become the fifth category.
3. The product categories This category was evolved to account the
parallels that appeared across both the content and the operation
categories. That is, if we take a set of factors having in common one of
the content properties, say semantic, and also one of the operation
categories, say cognition, we have a set of semantic-cognition abilities,
not just one but the possible other parallels.
Guilford propounded a model to integrate such parallels, with the five
operation categories arranged along one dimension, the four content
categories along a second dimension, and a the six product categories
that include, Units, Classes, Relations, Systems, Transformations and
Implications along the third dimension. Thus, content, operation, and
product became three parameters of the SI three-dimensional model.
The 120 cells in the model (5 operations x 6 products x 4 contents = *20)
define specific intellectual factors.
b) Salient features of Si model
Since its conception as a frame of reference for the intellectual abilities;
the SI model has served the heuristic function of generating hypotheses
regarding new factors of intelligence. Additional factors were readily
given logical places within the model, determined by the unique
properties: its operation, its content, and its product. Further, the
concepts used can add considerable new meaning and significance to
old and new psychological findings by other methods.
14.2.5 Cattle's Model: Crystallized and Fluid intelligence
A special kind of theory proposed by R.B.Cattell involves the distinction
between crystallized and fluid intelligence. The distinction was
suggested by the fact that scores from the certain classes of tests,
representing different primary mental abilities, are found to differ in
relation to certain conditions. Certain abilities seemed to be most
affected when brain injuries occur early in life and others are most
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affected by brain injuries later in life. Certain abilities seem to be more
affected than others by opportunities to acquire knowledge. Certain
kinds of tests are more culture-free than others. Some abilities tend to
decline more rapidly than others with normal ageing. These conditions
help us to infer that certain abilities are determined more by cultural
sources and therefore constitute a "crystallized intelligence". Those
abilities that are less affected by cultural conditions constitute a "fluid
intelligence". This distinction is in accordance with heredity versus
environmental determination of abilities.
14.3 TESTS OF GENERAL INTELLIGENCE
Sir Francis Galton, a cousin of Charles Darwin, developed the first tests
designed to measure intelligence. Galton, a naturalists and
mathematician, was interested in individual differences. He invented the
correlation coefficient which plays such an important role in psychology
and developed the ideas behind fingerprinting and eugenics. Galton
administered a battery of tests - measuring such variables as head size,
reaction time, and visual acuity, memory for visual forms, breathing
capacity, and strength of hand grip to over 9000 visitors to the London
Exhibition in 1884.
The intelligence test as we know it today was formulated by the French
psychologist Alfred Binet (1857-1911). The French government asked
Binet to devise a test that would detect those children too slow
intellectually to profit from regular schooling. He assumed that
intelligence should be measured by tasks requiring reasoning and
problem Solving, rather than perceptual motor skills. In collaboration with
Theodore Simon (1873-1961), another French psychologist, Binet
published a scale in 1905, which he revised in 1908 and again in 1911.
These Binet scales are the direct predecessors of contemporary
intelligence tests.
14.3.1 Binet's Method: A Mental - Age Scale
Binet assured that a dull child was like a normal child but retarded in
mental growth; he reasoned that the dull child would perform on tests
like a normal child of younger age. Binet decided to scale intelligence as
the kind of change that ordinarily comes with growing older. Accordingly,
he devised a scale of units of mental age. Average mental age (MA)
scores correspond to chronological age (CA), that is, to the age
determined from the date of birth. A bright child's MA is above his CA; a
dull child has an MA below his CA. The mental age scale is easily
interpreted by teachers and others who deal with children differing in
mental ability.
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CONTEMPORARY BINET TESTS: The tests originally developed by
Binet underwent several revisions in this country, the first by Goddard in
1911. For many years the best-known and most widely used revision
was that made by Terman at Stanford University in 1916, commonly
referred to as the Stanford-Binet. The test was revised in 1937, 1960
and 1972.
14.3.2 Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
Terman adopted a convenient index of brightness that was suggested by
the German psychologist William Stern (1871-1938). This index is the
intelligence quotient, commonly known by its initials IQ. It expresses the
intelligence as a ratio of mental to chronological age:

IQ =

The 100 is used as a multiplier to remove the decimal point and to make
the IQ have a value of 100 when MA equals CA, It is evident that if the
MA lags behind the CA, the resulting IQ will be less than 100; if the MA
is above the CA, the IQ will be above 100.
How is the IQ to be interpreted? The distribution of IQs follows the form
of curve found for many differences among individuals, such as
differences in height; this is the bell-shaped "normal" distribution curve
shown in Figure 13-3. In this curve most cases cluster around a mid
value, tapering off to a few at both extremes.
In the 1960 and subsequent revisions of the Stanford-Binet, the authors
introduced a method of computing the IQ from tables. The meaning of
an IQ remains essentially the same as before, but the tables permit
corrections to allow the IQ at any age to be interpreted as somewhat,
more exactly. A modern IQ is merely a test score adjusted for the age of
the person being tested. It is therefore no longer a "quotient" at all, but
the expression IQ persists because of its familiarity and convenience.
14.4 TYPES OF INTELLIGENCE TESTS
The table given below shows the various types of intelligence tests.

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a) Verbal Individual intelligence tests
The Binet-Simon scale and the Standard Revised scale are examples of
verbal individual intelligence tests. They are verbal since they make use
of language spoken or written. They are individual tests because only
one individual can be tested at a time. Individual tests consume a long
time and limit the number of individuals who can be tested by a single
examiner. Verbal tests presupposes that, the individuals tested are able
to speak, read and understand the language of the test.
b) Verbal Group-tests of intelligence
Are those which can be given to many persons at the same time? They
are suitable for measuring groups of persons like children in a school,
applicants for jobs, etc. During World War í, military authorities were
faced with the problem of classifying thousands of recruits into soldiers,
commissioned and noncommissioned officers. The American
Psychological Association helped in devising an intelligence test which
could be taken by several people at the same time. The verbal group
intelligence test devised was the 'Army Alpha Test'. It consists of eight
sections, each containing 12 to 40 questions. Every section begins with
easy questions and proceeds to more difficult ones, so that all persons
can answer some questions, but a few can answer all.
c) Performance tests of intelligence

(i) Seguin constructed a test for the feeble-minded children

known as the Seguin Form-board Test. It consists of
fitting blocks of various shapes like circle, triangle, etc into
corresponding cut-outs in the board.

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 (ii) Two psychologists – Pinter and Patterson - prepared the
first performance scale in 1917. In this test all the tests
call for motor responses, putting together a puzzle, etc
Verbal directions are unnecessary.
(iii) The Porteus Maze Test is another standardized
performance test using a series of mazes of the
increasing complexity for children of ages three to
fourteen. Maze tests are useful with illiterates and
primitive people whose command of language is either all
or poor. Performance tests are mostly individual tests.
(iv) The ‘Army Beta', test was devised along with the 'Army
Alpha' test. The 'Army Beta' is a group intelligence test of
performance.
14.5 INTELLIGENCE TESTS COMMONLY USED
A) Wechsler Bellevue Scale: David Wechsler, a clinical psychologist at
Bellevue Hospital, developed a scale for measuring intelligence of adults
in 1939. In the year 1949, he developed the Wechsler Intelligence Scale
for Children, (WISC). Later, he revised the earlier version, and the new
scale is the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). It is an individual
test and consists of two parts including – the verbal part and the
nonverbal or performance part. It does not provide for mental age. This
test can be administered for both clinical as well as general population.
Verbal tests Performance tests
Information Digit symbol
Comprehension Picture completion
Arithmetic Block design
Similarities Picture arrangement
Digit span Object assembly
Vocabulary _______
The approximate total time usually taken by the client will be from 90-
120 minutes. This is an individual test. The individuals will be asked to
do the sub-tests both Performance and Verbal as per the instructions
given in the maual and under the surveillance of the administrator. The
raw scores will be converted into standard scores.
b) Bhatia's Battery of Performance test

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This test was developed by Dr. Bhatia and consists of five dimensions
namely:
1. Koh's Block Design test 2. Alexander's Pass- along test
3. Pattern-drawing test 4. Test of Immediate memory
5. Picture construction test.
The approximate total time usually taken by the client will be from 40-45
minutes. This is an individual test. The individuals will be asked to do the
sub-tests (both Performance and Verbal) as per the instructions given by
the test administrator and under the surveillance of the administrator.
The scores will be scored with the help of manual and after doing the
appropriate age correction, the IQ is determined. This test can be
administered for both clinical as well as general population.
c) Raven's Progressive Matrices
This is non-verbal test which can be administered both as individual
basis as well as group as a whole. The test was developed by J.C.
Raven. This consists of 60 items, equally divided into five divisions (A-
E). This test is available in Child coloured, Adult and (Advanced)
versions. There will be question figure with a blank space followed by
answer figures. The client has to fill up the space by specifying the
correct alternative from the answer figures. The approximate total time
usually taken by the client will be from 30-40 minutes. The results can be
scored according to the manual and the clients can be classified into five
categories.
14.6 APTITUDE AND ABILITY
Individuals differ widely in intelligence, knowledge, and skills. To
determine if a person has the skills for a particular job, or the intelligence
to profit from a college education, we need reliable methods of
measuring present and potential abilities. In a technological society as
complex as ours, the ability to match the unique talents of each person
to the requirements of the job, has advantages for both the individual
and society.
What a person can do now and what he might do given appropriate
training are not the same. The distinction between a capacity to learn
and an accomplished skill is important in appraisal. Tests designed to
measure capacities, that is, to predict what one can accomplish with
training, are called aptitude tests so they include tests of general
intelligence as well as tests of special abilities. Tests that tell what one
can do now are achievement tests. An intelligence test that predicts how
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well you will do in college is an aptitude test; examinations given at the
end of a course to see how much you have learned are achievement
tests. Both are ability tests.
14.6.1 Testing Aptitudes and Achievements
Aptitude tests, by definition, predict performances that are not yet
attained. But the items- the units of which a test is composed-must
consist of samples of what can be accomplished now. For example, one
of the abilities contributing to success in flying is knowledge of
mechanical principles. Thus, pilot aptitude tests may include a test of
mechanical knowledge – even though from another point of view the
mechanical knowledge test is an achievement test. The distinction
between an aptitude test and an achievement test is not based on the
content of the items, but upon the purpose of the two kinds of tests.
a) Aptitude Tests
Aptitude tests designed to predict performance over a broad range of
abilities are called intelligence tests. Other aptitude tests measure more
specific abilities; mechanical aptitude tests measure various types of
eye-hand coordination; musical aptitude tests measure discrimination of
pitch, rhythm, and other aspects of musical sensitivity that are predictive
of musical performance with training and clerical aptitude tests measure
efficiency at number checking and other skills that have been found to
be predictive of an individual's later achievement as an office clerk.
Many aptitude tests have been constructed to predict success in specific
jobs or vocations. Since the Second World War the armed forces have
devised tests to select pilots, radio technicians, submarine crews, and
many other specialists.
Aptitude is usually measured by a combination of test. Pilot aptitude
tests include not only measures of mechanical knowledge but also tests
of spatial orientation, eye-hand coordination, and other skills. A
combination of these tests are used for prediction is known as a test
battery. Scores from individual tests are weighted to get the best
possible prediction. Scores on the tests that predict well count more than
scores on tests that predict less well. If an eye-hand coordination test
predicts pilot success better than a spatial orientation test, scores in eye-
hand coordination will be weighted more heavily than scores in spatial
orientation.
b) Achievement Tests
Although achievement tests are most commonly used in school and
government examinations, they are also used to assess what has been
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learned in preparation for the practice of a specialty, such as law,
medicine, or accounting. The consequences of these achievement tests
are very important to the person who takes them. The successful
candidate will receive a degree or a license to practice or an opportunity
to enter a desired career the one who fails may find many paths blocked.
If the tests are in any way inappropriate, their use may lead to social
injustice. It is crucial that examinations be well conceived so that they
measure, what they are intended to measure and their scores represent
fairly the abilities of the candidate who takes the tests.
Psychologists are interested in the development of achievement tests for
two reasons. First, there is much demand for such tests, especially in
education and in government. Second, achievement tests furnish a
standard against which to judge the predictive effectiveness of aptitude
tests. To devise an aptitude test, for the pilot success, we first need a
standard of excellent flying against which to measure the aptitude.
Otherwise we have no way of checking predictions. If professors
assigned college grades whimsically instead of on the basis of a
student's achievement in the course, it would be futile to try to predict
grades from an aptitude battery. Thus, achievement tests furnish
a standard, or criterion, for the prediction of aptitudes. With improved
achievement examinations, predictions can be made more efficiently. Of
course, other criteria, such as success in a job, can be used Then the
measure of success serves as a measure of achievement.
14.7 CREATIVITY
The creative thinker, whether artist, writer or scientist, is trying to create
something new under the sun. The visual artist is trying to express an
idea or emotional feeling in new ways that will have an impact on
viewers; is trying to do the same for readers. The creative scientists
think about their own discoveries and those of others, inventing new
ways of studying nature and new theories to tie discoveries together. In
contrast with ordinary problem solving, creative solutions are new ones
that other people; have not thought of before. The product of creative
thinking may be a new and unique way of conceptualizing the world
around us. The emphasis in creative thinking is on the word 'new'.
Creative thinking in arts and sciences seems to involve a considerable
amount of unconscious rearrangement of symbols. The thinker at first
makes little progress, but then, perhaps triggered by a fortuitous set of
circumstances, a new idea seems to "bubble 'up' into awareness or
consciousness in a seemingly spontaneous manner. Because the
creative thinker becomes aware of the new idea suddenly, it is said that
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much of the though has already gone on unconsciously. This sudden
appearance of new ideas is called insight. Several political theorists,
artists and scientists have analyzed their own thinking or have had the
products of their thought analyzed by others in an attempt to learn about
the creative process. At one time it was generally agreed, as a result of
these studies, that creative thinking passed through three or four stages.
Recently, it seems more appropriate to consider these stages as simply
aspects of the overall creative process, neither necessarily separate
from one another nor occurring in a fixed sequence. These are: (1)
preparation, (2) incubation, (3) illumination and (4) verification or
revision.
a) Preparation: Creative thinking in most fields of endeavor requires
some preparation. The inventor of an electrical device, for example,
generally must have a good understanding of the elements of electricity
and mechanics. Einstein's concept of relativity probably would not have
occurred to him if he had not had advanced study in both physics and
mathematics. In addition preparation often includes much trial and error.
In writing a term paper, a student writes something, scratches out what
he has written, and starts over again, only to destroy that. Edison
remarked that much of his inspiration was actually perspiration, referring
perhaps to the work involved in preparation.

b) Incubation: This aspect of creative thinking is characterized by the

absence of overt activity and, in many instances, of any conscious effort
to think about the problem.
Such observations have led some psychologists to assume that while
the creative thinker is turning his attention to other matters, his problem
is incubating or being solved unconsciously. It is difficult, if not
impossible, to prove this claim, although it is likely that the associations
activated by the attempts to solve the problem continue to some degree,
regardless of where one's attention is directed.
c) Illumination: Most creative thinkers claim that their creative ideas
appear suddenly following incubation at any time, even while the thinker
is dreaming. In writing a creative theme, one may have been
discouraged at times by lack of progress, when suddenly the material
seems to organize itself and ideas come copiously and rapidly. A
solution may appear when least expected.
Insights may occur suddenly when no problem is evident. In science, a
well-trained individual occasionally discovers something he was not
looking for, an event referred to as serendipity. The word was coined by

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Horace Walpole to denote "the faculty of making lucky and unexpected
finds".
d) Verification or revision: In most instances, it is necessary to
evaluate, test and perhaps revise new ideas. Sometimes, one can
determine whether a new idea is appropriate by putting it in the form of a
syllogism and applying the laws of logic, but often it is necessary to carry
out controlled observations which demonstrate whether or not an
inspiration is correct, workable or needs revision.
Several attempts have been made to develop tests that measure
creativity in people. In one elaborate study. A battery of tests was
constructed and carefully analyzed. From this work came the concepts
of convergent and divergent thinking. Convergent thinking is concerned
with a particular end result. The thinker gathers information relevant to
the problem and then proceeds by using problem solving rules to work
out the right solution. Convergent thinking is not the type of thought
people primarily use when they are thinking creatively.
The characteristic of divergent thinking is the variety of thoughts
involved. When thinking creatively, people; tend to think in a divergent
manner, thus having many varied thoughts about a problem. Divergent
thinking also includes autistic thinking. The creative thinkers may use
convergent thinking to gather information and thoughts as building
materials for the ultimate creative achievement. At times the person may
drift into autistic thinking, or free association in which symbols of
thoughts have private meaning, and in the process come upon useful
ideas that would have been missed by concentration strictly on the
problem.
Check your progress
1. ___________ defined intelligence as the capacity for carrying
on abstract thinking.
2. A child is classified as ________ if his mental impairment is caused
by brain injury, disease or accidents of development that preclude
normal intellectual growth.
3. The ____________ _theory states that all mental activities have in
common some of the general factors.
4. ___________ is the one that comes into play in dealing with
numbers, letter or any kind of symbolic material.

5. ____________ refers to the major kind of intellectual activity or

process, something that the organism does with information.
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6. The 'Army Beta' is a group intelligence test of _________.
7. Those abilities less affected by cultural condition are
the ___________.
8. _________ developed the first tests designed to measure IQ.
9. _________ is characterized by the absence of overt activity and, in
many instances, of any conscious effort to think about the problem.
LET US SUM UP
Because intelligence can take many forms, defining it presents a
challenge to psychologists. One commonly accepted view is that
intelligence is the capacity understand the world, think rationally, and
use resources effectively when faced with challenges. Through this unit,
we have seen some of the major theories include Spearman's two-factor
theory, Thorndike's multifactor theory, Thurstone's primary mental
abilities, Guilford's structure of intellect model commonly known as Sl
model, and Cattell's crystallized and fluid intelligence. The notion of IQ,
its measurement the role of aptitude and achievement tests were
revisited. Finally the concept of creativity was discussed.
KEYWORDS

Abstract thinking Mentally defective Mentally subnormal

Fluid intelligence Content Crystallized Intelligence
Operation Product General factors
Specific factors incubation Preparation
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. Terman 2. Mentally defective 3. Two-factor
4. Abstract intelligence 5. Operation 6. Performance
7. Fluid intelligence 8. Sir Francis Galton 9. Incubations
MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Explain the nature of intelligence

2. Define the intelligence
3. Describe the mentally subnormal and the gifted
4. Discuss about Theories of intelligence
5. Explain the Structured intellect model of Intelligence.
6. Explain the nature of different Types of intelligence tests

264
7. List out the intelligence tests commonly used
8. Define Creativity
9. Describe the process of creativity.
GLOSSARY
Abstract Thinking – The ability to think about objects, principles, and
ideas that are not physically present.
Creativity – The ability to make or produce new things using skill or
imagination.
Crystalised Intelligence – It involves the ability to deduce secondary
relational abstractions by applying previously learned primary relational
abstractions.
Fluid Intelligence – It involves being able to think and reason abstractly
and solve problems.
Mental Sub normality – Incomplete or insufficient general development
of the mental capacities.

SUGGESTED READINGS:
1. Clifford T. Morgan, Richard a King, John R. Weis and John Schopler,
"Introduction to Psychology" - 7th Edition. Tata McGraw Hill Book Co.
New Delhi, 1993.
2. Ernest R. Hilgard, Richard C. Atkinson, Rita L. Atkinson, "Introduction
to Psychology" 6th Edition, Oxford IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi, 1975.
3. Baron A. Robert, Psychology, Pearson Education Vth Ed., 2002.

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Unit 15
PERSONALITY
STRUCTURE
Overview

Objectives
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Determinants of Personality

15.3 Psychodynamic Theories

15.4 Behavioural Theories
15.5 Humanistic Theories

15.6 Biological Theories

15.7. Assessment of Personality
Let us sum up
Check Your Progress
Keywords
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
It is obvious that we all frequently use the term personality, but many
people seem hard pressed to define it. In general we can understand the
personality by saying something about 'charm', 'charisma' or 'style'. We
all make personality judgments about the people we know. A major part
of coming to understand ourselves, is developing a sense of what our
personality characteristics are. This unit will provide the clear meaning of
one’s personality and its determinants. Also, this unit discuss about the
different theories of personality and the methods of measuring it.
OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you will be able to
• understand the meaning of personality
• know the various determinants of personality.

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 • analyse the psychodynamic theories and its key contributions.
• evaluate the behavioural theories of personality.
• discriminate the humanistic theories from the biological theories.

15.1 INTRODUCTION
The word personality is derived from the Latin term 'persona” means
'mask' personality is the effect of this mask on the others. Many people
confuse the term personality with character. Normally by the term
personality we mean the person is friendly, outgoing and attractive
thereby we referring to the good character in our culture (or) the physical
qualities of the person.
Psychologists use a large number of terms to explain personality. It is a
person's unique and relatively stable behaviour patterns. In other words,
personality refers to the consistency in which you are, have been and
will become. It also refers to the special blend of talents, attitudes,
values, hopes, loves, hates and habits that makes each of us a unique
person. Personality can be understood by identifying traits, by probing
the mental conflicts and dynamics, by noting the effects of prior learning
and situations and by knowing how people perceive themselves. Watson
defined personality as the sum of activities that can be discovered by
actual observations over a long period of time to give reliable information
about an individual. In contrast Allport defined the personality as the
dynamic organization within the individual of these psychophysical
systems that determine the individual's unique adjustment to the
environment.
The characteristics of the ‘personality’ have been derived as follows:
1. Personality is the combination of physical and mental
qualities, ideals, aspirations, ambitions, aptitudes and interests
that characterize a person (i.e. the inner sources of behaviour)
2. Personality is the structure and pattern of the total behaviour of
the individual (i.e. the characteristic behaviour).
3. Personality is the social and psychological impact one makes
on others (i.e. the consequences of behaviour)
4. Personality is self-consciousness.
5. It is dynamic and through and through social.
6. It is unique, organized and functions, as a whole.

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 7. Personality is the product of heredity and environment.

15.2 DETERMINANTS OF PERSONALITY

Let us examine some of the determinants of personality. Personality
development is because of the interaction of the following
determinants biological factors, physical environment psychological
factors, familial determinants, social class and cultural factors. Let us
discuss about these determinants one by one
a) Biological Factors Personality development is influenced by many
biological factors. Among the biological factors the two major factors are
includes genetics and hormones.
The role of genetics in the development of personality has been studied
with twins. The studies show that temperament is mostly determined by
the genetics. Temperament may be defined as the "characteristic
phenomena of an individual's nature, including his susceptibility to
emotional stimulations, his customary strength and speed of response
and the quality of this prevailing mood, and all the peculiarities of
fluctuation and intensity of mood. It has been suggested that the
introversion - extraversion may be the most genetically influenced
personality traits. Introverts are defined as quiet, retiring, introspective,
and not very socially active. Extraverts, on the other hand, are
characterized as being outgoing, impulsive, and uninhibited, having
many social contacts, and frequently taking art in-group activities.
The secretion of the endocrine gland hormones also influences the
behaviour. For example, when the thyroid gland is overactive the person
becomes irritable, restless and hyperactive and when it become under
active the person becomes dull and sluggish. Similarly, the two key
hormones, androgen and estrogen, affect not only the biological sexual
orientation but also the psychological assumption of sex roles.
Aggression and maternalism are two types of behaviour that are affected
by these hormones. Androgen levels correlate positively with aggressive
tendencies, ad estrogens levels correlate positively with maternalistic
tendencies.
b) Physical Environment
It has been widely accepted that climate and ions of the physical
environment are also influencing behaviour and personality. We are
familiar with the stereotype that individuals living in a warm climate are
much more impulsive and tempestuous than persons living in a cold

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climate. The phrase hot tempered illustrates this common association
between heat and anger. A great deal of psychological research has
explored whether there is a relationship between environmental
temperature and aggression. The findings show that hot temperatures
increase aggression tendencies, and this is documented in the fact that
hotter regions of the world are associated with more aggression.
Aggressions, including murders, rapes, assaults, riots, and wife
beatings, all other more frequently given augmented temperature.
Studies show that negative and positive ions in the air also affect
aggression and moods, as do high ozone levels. For example, The
onset of global winds like the Santa Ana in California correlates the
increased the crime, suicide, and industrial accidents. It has been
suggested that some individuals are particularly sensitive to increased
ions and respond with tension and irritability.
c) Psychological Factors

The psychological factors like self-concept and Intelligence have

significant influence on the development of personality.
A person's self-concept is the person's view of his or her own strengths
and weaknesses. Self-concept becomes the core of the personality. A
positive self-concept, initiated in the childhood period and nurtured
throughout the developmental span, enables an individual to meet each
challenge as it comes and to deal with it appropriately. A person with a
strong sense of self recognizes that he or she has a wide range of
capabilities, yet also acknowledges limitations. Such a person realizes
that it is acceptable to work within the framework of those limitations. A
person whose self-evaluations are negative tends to experience
consistently high levels of anxiety, which in turn lead to less positive
interactions with peers. An individual with a poor self-concept feels
sense of powerlessness to change roles, thus perpetuating a cycle of
feeling victimized.
Intelligence, the ability to reason through complex situations has many
areas of development and behaviour, such as talking, memory,
understanding and playing new concepts, and creativity. It seems that
children who learn rapidly and who can apply their knowledge develop a
more positive self-concept as a result of praise received from parents
and teachers than children who are poor achievers.
d) Familial Determinants
The family unit is the chief which mould of personality. The nature of the
family relationships that develop is crucial to each family member. It is
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within the family system that identification occurs, a major factor in
personality development. Parents serve as the models for the
identification. A father can facilitate the development of masculinity in a
son by rewarding masculine activities and by withholding rewards for
feminine activities.
Another aspect of familial determinant is the child rearing practice. In the
democratic child rearing practice there is an opportunity for freedom,
respect for individuality and rational decisions. In the democratic child
rearing practice the children become more active socially out going,
more original and constructive than the children reared by the autocratic
childrearing practice. It has been found that lack of warmth and love of
children lead to delinquency, drug abuse and mutual parent-child
rejection.
e) Social Class
All societies are to some extent stratified. Social stratification is a
relatively stable, hierarchical arrangement of groups of individuals, with
the "higher" classes within this hierarchy receiving more social and
material rewards than the "over" classes. Individuals within a class
typically perform similar occupations and face the same life conditions
and problems. As a result, individuals can be assigned to a social class
by using indexes such as education, occupation, income, and prestige.
When people change from one social cuss to another, their life styles,
language, and even personality attributes will also change.
f) Cultural Factors
Personality differences between nations and ethnic groups are popularly
recognized; there are stereotypes that all the people within a particular
group or nations are believed to follow. These differences are ascribed
as disparities in the culture. Culture involves consistency in the actions
of a large number of people than does social class. Our behaviour and
personality is also shaped by culture. Culture regulates our lives at every
term. From birth to death culture exerts constant pressure upon us to
follow certain types of behaviours. From the culture we learn the value
and norms. Our religion and the education have also influence the
personality development.
15.3 PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES
Psychodynamic theories include all the diverse theories descended from
the work of Sigmund Freud that focus on unconscious mental forces.
Freud inspired many brilliant scholars who followed in his intellectual
footsteps. Some of these followers simply refined and updated Freud's
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theory. Others veered off in new directions and established independent,
albeit related, schools of thought. Today, the psychodynamic umbrella
covers a large collection of related theories. In this section, some of the
ideas of Sigmund Freud two of his and the ideas Carl Jung and Alfred
Adler have been discusses.

I. Freud's psychoanalytic theory

Freud was a physician specializing in neurology when he began his
medical practice in Vienna toward the end of the 19th century. Like other
neurologists in his era, he often treated people troubled by nervous
problems such as irrational fears, obsessions and anxieties. Eventually
he devoted himself to the treatment of mental disorders using an
innovative procedure he developed, called the psychoanalysis, which
required lengthy verbal interactions in which Freud probed deeply into
patient’s lives. Decades of experience with his patients provided much of
the inspiration for Freud's theory of personality.
Although Freud's theory gradually gained prominence, most of Freud's
contemporaries were uncomfortable with the theory, for at least three
reasons. First, he argued that unconscious forces govern human
behaviour. This idea was disturbing because it suggested that people
are not masters of their own minds. Second, the claimed that childhood
experiences strongly determine adult personality. This notion distressed
people because it suggested that people are not masters of their own
destinies. Third, he said that individual's personalities are shaped by
how they cope with their sexual urges. This assertion offended the
conservative, Victorian values of his time. Thus, Freud endured a great
deal of criticism, condemnation, and outright ridicule, even after his work
began to attract more favourable attention.
Structure of Personality
Freud divided personality structure into three components: the id, the
ego, and the superego. He saw a person's behaviour as the outcome of
interactions among these three components.
The id is the primitive, instinctive component of personality that operates
according to the pleasure principle. Freud referred to the id as the
reservoir of psychic energy. By this he meant that the id houses the raw
biological urges to eat, sleep, defecate, and copulate, and so on that
energize human behaviour. The id operates according to the pleasure
principle, which demands immediate gratification of its urges. The id

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engages in primary process thinking, which is primitive, illogical,
irrational and fantasy oriented.
The ego is the decision-making component of personality that operates
according to the reality principle. The ego mediates between the id, with
its forceful desires for immediate satisfaction, and the external social
world, with its expectations and norms regarding suitable behaviour. The
ego considers social realities society's norms, etiquette, rules and
customs in deciding how to behave. The ego is guided by the reality
principle, which seeks to delay gratification of the id's urges until
appropriate outlets and situations can be found. In short, to stay out of
trouble, the ego often works to tame the unbridled desires of the id. As
Freud put it, the ego is "like a man on horseback, who has to hold in
check the superior strength of the horse".
In the long run, the ego wants to maximize gratification, just like the id.
However, the ego engages in secondary process thinking, which is
relatively rational, realistic, and oriented toward problem solving. Thus,
the ego strives to avoid negative consequences from society and its
representatives (for example, punishment by parents or teachers) by
behaving "properly". It also attempts to achieve long range goals that
sometimes require putting off gratification.
While the ego concerns itself with practical realities, the superego is the
moral component of personality that incorporates social standards about
what represents right and wrong. Throughout their lives, but, especially
during childhood, the individuals receive training about what is good and
bad behaviour. Eventually they internalize many of these social norms.
This means that they truly accept certain moral principles, and then they
put pressure on themselves to live up to these standards. The superego
emerges out of the ego at around 3 to 5 years of age. In some people,
the superego can become irrationally demanding in its striving for moral
perfection. Such people are plagued by excessive guilt.
According to Freud, the id, ego, and superego are distributed across
three levels of awareness. He contrasted the unconscious with the
conscious and preconscious. The conscious consists of whatever one is
aware of at a particular point in time. For example, at this moment your
conscious may include the current train of thought in this text and a dim
awareness in the back of your mind that your eyes are getting tired and
you're beginning to get hungry. The preconscious contains material just
beneath the surface of awareness that can be easily retrieved.
Examples might include your middle name, what you had for supper last
night, or an argument you had with a friend yesterday. The unconscious
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contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are well below the
surface of conscious awareness, but that nonetheless exert great
influence on one's behaviour. Examples of material that might be found
in your unconscious would include a forgotten trauma from childhood or
hidden feeling of hostility toward a parent.

Conflict and Defence Mechanisms

Freud assumed that behaviour is the outcome of an ongoing series of
internal conflicts. Internal battles among the id, ego, and superego are
routine. Why? Because the id wants to gratify its urges immediately, but
the norms of civilized society frequently dictate otherwise. For example,
your id might feel an urge to clobber a co-worker who constantly irritates
you. However, the society frowns on such behaviour, so your ego would
try to hold this urge in check, and you would find yourself in a conflict.
You may be experiencing conflict at this very moment. In Freudian
terms, you id may be secretly urging you to abandon reading this
chapter so you weighing this appealing option against your society
induced need to excel in school.

Freud believed that conflicts dominate people's lives. He asserted that

individuals careen from one conflict to another. The following scenario
provides a fanciful illustration of how the three components of
personality interact to create constant conflicts. Freud believed that
conflicts centering on sexual and aggressive impulses are especially
likely to have far reaching consequences. Why did he emphasize sex
and aggression? Two reasons were prominent in his thinking. First,
Freud thought that sex and aggression are subject to more complex and
ambiguous social controls, than other basic motives. The norms
governing sexual and aggressive behaviour are subtle, and people
often get mixed messages about what is appropriate. Thus, he believed
that these drives are the source of much confusion.
Second, Freud noted that the sexual and aggressive drives are thwarted
more regularly than other basic biological urges. Think about it: If you
get hungry or thirsty, you can simply head for a nearby vending machine
or a drinking fountain. But if a department store clerk infuriates you, you
aren't socially acceptable. Likewise, when you see an attractive person
who inspires lustful urges, you don't normally walk up and propose a
tryst in a nearby broom closet. There is nothing comparable to vending
machines or drinking fountains for the satisfaction of sexual and
aggressive urges. Thus, Freud ascribed great importance to these
needs because social norms dictate that they are routinely frustrated
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Most psychic conflicts are trivial and are quickly resolved one way or the
other. Occasionally, however, a conflict will linger for days, months, and
even years, creating internal tension. Indeed, Freud believed that
lingering conflicts rooted in childhood experiences because most
personality disturbances, More often than not, these prolonged and
troublesome conflicts involve sexual and aggressive impulses that
society wants to tame. These conflicts are often played out entirely in the
unconscious. Although you may not be aware of these unconscious
battles, they can produce anxiety that slips to the surface of conscious
awareness. This anxiety is attributable to your ego worrying about the id
getting out of control and doing something terrible.
The arousal of anxiety is a crucial event in Freud's theory of personality
functioning. Anxiety is distressing, so people try to rid themselves of this
unpleasant emotion any way they can. This effort to ward off anxiety
often involves the use of defense mechanisms. Defense mechanisms
are largely unconscious reactions that protect a person from painful
emotions such as anxiety and guilt. Typically, they are the mental
maneuvers that work through self-deception. A common example is
rationalization, which involves creating false but plausible excuses to
justify unacceptable behaviour. You would be rationalizing if, after
cheating someone in a business transaction, you tried to reduce your
guilt by explaining that everyone does it."
Repression is the most basic and widely used defense mechanism.
Repression involves keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in
the unconscious. People tend to repress desires that make them feel
guilty, conflicts that make them anxious, and memories that are painful.
Repression is "motivated forgetting." If you forget a dental appointment
or the name of someone you don't like, repression may be at work.
Self-deception can also be seen in the mechanisms of projection and
displacement. Projection involves attributing one's own thoughts,
feelings, or motives to another. For example, if your lust for a co-worker
makes you feel guilty, you might attribute any latent sexual tension
between the two of you to the other person's desire to seduce you.
Displacement involves diverting emotional feelings usually anger from
their original source to a substitute target. If your boss gives you a hard
time at work and you come home and slam the door, kick the dog, and
scream at your spouse, you are displacing your anger onto irrelevant
targets. Unfortunately, social constraints often force people to hold back
their anger until they end up lashing out at the people they love the
most.

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Other prominent defense mechanisms include reaction formation,
regression, and identification. Reaction formation involves behaving in a
way that is exactly the opposite of one's true feelings. Guilt about sexual
desires often leads to reaction formation. Freud theorized that many
males who ridicule homosexual impulses. The telltale sign of reaction
formation is the exaggerated quality of the opposite behaviour.
Regression involves a reversion to immature patterns of behaviour.
When anxious about their self-worth, some adults respond with childish
boasting and bragging that as opposed to subtle efforts to impress
others. For example, a fired executive having ridiculous statements
about his incomparable talents and achievements. Such bragging is
regressive when it is marked by massive exaggerations that anyone can
see through.
Identification involves bolstering self-esteem by forming an imaginary or
real alliance with some person group. For example, youngsters often
shore up precarious feelings of self-worth by identifying with rock stars,
movies stars, or famous athletes. Adults may join exclusive country
clubs or civic organizations with which they identify. According to Freud,
everyone uses defense mechanisms to some extent. They become
problematic only when a person depends on them excessively. The
seeds for psychological disorders are sown when defenses led to
wholesale distortion of reality.
Development: Psychosexual stages
Freud made the startling assertion that the foundations of an individual's
personality is laid down by the tender age of 5 To shed light on these
crucial early years, Freud formulated a stage theory of development. He
emphasized how young children deal with their immature, but powerful,
sexual urges that he used the term, “sexual” in a general way to refer to
many urges for physical pleasure, not just the urge to copulate.
According to Freud, these sexual urges shift in focus as children
progress from one stage to another. Indeed, the names for the stages
including oral, anal, genital, and so on are based on where children are
focusing their erotic energy at the time. Thus, psychosexual stages are
developmental periods with a characteristic sexual focus that leave their
mark on adult personality.
Freud theorized that each psychosexual stage has its own unique
developmental challenges or tasks.
Definition Mechanisms, with examples

Definition Example
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 Repression involves A traumatized soldier has no
keeping distressing thoughts and recollection of the details of a
close brush with death.
feelings buried in the unconscious.
A woman who dislikes her
Projection involves attributing
boss things she likes her boss
one's lawn thoughts, feeling, or but feels that the boss doesn't
motives to another person. like her.
Displacement involves After a parental scolding, a
diverting emotional feelings young girl takes her anger out
on her little brother.
(usually anger) from their original
source to a substitute target.
Reaction formation involves A parent who unconsciously
behaving in a way that is exactly resents a child spoils the child
the opposite of one's true feelings. with outlandish gifts.
Regression involves a reversion An adult has a temper tantrum
to immature patterns of behaviour. when he doesn't get his way.
Rationalization involves the A student watches TV instead
creation of false but plausible of studying, saying that
excuses to justify unacceptable "additional study wouldn't do
behaviour any good anyway."
Identification involves bolstering An insecure young man joins a
self-esteem by forming an fraternity to boost his self-
imaginary or real alliance with esteem.
some person or group

Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development

Stage Approximat Erotic focus Key tasks and

e ages experiences

Oral 0-1 Mouth (sucking, biting) Weaning (from breast

or bottle)

Anal 2-3 Anus (expelling or Toilet training

retaining feces)

Phallic 4-5 Genitals Identifying with adult role

(masturbating) models; coping with
Oedipal crisis

Latency 6 - 12 None (sexually Expanding social contacts

repressed

Genital Puberty on Genitals (being Establishing intimate

relationships; contributing
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 ward sexually intimate) to society through
working.

The way these challenges are handed supposedly shapes the

personality. The notion of fixation plays an important role in this process.
Fixation is a failure to move forward from one stage to another as
expected. Essentially, the child's development stalls for awhile. Fixation
is caused by excessive gratification of needs at a particular stage or by
excessive frustration of those needs. Either way, fixations left over from
childhood affect adult personality. Generally, fixation leads to an
overemphasis on the psychosexual needs that were prominent during
the fixated stage. Freud described a series of five psychosexual stages.
Let's examine some of the major features of each stage.
Oral stage
This stage usually encompasses the first year of life. During this stage
the main source of erotic stimulation is the mouth in biting, sucking,
chewing, and so on. How caretakers handle the child's feeding
experiences is supposed to be crucial to subsequent development.
Freud attributed considerable importance to the manner in which the
child is weaned from the breast or the bottle. According to Freud, fixation
at the oral stage could form the basis for obsessive eating or smoking
later in life which is among many other things.
Anal Stage
in their second year, children supposedly get their erotic pleasure from
their bowel movements, through either the expulsion or retention of the
feces. The crucial event at this time involves toilet training, which
represents society's first systematic effort to regulate the child's
biological urges. Severely punitive toilet training is thought to lead to a
variety of possible outcomes. For example, excessive punishment might
produce a latent feeling of hostility toward the "trainer," who usually is
the mother. This hostility might generalize to women in general. Another
possibility is that heavy reliance on punitive measures might lead to an
association between genital concerns and the anxiety derived from
severe toilet training could evolve into anxiety about sexual activities
later in life.

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Phallic stage
Around age 4, the genitals become the focus for the child's erotic
energy, largely through self-stimulation. During this pivotal stage, the
Oedipal complex emerges. Little boys develop an erotically tinged
preference for their mother. They also feel hostility toward their father,
whom they view as a competitor for mom's affection. Little girls develop
a special attachment to their father. At about the same time, they learn
that their genitals are very different from those of little boys, and they
supposedly develop penis envy. According to Freud, girls felt hostile
toward their mother because they blame her for their anatomical
“deficiency."
To summarize, in the Oedipal complex children manifest erotically tinged
desires for their other gender parent, accompanied by feelings of
hostility toward their same gender parent. The name for this syndrome
was taken from the Greek myth of Oedipus, who was separated from his
parents at birth. Not knowing the identity of his real parents, he
inadvertently killed his father and married his mother.
According to Freud, the way parents and children deal with the sexual
and aggressive conflicts inherent in the Oedipal complex is of paramount
importance. The child has to resolve the dilemma by giving Lip the
sexual longings for the other-sex parent and the hostility toward the
same-sex parent. Healthy psychosexual development is supposed to
hinge on the resolution of the Oedipal conflict. Why? Because continued
hostile relations with the same-sex parent may prevent the child from
identifying, Freudian theory predicts that many aspects of the child's
development won't progress as they should.
Latency and Genital Stage
Freud believed that from age 6 through puberty, the child's sexuality is
suppressed and it becomes "latent." Important events during this latency
stage center on expanding social contacts beyond the family. With the
advent of puberty the child evolves into the genital stage. Sexual urges
reappear and focus on the genital once again. At this point the sexual
energy is normally channeled toward peers of the other sex, rather than
toward oneself, as in the phallic stage.
In arguing that the early years shape personality Freud did not mean
that personality development comes to an abrupt halt in middle
childhood. However, he did believe that the foundation for one's adult
personality is solidly entrenched by this time. He maintained that future

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developments are rooted in early, formative experiences and that
significant conflicts in later years are replays of crises from childhood.
In fact, Freud believed that unconscious sexual conflicts rooted in
childhood experiences cause, the most personality disturbances. His
steadfast belief in the psychosexual origins of psychological disorders
eventually led to bitter theoretical disputes with two of his most brilliant
colleagues: Carl Jung and Alfred Adler. Jung and Adler both argued that
Freud overemphasized sexuality. Freud summarily rejected their ideas,
and the other two theorists felt compelled to go their own way,
developing their own psychodynamic theories of personality. . Jung's
Analytical Psychology Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung called his new
approach analytical psychology to differentiate it from Freud's
psychoanalytic theory. Like Freud, Jung emphasized the unconscious
determinants of personality. However, he proposed that the unconscious
consists of two layers. The first layer called the personal unconscious is
essentially the same as Freud's version of the unconscious. The
personal unconscious houses material that is not within one's conscious
awareness because it has been repressed or forgotten. In addition,
Jung, theorized the existence of a deeper layer he called the collective
unconscious. The collective unconscious is a storehouse of latent
memory, traces the inherited from people's ancestral past that is shared
with the entire human race. Jung called these ancestral memories
archetypes. They are not memories of actual, personal experiences.
Instead, archetypes are emotionally charged images and thought forms
that have universal meaning. These archetypal images and ideas show
up frequently in dreams and are often manifested in a culture's use of
symbols in art, literature, and religion. Jung felt that an understanding of
archetypal symbols helped him make sense of his patients' dreams. This
was of great concern to him because he depended extensively on dream
analysis in his treatment of patients.
Jung's unusual ideas about the collective unconscious had little impact
on the mainstream of thinking in psychology. Their influence was felt
more in other fields, such as anthropology, philosophy, art, and religious
studies. However, many of Jung's other ideas have been incorporated
into the mainstream of psychology. For instance, Jung was the first to
describe the introverted (inner directed) and extraverted (outer-directed)
personality types. Introverts tend to be preoccupied with the internal
world of their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences. They generally
are contemplative and aloof. In contrast, extraverts tend to be interested
in the external world of people and things. They're more likely to be
outgoing, talkative, and friendly, instead of reclusive.
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III. Adler's Individual Psychology
Alfred Adler was a charter member of Freud's inner circle the Vienna
Psychoanalytic Society. However, he soon began to develop his sown
theory of personality, which he christened individual psychology. Adler
argued that the foremost human drive is not sexuality, but a striving for
superiority. Adler viewed striving for superiority as a universal drive to
adapt, improve oneself, and master life's challenges. He noted that
young children understandably feel weak and helpless in comparison to
more competent older children and adults. These early inferiority
feelings supposedly motivated the individuals to acquire new skills and
develop new talents.
Adler asserted that everyone has to work to overcome some feelings of
inferiority. Compensation involves efforts to overcome imagined or real
inferiorities by developing one's abilities. Adler believed that
compensation is entirely normal. However, in some people inferiority
feelings can become excessive, resulting in what is widely known today
as an inferiority complex foalinanmirambiamendinganemas! Alla-tharinht
that either parental pampering or parental neglect or actual physical
handicaps could cause an inferiority problem. Thus, he agreed with
Freud on the importance of early childhood, although he focused on
different aspects of parent-child relations. Adier explained personality
disturburces by nothing that an inferiority complex can distort the normal
process of striving for superiority. He maintained that some people
engage in overcompensation in order to conceal, even from themseives,
their feelings of inferiority. Instead of working to master life's challenges,
people with an inferiority complex work to achieve status, gain power
over others, and acquire the trappings of success like fancy clothes,
impressive cars, or whatever looks important to them; they tend to flaunt
their success in an effort to cover up their underlying inferiority complex.
The problem is that such people engage in unconscious self-deception,
worrying more about appearances than reality.
Adler’s theory stressed the social context of personality development.
For instance, it was Adler who first focused attention on the possible
importance of birth order as a factor governing personality. He noted that
firstborns, second children, and later born children enter varied home
environments and are treated differently by parents and that these
experiences are likely to affect their personality. For example, he
hypothesized that only children are often spoiled by excessive attention
from parents and that firstborns are often problem children because they
become upset when they're "dethroned" by a second child.

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Adler's theory stimulated hundreds of studies on the effects of birth order
but these studies generally failed to support his hypotheses and did not
uncover any reliable correlations, between birth order and personality. In
recent years, Frank Sulloway has argued persuasively that birth order
does have an impact on personality.
Sulloway's reformulated hypotheses focus on how the Big Five traits are
shaped by competition among siblings as they struggle to find a "niche"
in their family environments. For example, he hypothesizes that
firstborns should be more conscientious but less agreeable and open to
experience than later-borns. In light of these personality patterns, he
further speculates that firstborns more tend to be conventional and
achievement oriented, whereas later-boms tend to be liberal and
rebellious. To evaluate his hypotheses, Sulloway reexamined decades
of research on birth order. After eliminating many studies, that failed to
control the important confounding variables, such as social class and
family size, he concluded that the results of the remaining, well-
controlled studies provided impressive evidence in favour of his
hypotheses. Some subsequent studies have provided additional support
for Sulloway's analyses but others have not. More studies will be needed
as research on birth order is enjoying a bit of a renaissance.
Evaluating Psychodynamic Theories

The psychodynamic approach has given us a number of far-reaching

theories of personality. These theories yielded some bold new insights
for their time. Psychodynamic theory and research have demonstrated
(1) that unconscious forces can influence behaviour, (2) that internal
conflict often plays a key role in generating psychological distress, (3)
that early childhood experiences can exert considerable influence over
adult personality, and (4) that people do rely on defense mechanisms to
reduce their experience of unpleasant emotions.
In a more negative vein, psychodynamic formulations have been
criticized on several grounds, including the following:
1. Poor testability: Scientific investigations require testable
hypotheses. Psychodynamic ideas have often been too vague to permit
a clear scientific test. Concepts such as the superego, the preconscious,
and collective unconscious are difficult to measure.
2. Inadequate evidence: The empirical evidence on psychodynamic
theories has often been characterized as inadequate. The approach
depends too much on the case studies, in which it is easy for clinicians
to see what they expect to see based on theory. Recent reexaminations

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of Freud's own clinical work suggest that he sometimes distorted him
patients' case histories to mesh with his theory (Esterson, 1993;
Sulloway, 1991) and that there are the substantial disparity between
Freud's writings and his actual therapeutic methods (Lynn & Vaillant,
1998). Insofar as researchers have accumulated evidence on
psychodynamic theories, it has provided only modest support for the
central hypotheses (Fishger & Greenberg, 1985, 1996; Westen &
Gabbard, 1999).
3. Sexism: Many critics have argued that psychodynamic theories
harbor a bias against women. Freud believed that females' penis envy
made them feel inferior to males. He also thought that females tended to
develop weaker superego and to be more prone to neurosis than males.
He dismissed female patients' reports of sexual molestation during
childhood as mere fantasies. Admittedly, sexism isn't unique to Freudian
theories, and the sex bias in modern psychodynamic theories that has
been reduced to some degree. But the psychodynamic approach has
generally provided a rather male centered viewpoint.
It's easy to ridicule Freud for concepts such as penis envy and to point to
ideas that have turned out to be wrong. Remember, though, that Freud,
Jung, and Adler began to fashion their theories over a century ago. It is
not entirely fair to compare these theories to other models that are only a
decade old. That's like asking the Wright brothers to race the Concorde.
Freud and his psychodynamic colleagues deserve great credit for
breaking new ground. Standing at a distance a century later, we have to
be impressed by the extraordinary impact that psychodynamic theory
has had on modern thought. No other theoretical perspective is
psychology has been as influential except for the one we turn to next
behaviourism.
15.4 BEHAVIOURAL THEORIES
Behaviourism is a theoretical orientation based on the premise that
scientific psychology should study observable behaviour. Behaviourism
has been a major school of thought in psychology since 1913, when
John B. Watson published an influential article. Watson argued that, the
psychology should abandon its earlier focus on the mind and mental
processes and focus exclusively on overt behaviour. He contended that
psychology could not study mental processes in a scientific manner
because they are private and not accessible to outside observation.
It completely rejecting mental processes as a suitable subject for
scientific study, Watson took an extreme position that is no longer
dominant among modern behaviourists. Nonetheless, his influence was
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enormous, as psychology did shift its primary focus from the study of the
mind to the study of behaviour.
The behaviorists have shown little interest in internal personality
structures similar to Freud's id, ego and superego, because such
structures can't be observed. They prefer to think in terms of "response
tendencies," They prefer to think in terms of "response tendencies",
which can be observed. Thus, the most behaviorists view an individual's
personality as a collection of response tendencies that are tied to
various stimulus situations. A specific situation may be associated with a
number of response tendencies that vary in strength, depending on an
individual's past experience.
Although behaviourists have shown relatively little interest in personality
structure, they have focused extensively on personality development.
They explain development the same way they explain everything else
through learning. Specifically, they focus on how children's response
tendencies are shaped through certain classical conditioning, that
include operant conditioning, and observational learning. Let's look at
these processes.

1. Pavlov's Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which a neutral stimulus
acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by
another stimulus. This process was first described back in 1903 by
Ivan Pavlov.
The Conditioned Reflex
Pavlov (1906) was studying digestive processes in dogs when he
discovered that the dogs could be trained to salivate in response to the
sound of a tone. What was so significant about a dog salivating when a
tone was rung? The key was that the tone started out as a neutral
stimulus; that is, originally it did not produce the response of salivation.
However, Pavlov managed to change that by pairing the tone with a
stimulus that did produce the salivation response. Through this process,
the tone acquired the capacity to trigger the response of salivation. What
Pavlov had demonstrated was how learned reflexes are acquired.
Pavlov's discovery came to be called the conditioned reflex. Classically
conditioned responses are viewed as reflexes because most of them are
relatively involuntary. Responses that are a product of classical
conditioning are said to be elicited. This word is meant to convey the
idea that these responses are triggered automatically.

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Classical Conditioning in Everyday Life
What is the role of classical conditioning in shaping personality? in
everyday life? Among other things, it contributes to the acquisition of
emotional responses, such as anxieties, fears, and phobias. This is a
relatively small but important class of responses, as maladaptive
emotional reactions underlie many adjustment problems. For example,
on middle-aged woman reported being troubled by a bridge phobia so
severe that she couldn't drive on interstate highways because of all the
viaducts she would have to cross. She was able to pinpoint the source of
her phobia. Many years before, when her family would drive to visit her
grandmother, they had to cross a little-used, rickety, dilapidated bridge
out in the countryside. Her father, in a misguided attempt at humour,
made a major production out of these crossings. He would stop short of
the bridge and carry on about the enormous danger of the crossing.
Obviously, he thought the bridge was safe or he wouldn't have driven
across it. However, the naïve young girl was terrified by her father's
scare tactics, and the bridge became a conditioned stimulus eliciting
great fear. Unfortunately, the fear spilled over to all bridges, and 40
years later she was still carrying the burden of this phobia. Although a
number of processes that can cause phobias, it is clear that the classical
conditioning is responsible for many of our irrational fears.

II. Skinner's Operant Conditioning

Even Pavlov recognized that classical conditioning is not the only form of
conditioning. Classical conditioning best explains reflexive responding
controlled by stimuli that precede the response. However, both animals
and humans make many responses that don't fit this description.
Consider the response you are engaging in right now studying. It is
definitely not a reflex (life might be easier if it were). The stimuli that
govern it (exams and grades) do not precede it. Instead, your studying
response is mainly influenced by events that follow it specifically its
consequences.
This kind of learning is called operant conditioning. Operant conditioning
is a form of learning in which voluntary responses come to be controlled
by their consequences. Operant conditioning probably governs a larger
share of human behaviour than classical conditioning, since most human
responses are voluntary rather than reflexive. Because they are
voluntary, operant responses are said to be emitted rather than elicited.
The study of operant conditioning was led by B.F. Skinner, a Harvard
University psychologist who spent most of his career studying simple
responses made by laboratory rats and pigeons. The fundamental
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principle of operant conditioning is uncommonly simple. Skinner
demonstrated that organisms tend to repeat those responses that are
followed by favourable consequences, and they tend not to repeat those
responses that are followed by neutral or unfavourable consequences.
In Skinners' scheme, favourable, neutral and the unfavourable
consequences that involve reinforcement, extinction, and punishment,
respectively. We'll look at each of these concepts in turn.

The Power of Reinforcement

According to Skinner, reinforcement can occur in two ways, which he
called positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. Positive
reinforcement occurs when a response is strengthened (increases in
frequency) because it is followed by the arrival of a (presumably)
pleasant stimulus. Positive reinforcement is roughly synonymous with
the concept of reward. Notice, however, that reinforcement is defined
after the fact, in terms of its effect on behaviour. Why? Because
reinforcement is subjective. Something that serves, as a reinforcer for
one person may not function as a reinforce for the other. For example,
peer approval is a potent reinforcer for most people, but not all.
Positive reinforcement influences personality development in a
straightforward way. Responses followed by pleasant outcomes are
strengthened and tend to become habitual patterns of behaviour. For
example, a youngster might clown around in class and gain appreciative
comments and smiles from schoolmates. This social approval will
probably reinforce clowning-around behaviour. If such behaviour is
reinforced with some regularity, it will gradually become an integral
element of the youth's personality. Similarly, whether or not a youngster
develops traits such as independence, assertiveness, or selfishness
depends on whether the child is reinforced for such behaviours by
parents and by other influential persons.
Negative reinforcement occurs when a response is strengthened
(increases in frequency) because it is followed by the removal of a
(presumably) unpleasant stimulus. Don't let the word negative here
confuse you. Negative reinforcement in reinforcement. Like positive
reinforcement, it strengthens a response. However, this strengthening
occurs because the response gets rid of an aversive stimulus. Consider
a few examples: You rush home in the winter to get out of the cold. You
clean your house to get rid of a mess. Parents give in to their child's
begging to halt his whining.

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Extinction and Punishment
Like the effects of classical conditioning, the effects of operant
conditioning may not last forever. In both types of conditioning, extinction
refers to the gradual weakening and disappearance of a response. In
operant conditioning, extinction begins when a previously reinforced
response stops producing positive consequences, As extinction
progresses, the response typically becomes less and less frequent and
eventually disappears.
Thus, the response tendencies that make up one's personality are not
necessarily permanent. For example, the youngster who found that his
classmates reinforced clowning in grade school and that, might find that
his attempts at comedy earn nothing but indifferent stares in high school.
This termination of reinforcement would probably lead to the gradual
extinction of the clowning around behaviour. How quickly an operant
response extinguishes depends on many factors in the person's earlier
reinforcement history
Some responses may be weakened by punishment. In Skinner's
scheme, punishment occurs when a response is weakened (decreases
in frequency) because it is followed by the arrival of a (presumably)
unpleasant stimulus. The concept of punishment in operant conditioning
confuses many students on two counts. First, it is often mixed up with
negative reinforcernent because both involve aversive stimuli. Please
note, however, that they are altogether different events with opposite
outcomes! In negative reinforcement, a response leads to the removal of
something aversive, and this response is strengthened, in punishment, a
response leads to the arrival of something aversive, and this response
tends to be weakened.
The second source of confusion involves viewing punishment as only a
disciplinary procedure used by parents, teachers, and other authority
figures. In the operant model, punishment occurs whenever a response
leads to negative consequences. Defined in this way, the concept goes
far beyond the actions such as parents spanking children or teachers
handing out detentions. For example, if you wear a new outfit and your
friends make fun of it and hurt your feelings, your behaviour has been
punished, and your tendency to wear this clothing will decline. Similarly,
if you go to a restaurant and have a horrible meal, in Skinner's
terminology your response has led to punishment
The impact of punishment on personality development is just the
opposite of reinforcement. Generally speaking, those patterns of
behaviour that lead to punishing that is, negative) consequences tend to
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be weakened. For instance, if your impulsive decisions always backfire,
your tendency to be impulsive should decline.
According to Skinner (1987), conditioning in humans operates much as it
does in the rats and pigeons, that he has studied in his laboratory.
Hence, he assumes that conditioning strengthens and weakens people's
response tendencies "mechanically" that is, without their conscious
participation. Like John Watson (1913) before him, Skinner asserted that
we can explain behaviour without being concerned about individuals'
mental processes.
Skinner's ideas continue to be influential, but his mechanical view of
conditioning has not gone unchallenged by other behaviourists.
Theorists such as Albert Bandura have developed somewhat different
behavioural models in which cognition plays a role. Cognition refers to
the thought processes that is involved in acquiring knowledge. In other
words, cognition is another name for the mental processes that
behaviourists have traditionally shown little interest in.
III. Bandura’s Social Learning Theory
Albert Bandura is one of several theorists who have added a cognitive
flavour to behaviorism since the 1960's. Bandura (1977), Walter Mischel
(1973), and Julian Rotter (1982) take issue with Skinner's view. They
point out that humans obviously are conscious, thinking, feeling beings.
Moreover, these theorists argue that in neglecting cognitive processes,
Skinner ignores the most distinctive and important feature of human
behaviour. Bandura and like-minded theorists call their modified brand of
behaviourism social learning theory.
Bandura agrees with the basic thrust of behaviorism in that he believes
that personality is largely shaped through learning. However, he
contends that conditioning is not a mechanical process in which people
are passive participants. Instead, he maintains that individuals actively
seek out and process information about their environment in order to
maximize their favourable outcomes.
Observational Learning
Bandura's foremost theoretical contribution has been his description of
observational learning. Observational learning occurs, when an
organism's responding is influenced by the observation of the others,
who are called models. Bandura does not view observational learning as
entirely separate from classical and operant conditioning. Instead, he
asserts that both classical and operant conditioning can take place
indirectly when one person observes another's condition.
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To illustrate, suppose you observe a friend behaving assertively with a
car salesman. Let's say that her assertiveness is reinforced by the
exceptionally good buy she gets on the car. Your own tendency to
behave assertively with salespeople might well be strengthened as a
result. Notice that the favourable consequences are experienced by your
friend, not you. Your friend's tendency to bargain the assertively should
be reinforced directly. But your tendency to bargain assertively may also
be reinforced indirectly.
The theories of Skinner and Pavlov make no allowance for this type of
indirect learning. After all, this observational learning requires that you
pay attention to your friend's behaviour, that you understand its
consequences, and that you store this information in memory.
Obviously, attention, understanding, information, and memory involve
cognition, which behaviourists used to ignore.
As social learning theory has been refined, it has become apparent that
some models are more influential than others (Bandura, 1986). Both
children and adults tend to imitate people they like or respect more so
than people they don't. People are also especially prone to imitate the
behaviour of those they consider attractive or powerful such as the
celebrities. In addition, imitation is more likely when individuals see
similarity between the model and themselves. Thus, children, imitate
same-gender role models somewhat more than other sex models.
Finally, as noted before, people are more likely to copy a model if they
see the model's behaviour leading to positive outcomes.
According to social learning theory, models have a great impact on
personality development. Children learn to be assertive, conscientious,
self-sufficient, dependable, easygoing, and so forth by observing others
behaving in these ways. Parents, teachers, relatives, siblings, and peers
serve as models for young children. Bandura and his colleagues have
done extensive research showing how models influence and
development of aggressiveness, gender roles, and moral standards in
children. Their research on modeling and aggression has been
particularly influential.
Self-Efficacy
Bandura believes that self-efficacy is a crucial element of personality.
Self efficacy is one's belief about one's ability to perform behaviours that
should lead to expected outcomes. When a person's self-efficacy is high,
he or she feels confident in executing the responses necessary, to earn
the reinforcers. When self-efficacy is low, the individual worries that the
necessary responses may be beyond her or his abilities. Perceptions of
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self-efficacy are subjective and specific to different kinds of tasks. For
instance, you might feel extremely confident about your ability to handle
difficult social situations but doubtful about your ability to handle
academic challenges. Although specific perceptions of self-efficacy
predict behaviour best, these perceptions are influenced by general
feelings of self-efficacy.
Perceptions of self-efficacy can influence which challenges people tackle
and how well they perform. Studies have found that feelings of great self
efficacy are associated with greater success in giving up smoking
greater adherence to an exercise regimen; more success in coping with
pain; greater persistence and effort in the academic pursuits higher
levels of academic performance enhanced performance in athletic
competition greater receptiveness to technological training, and higher
work related performance among many other things.
Evaluating Behavioural Theories

Behavioural theories are firmly rooted in empirical research rather than

clinical intuition. Pavlov's model has shed light on how conditioning can
account for people's sometimes troublesome emotional responses.
Skinner's work has demonstrated how personality is shaped by the
consequences of behaviour. Bandura's social learning theory has shown
how people's observations mold their characteristic behaviour.

Behaviourists, in particular Walter Mischel (1973, 1990) have also

provided the most thorough account of why people are only moderately
consistent in their behaviour. For example, a person who is shy is one
context might be quite outgoing in another. Other models of personality
largely ignore this inconsistency. The behaviourists have shown that,
this inconsistency occurs because of people who behave in ways they
think will lead to reinforcement in the situation at hand. In other words,
situational factors play a significant role in controlling behaviour.
Of course, each theoretical approach has its shortcomings, and the
behavioural approach is no exception. Major lines of criticism include the
following
1. Dilution of the behavioural approach: The behaviourists used to be
criticized because they neglected cognitive processes, which clearly are
important factors in human behaviour. The rise of social learning theory,
which focuses heavily on cognitive factors, blunted this criticism.
However, social learning theory undermines the foundation on which
behaviourism was built the idea that psychologists should study only

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observable behaviour. Thus, some critics complain that behavioural
theories aren't very behavioural anymore.
2. Overdependence on animal research: Many principles in
behavioural theories were discovered through research on animals.
Some critics, especially humanistic theorists argue that behaviourists
depend too much on animal research and that they indiscriminately
generalize from the behaviour of animals to the behaviour of humans.
15.5 HUMANISTIC THEORIES
Humanistic theory emerged in the 1950s as something of a backlash
against the behavioural and psychodynamic theories. The principal
charge hurled at these two models was that they were dehumanizing.
Freudian theory was criticized for its belief that primitive, animalistic
drives dominate behaviour. Behaviourism was criticized for its
preoccupation with the animal research. Critics argued that both schools
view people as helpless pawns controlled by their environment and their
past, with little capacity for self-direction. Many of these critics blended
into a loose alliance that came to be known as humanism because of its
exclusive interest in human behaviour. Humanism is a theoretical
orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially
their free will and their potential for personal growth. Humanistic
psychologists do not believe that, we can learn anything of significance
about the human condition from animal research.
Humanistic theorists take an optimistic view of human nature. In contrast
to most psychodynamic and behavioural theorists, humanistic theorists
believe (1) that human nature includes an innate drive toward personal
growth (2) that i actual experience. In contrast, if a person's self-concept
is reasonably accurate, it is said to be congruent with reality. Everyone
experiences some incongruent, the crucial issue is how much Rogers
maintained that a great deal of incongruence undermines a person's
psychological well-being.
In terms of personality development, Rogers was concerned with how
childhood experiences promote congruence or incongruence. According
to Rogers, everyone has a strong need for affection, love, and
acceptance from others. Early in life the parents provide and the parents
make their affection conditional. That is, they make it depend on the
child's behaving well and living up to expectations. When parental love
seems conditional children often distort and block out of their self-
concept those experiences that make them feel unworthy of love. At the
other end of the spectrum, Rogers asserted that some parents make
their affection unconditional. Their children have less need to block out
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unworthy experiences because they have been assured that they are
worthy of affection no matter what they do. Rogers believed that
unconditional love from parents fosters congruence and that conditional
love fosters incongruence. He further theorized that individuals who
grow up believing that affection from others (besides their parents) is
conditional go on to distort more and more of their experiences to feel
worthy of acceptance from a wider and wider array of people, making
the incongruence grow.
Anxiety and Defense
According to Rogers, experiences that threaten people's personal views
of themselves are the principal cause of troublesome anxiety. The more
inaccurate your self-concept, the more likely you are to have
experiences that clash with your self-perceptions. Thus, people with
highly incongruent self-concepts are especially likely to be plagued by
recurrent anxiety.

To ward off this anxiety, such people often behave defensively. Thus,
they ignore, deny, and twist reality to protect their self-concept. Consider
a young woman who, like most of us, considers herself a “nice person."
Let us suppose that in reality she is rather conceited and selfish, and
she gets feedback from both boyfriends and girlfriends that she is a
"self-centered, snotty brat." How might she react in order to protect her
self-concept? She might ignore or block out those occasions when she
behaves selfishly and then deny the accusations by her friends that she
is self-centered. She might also attribute that her girlfriends' negative
comments to their jealousy of her good looks and blame the boyfriends'
negative remarks on their disappointment because she won't get more
serious with disappointment because she won't get more serious with
them. Meanwhile, she might start doing some kind of charity work to
show everyone (including herself) that she really is a nice person. As
you can see, people often go to great lengths to defend their self-
concept.

Roger's theory can explain defensive behaviour and personality

disturbances, but he also emphasized the importance of psychological
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health. Rogers held that psychological health is rooted in a congruent
self-concept. In turn, congruence is rooted in a sense of personal worth,
which stems from a childhood saturated with unconditional affection from
parents and others. These themes are similar to those emphasized by
the other major humanistic theorist, Abraham Maslow.
II. MASLOW'S THEORY OF SELF-ACTUALIZATION
Abraham Maslow grew up in Brooklyn and spent much of his career at
Brandeis University, where he provided crucial leadership for the
fledgling humanistic movement. Like Rogers, Maslow (1968, 1970)
argued that psychology should take a greater interest in the nature of the
healthy personality, instead of dwelling on the causes of disorders. “To
oversimplify the matter somewhat," he said, "it is as if Freud supplied to
us the sick half of psychology and we must now fill it out with the healthy
half". Maslow's key contributions were his analysis of how motives are
organized hierarchically and his description of the healthy personality.

Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow proposed that human motives are organized into a hierarchy of
needs a systematic arrangement of needs, according to priority, in which
basic needs must be met before less basic needs are aroused. This
hierarchical arrangement is usually portrayed as a pyramid (Figure 2).
The needs toward the bottom of the pyramid, such as the physiological
or the security needs are the bottom levels in the pyramid consist of
progressively less basic needs. When a person manages to satisfy a
level of needs reasonably well (complete satisfaction is not necessary),
this satisfaction activates needs at the next level.

Figure. 2: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

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Like Rogers, Maslow argued that humans have an innate drive toward
personal growth that is, evolution toward a higher state of being. Thus,
he described the needs in the uppermost reaches of his hierarchy as
growth needs. These include the needs for knowledge, understanding,
order, and aesthetic beauty. Foremost among the growth needs is the
need for self-actualization, which is the need to fulfill one's potential; it is
the highest need in Maslow's motivational hierarchy. Maslow
summarized that this concept with a simple statement: “What a man can
be, he must be." According to Maslow, people will be frustrated if they
are unable to fully utilize their talents or pursue their true interests. For
example, if you have great musical talent, but, must work as an
accountant, or if you have scholarly interests but must work as a sales
clerk, you need for self-actualization will be thwarted.
The Healthy Personality
Because of his interest in self-actualization, Maslow set out to discover
the nature of the healthy personality. He tried to identify people of
exceptional mental health so that he could investigate their
characteristics. In one case, he used'. psychological tests and interviews
to sort out the healthiest 1% of a sizable population of college students.
He also studied admired historical figures (such as Thomas Jefferson
and psychologist-philosopher William James) and personal
acquaintances characterized by superior adjustment. Over a period of
years, he accumulated his case histories and gradually sketched, in
broad strokes, a picture of ideal psychological health.
Maslow called people with an exceptionally healthy personalities, self-
actualized persons because of their commitment to continued personal
growth. He identified various traits characteristic of self-actualizing
people. In brief, Maslow found that self-actualizers are accurately tuned
in to reality and that they are at peace with themselves. He found that
they are open and spontaneous and that they retain a fresh appreciation
of the world around them. Socially, they are sensitive to others' needs
and enjoy rewarding interpersonal relations. However, they are not
dependent on others for approval, nor are they uncomfortable with
solitude. They thrive on their work, and they enjoy their sense of humor.
Maslow also noted that they enjoy "peak experiences" (profound
emotional highs) more often than others. Finally, he found that they
strike a nice balance between many polarities in personality, so that they
can be childlike and mature, rational and intuitive, conforming and
rebellious.

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Evaluating Humanistic Theories
The humanists added a refreshing perspective to the study of
personality. Their argument that a person's subjective views may be
more important than objective reality has proven compelling. Today,
even behavioural theorists have begun to consider subjective personal
factors such as beliefs and expectations. The humanistic approach also
deserves credit for making the self-concept an important construct in
psychology. Finally, the humanists have often been applauded for
focusing the attention on the issue of what constitutes a healthy
personality.
Of course, there is a negative side to the balance sheet as well. Critics
have identified some weaknesses in the humanistic approach to
personality, including the following:
1. Poor testability: Like psychodynamic theorists, the humanists have
been criticized for proposing hypotheses, that are difficult to put to a
scientific test., Humanistic concepts such as personal growth and self-
actualization are difficult to define and measure.
2. Unrealistic view of human nature: Critics also charge that the
humanists have been overly optimistic in their assumptions about human
nature and unrealistic in their descriptions of the healthy personality. For
instance, Maslow’s self-actualizing people sound perfect. In reality,
Maslow had a hard time finding self-actualizing persons. When he
searched among the living, the results were so disappointing that he
turned to the study of historical figures. Thus, humanistic portraits of
psychological health are perhaps a bit unrealistic.
3. Inadequate evidence: Humanistic theories are based primarily on
discerning but uncontrolled observations in clinical settings. Case
studies can be valuable in generating ideas, but they are ill-suited for
building a solid database. More experimental research is needed to
catch up with the theorizing in the humanistic camp. This is precisely the
opposite of the situation that you'll encounter in the next section, on
biological perspectives, where more theorizing is needed to catch up
with the research.

15.6 BIOLOGICAL THEORIES

In this section we'll discuss Hans Eysenck's theory, which emphasizes
the influence of heredity, and looks at behavioural genetics and
evolutionary perspectives on personality.

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1. Eysenck's Theory
Hans Eysenck was born in Germany but fled to London during the era of
Nazi rule. He went on to become one of Britain's most prominent
psychologists. According to Eysenck (1967),'Personality is determined to
a large extent by a person's genes". How is heredity linked to the
personality in Eysenck's model? In part, through conditioning concepts
borrowed from behavioural theory. Eysenck theorizes that some people
can be conditioned more readily than others because of inherited
differences in their physiological functioning through specific, levels of
arousal. These variations in "conditionability" are assumed to influence
the personality traits that people acquire through conditioning.
Eysenck views personality structure as a hierarchy of traits. Numerous
superficial traits are derived from a smaller number of more basic traits,
which are derived from a handful of fundamental higher-order traits, as
shown in figure. Eysenck has shown a special interest in explaining
variations in: extraversion introversion, the trait dimension first
described years earlier by Carl Jung. He has proposed that introverts
tend to have higher levels of physiological arousal than extraverts. This
higher arousal purportedly motivates them to avoid social situations that
will further elevate their arousal and makes them more easily
conditioned than extraverts. According to Eysenck, people who condition
easily acquire more conditioned inhibitions than others. These inhibitions
coupled with their relatively high arousal, make them more bashful,
tentative, and uneasy in social situations. This social discomfort leads
them to turn inward. Hence, they become introverted.

Is there any research to support Eysenck's explanation of the origins of

introversion? Yes, but the evidence is rather inconsistent. Many studies
have found that introverts tend to exhibit higher levels of arousal than
extraverts, but many studies have also failed to find the predicted
differences. Part of the problem is that the concept of physiological
arousal has turned out to be much more multifaceted and difficult to
measure than Eysenck originally anticipated. Still, theorists of many
persuasions agree with Eysenck that introversion and closely related

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traits like shyness, sensitivity, and inhibited temperament seem to have
some sort of physiological basis. So Eysenck was probably on the on
the right track, but it has proven difficult to pinpoint the physiological
basis for introversion.
II. Recent Research in Behavioural Genetics
Recent twin studies have provided impressive support for Eysenck's
hypothesis that personality is largely inherited. In twin studies
researchers assess hereditary influence by comparing the resemblance
of identical twins and fraternal twins on a trait. The logic underlying this
comparison is as follows. identical twins emerge from one egg that
splits, so that their genetic makeup is exactly the same 100% overlap.
Fraternal twins result when two eggs are fertilized simultaneously; their
genetic overlap is only 50%. Both types of twins usually grow up in the
same home, at the same time, exposed to the same.
relatives, neighbours, peers, teachers, events and so forth. Thus, both
kinds of twins normally develop under similar environmental conditions,
but identical twins share more genetic kinship. Hence, if sets of identical
twins exhibit more personality resemblance than sets of fraternal twins,
this greater similarity is probably attributable to heredity rather than to
environment. The results of the twin studies can be used to estimate the
heritability of personality traits and other characteristics. A heritability
ratio is an estimate of the proportion of trait variability in a population that
is determined by variations in genetic inheritance. Heritability can be
estimated for any trait. For example, the heritability of height is estimated
to be around 90%, whereas the heritability of intelligence appears to be
about 50% to 70%.
The accumulating evidence from twin studies suggests that heredity
exerts considerable influence over many personality traits. For instance,
in research on the Big Five personality traits, identical twins have been
found to be much more similar than fraternal twins on all five traits.
Some skeptics still wonder whether identical twins might exhibit more
personality resemblance than fraternal twins because they are raised
more similarly. i in other words, they wonder whether environmental
factors (rather than heredity) could be responsible for identical twins'
greater similarity. This nagging question can be answered only by
studying identical twins that have been reared apart. Which is why the
twin study at the University of Minnesota was so important?
The Minnesota study was the first to administer the same personality
test to identical and fraternal twins reared together as well as apart. Most
of the twins reared apart were separated quite early in life and remained
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separated for a long time. Nonetheless, on all three of the higher-order
traits examined, the identical twins reared apart displayed more
personality resemblance than fraternal twins reared together. Based on
the pattern of correlations observed, the researchers estimated that the
heritability of personality is around 50%. Another large-scale twin study
of the Big Five traits conducted in Germany and Poland yielded similar
conclusions. The heritability estimates based on the data from this study,
which are shown in figure 2.19, are in the same range as the estimates
from the Minnesota study.
III. The Evolutionary Approach to Personality
In the realm of biological approaches to the personality, the most recent
development has been the emergence of an evolutionary perspective.
Evolutionary psychologists assert that the patterns of behaviour seen in
a species are products of evolution in the same way that anatomical
characteristics are. Evolutionary psychology examines behavioural
processes in terms of their adaptive value for members of a species over
the course of many generations. The basic premise of the evolutionary
psychology is that if is a natural selection that favours behaviours, that
enhance organism's reproductive success that is, passing on genes to
the next generation. Thus, evolutionary analyses of personality focus on
how various-traits and the ability to recognize these traits in others may
have contributed to reproductive fitness in ancestral human populations.
For example, David Buss has argued that the Big Five personality traits
stand out as important dimensions of personality across a variety of
cultures because those traits have had significant adaptive implications.
Buss points out those humans historically have depended heavily on
groups, which afford protection from predators or enemies, opportunities
for sharing food, and a diverse array of other benefits. In the context of
these group interactions, people have had to make difficult but crucial
judgments about the characteristics of others, asking such questions as:
Who will make a good member of my coalition? Who can I depend on
when in need? Who will share their resources? Thus, Buss argues,
“Those individuals able to accurately decide and act upon these
individual differences likely enjoyed a considerable reproductive
advantage". According to Buss, the Big Five emerged as fundamental
dimensions of personality because humans have evolved special
sensations in the ability to bond with others (extraversion), the
willingness to cooperate and collaborate (agreeableness), the tendency
to be reliable and ethical (conscientiousness), the capacity to be an
innovative problem solver (openness to experience), and the ability to

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handle stress (low neuroticism). In a nutshell, the Big Five supposedly
reflect the most salient personality features in ancestral human's
adaptive landscape.
Evaluating Biological Theories
Although evolutionary analysis of personality is pretty speculative, recent
research in behavioural genetics has provided convincing evidence that
biological factors help shape personality. Nonetheless, we must take
note of some weaknesses in biological approaches to personality:
1. Problems with estimates of hereditary influence: Efforts to carve:
personality into genetic and environmental components with statistics
is ultimately artificial. The effects of the heredity and environment are
twisted together in complicated interactions that can't be separated
clearly. Although heritability ratios sound precise, they are estimates
based on a complicated chain of inferences that are subject to debate.
2. Lack of adequate theory: At present there is no comprehensive
biological theory of personality. Eysenck's model does not provide a
systematic overview of how biological factors govern personality
development and it was never intended to. Evolutionary analyses of
personality are even more limited in scope. Additional theoretical work is
needed to catch up with recent empirical findings on the biological basis
for personality.

15.7 ASSESSMENT OF PERSONALITY

Psychologists interested in assessing personality must be able to define
the most meaningful ways of discriminating between one person's
personality and another's. They use psychological tests, standard
measures devised to assess behaviour objectively. Such tests are used
by psychologists to help people make decisions about their lives and
understand more about themselves. They are also employed by
researchers interested in the causes and consequence of personality.

All psychological tests must have reliability and validity. Reliability refers
to the measurement consistency of a test. If a test is reliable, it yields the
same result each give different results each time they are administered.
Tests also must be valid in order to draw a meaningful conclusion. Tests
have validity when they actually measure what they are designed to
measure. If a test is constructed to measure sociability, for instance, we
need to know that it actually measures sociability and not some other
trait.

298
Psychological tests are based on norms, standards of test performance
that permit the comparison of one person's score on the test with the
scores of others who have taken the same test. For example, a norm
permits test takers to know they have scored in the top 10 percent of
those who have taken the test.
Basically, norms are established by administering a particular test to a
large number of people and determining the typical scores. It is then
possible to compare a single person's score with the scores of the
group, providing a comparative measure of test performance against
others who have taken the test. Psychologists use various measures of
personality such as personality inventories projective methods and
behavioural assessment. They are discussed below:
1. Self-Report Measures of Personality
If someone wanted to assess the personality, one possible approach
would be to carry out an extensive interview with the person in order to
determine the most important events of your childhood, your social
relationships, and successes and failures. Obviously, though such a
technique would be extraordinarily costly in terms of time and effort. It is
also unnecessary, just as physicians draw only a small sample of your
entire blood in order to test it. Psychologists can utilize self-report
measures that ask people about a relatively small sample of their
behaviour. This sampling of self report data is infer the presence of
particular personality characteristics.
One of the best examples of a self-report measure, and the most
frequently used personality test, is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory 2 (MMP-2). Although the original purpose of the measure was
to differentiate people with specific sorts of psychological difficulties from
those without disturbances, it has been found to predict a variety of other
behaviours. For instance, MMPI scores have been shown to be good
predictors of whether college students will marry within ten years and
whether they will get an advanced degree. Police departments use the
test to measure whether police officers are prone to use their weapons.
Psychologists in the former Soviet Union even administered a modified
form of the MMPI to their cosmonauts and Olympic athletes.
The test itself consists of a series of 567 items to which a person
responds "true", "false," or "cannot say." The questions cover a variety of
issues, ranging from mood (“I feel useless at times") to opinions (“people
should try to understand their dreams") to physical and psychological
health ("I am bothered by an upset stomach several times a week:" and "
have strange and peculiar thoughts"). There are no right or wrong
299
answers. Of course, instead, interpretation of the results rests on the
pattern of responses. The test yields scores on ten separate scales, plus
three scales meant to measure the validity of the respondent's answers.
For example, there is a lie scale" that indicates when people are
falsifying their responses in order to present themselves more favourably
through items such as “I can't remember ever having a bad night's
sleep").
When the MMPI is used for the purposes for which it was devised
identification of personality disorders it does a reasonably good job.
However, like other personality tests, it presents the opportunity for
abuse. For instance, employers who use it as a screening tool for job
applicants may interpret the results improperly, relying too heavily on the
results of individual scales instead of taking into account the overall
patterns of results, which require skilled interpretation. Furthermore,
critics point out that the individual scales overlap, making their
interpretation difficult. In sum, although the MMPI remains the most
widely used personality test and has been translated into more than
100 different languages and it must be used with caution.

II. Projective Methods

If you were shown the shape presented in Figure 3 and asked what it
represented to you, you might not think that you impression would mean
very much. But to a psychoanalytic theoretician, your responses to such
an ambiguous figure would provide valuable clues to the state of your
unconscious, and ultimately to your general personality characteristics.
The shape in the figure is representative of inkblots used in projective
personality tests, in which a person is shown an ambiguous stimulus and
asked to describe it or tell a story about it, the responses are then
considered to be "projections" of what the person is like.
The best known projective test is the Rorschach test. Devised by Swiss
psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach (1924), the test consists of showing a
series of symmetrical stimuli, similar to the one in Figure 3, to people
who are then asked what the figures represent to them. Their responses
are recorded, and through a complex set of clinical judgments on the
part of the examiner people are classified into different personality types.
For instance, respondents who see a bear in one inkblot are thought to
have a strong degree of emotional control, according to the rules
developed by Rorschach.

300
The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is another well known projective
test. The TAT consists of a series of pictures about which a person is
asked to write a story. The stories are then used to draw inferences
about the writer's personality characteristics.
Tests with stimuli as ambiguous as the Rorschach and TAT that require
particular skill and care in their interpretation. They are often criticized
for requiring too much inference on the parts of the examiner. However
they are widely used, particularly in clinical settings, and their
proponents suggest that their reliability and validity are high.
Ill. Behavioural Assessment
The behavioral assessment is a direct measure of an individual's
behaviour used to describe characteristics indicative of personality. As
with observational research, behavioural assessment may be carried out
naturalistically by observing people in their own setting in the work place,
at home, or in school, for instance. In other cases, behavioural
assessment occurs in the laboratory, under controlled conditions in
which a psychologist sets up a situation and observes an individual's
behaviour.
Regardless of the setting in which behaviour is observed, an effort is
made to ensure that behaviour assessment is carried out objectively,
quantifying behaviour as much as possible. For example, an observer
might record the number of social contacts a person initiates, the
number of questions asked, or the number of aggressive acts. Another
method is to measure duration of events the length of a conversation,
the amount of time spent working, or the time spent in cooperative
behaviour.

Behavioural assessment is particularly appropriate for observing and

eventually remedying specific behavioural difficulties, such an increasing
socialization in shy children. It provides a means of assessing the
specific nature and the incidence of a problem and subsequently allows

301
psychologists to determine whether intervention techniques have been
successful.
Behavioural assessment techniques based on learning theories of
personality have also made important contributions to the treatment of
certain kinds of psychological difficulties. Indeed, the knowledge of
normal personality provided by the theories we have discussed
throughout this unit has led to significant advances in our understanding
and treatment of both physical and psychological disorders

LET US SUM UP
The idea of personality is used to explain the stability in a person's
behaviour over time and across situations (consistency) and the
behavioural differences among people reacting to the same situations
(distinctiveness). Personality refers to an individual's unique
constellation of consistent behavioural traits. The personality is
determined by the Biological Physical, Psychological, Familial, Social
and Cultural causes. The different theories of personality reveals that
human personality is complex and it has many influences. The self-
report measures projective methods and behaviour assessment
techniques are widely employed to assess the personality.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. The decision-making component of personality that
operates according to the reality principle is ______
a) ld b) Ego c) Super Ego d) none of the above
2. The defense mechanisms are largely __________ reactions
3. The process of keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the
unconscious is known as ______
4. ________are emotionally charged images and thought forms that
have universal meaning.
5. _________ propose that striving for superiority is the universal drive
to adapt, improve oneself and master life's challenges.
a) Adler b) Freud c) Jung d) None of the above
6. The term conditioned reflex is proposed by ______
a) Pavlov b) Skinner c) Jung d) Rogers

302
7. _______ refers to the thought processes involved is
acquiring knowledge
8. ___________ learning occurs when an organism's responding is
influenced by the observation of others
9. One's belief about one's ability to perform behaviours that should
lead to expected outcomes is termed as_____
a) Self-perception b) Self-competence c) Self-efficiency d) Self-mastery
10. According to social learning theory models have a great impact on
the personality development of children. True/False

11. A collection of beliefs about one's own nature, unique qualities

and typical behaviour is known as ____________
a) Self-theory b) Self-concept c) Self-evaluation d) none of the above
12. According to Maslow people will be frustrated if they are unable to
fully utilize their talents True/False
13. Self-actuatizers are accurately tuned into reality and they are at
peace with themselves. True/False
14. The view that variations in condition ability influence the personality
traits is proposed

a) Maslow b) Skinner c) Rogers d) Eysenck

15. _________ Psychology examines behavioral processes in terms of
their adaptive value for members of a species over the course of many
generations

KEY WORDS
Classical conditioning Collective unconscious
Defence mechanisms Evolutionary Approach
Observational Learning Operant conditioning

Personality Traits Psychosexual stages

Rorschach In-blot test Self-actualization
Thematic Apperception Test

303
ANSWERS TO THE CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1) a 2) Unconscious 3) Repression 4) Archetypes
5)a 6) a 7) Cognition 8) Observational
9) C 10) Time 11) b 12) True
13) True 14) d 15) Evolutionary

GLOSSARY
Collective Unconscious – The part of the unconscious mind which is
derived from ancestral memory and experience and is common to all
humankind, as distinct from the individual’s unconsciousness.
Defence Mechanism – A mental process initiated unconsciously to
avoid experiencing conflict or anxiety.
Extrovert – A person who is confident and full of life and who prefers
being with other people than being alone.
Introvert – A person who prefers to be alone rather than with other
people.
Persona –It is the public image of one’s personality, or the social role
that one adopts, or a fictional character.

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Discuss the contributions of psychoanalytic theory to the personality
development.

2. Critically evaluate the concepts of classical and operant conditioning.

3. Enumerate the different needs of Maslow's theory. Explain the needs
with reference to the global competition.
4. Examine the various measures of personality.

SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Clifford T. Morgan, Richard a King, John R. Weis and John Schopler,
"Introduction to Psychology" - 7th Edition. Tata McGraw Hill Book Co.
New Delhi, 1993.
2. Ernest R. Hilgard, Richard C. Atkinson, Rita L. Atkinson, "Introduction
to Psychology" 6th Edition, Oxford IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi, 1975.
3. Baron A. Robert, Psychology, Pearson Education Vth Ed., 2002.
304
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MASTER OF SCIENCE IN PSYCHOLOGY

ADVANCED SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY
MSYS – 12 / MCPS - 12
Semester - I

Department of Psychology
School of Social Sciences
Tamil Nadu Open University
577, Anna Salai, Saidapet, Chennai – 600 015.

www.tnou.ac.in
April 2022
Course Writer:
Dr. M.V. Sudhakaran
Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychology
School of Social Sciences
Tamil Nadu Open University
Chennai - 600 015

©Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences

Tamil Nadu Open University
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any
form,mimeograph or any othermeans, without permission in writing from the Tamil
Nadu Open University. Further information of the Tamil Nadu Open University
Programmes may be obtained from theUniversity office at :

577, Anna Salai, Saidapet, Chennai - 600 015.

April 2022
www.tnou.ac.in
 07.04.2022

My Dear Beloved Learners!

Vanakkam,
The Tamil Nadu Open University (TNOU) that is marching towards the motto
‘Education for Anyone at Anytime’ is very much pleased to cordially invite you to
join in it’s noble educational journey.
It is impressive that every one of you can feel proud yourself for studying
in the University which is duly recognised by the UGC-DEB, New Delhi for offering
academic Programmes through open and distance mode. As you are aware, the
Government of Tamil Nadu vide G.O (Ms) No.107 dated 18.08.2009 have assured
that the degrees issued by the University under 10+2+3 pattern are duly eligible for
government jobs.
The University has designed it’s overhauled curricula, updated syllabi
and revised Self-Learning Materials (SLMs) with the unwavering support of ripe
academics. After thorough study, you can clarify your doubts during the Academic
Counselling Classes and can also get further clarifications, if needed, from the
respective Programme Co-ordinators. There is a provision that a learner of a UG
or a PG Programme in any University can simultaneously pursue a Diploma or a
Certificate Programme in open and distance mode. In addition, it runs the skill-
oriented Vocational Programmes through the Community Colleges.
For admission, you can submit your application either in-person or through
online (https://tnouadmissions.in/onlineapp/). Your academic needs are fulfilled
instantaneously through the Regional Centres functioning in Chennai, Coimbatore,
Dharmapuri, Madurai, The Nilgiris, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelveli and Viluppuram.
The TNOU constantly supports you for not only completion of your Programme
successfully but also for placements.

At this momentous juncture, I wish you all bright and future endeavours.

With warm regards,

(K. PARTHASARATHY)
 MSYS-12/MCPS-12 – ADVANCED SOCIALPSYCHOLOGY

SYLLABUS

BLOCK –I - Introduction
Definition of Social Psychology and Applied Social Psychology,
Historical Context of Applied Social Psychology, Theories- Cognitive
dissonance Theory, Groupthink theory, Research Methods in Applied
Social Psychology, Role of Applied Social Psychologists.

BLOCK -II Understanding Others & Social Cognition

Nonverbal Communication: Basic Channels, Recognizing Deception.

Attribution: Theories, Basic sources of error, Applications. Impression
Formation & Impression Management: Asch’s Research, Cognitive
perspective. Social Cognition- Schemas, sources of error in social
cognition

BLOCK -III Attitudes & Interpersonal Attraction

Attitude: Meaning – three components – Attitude Formation: Social

Learning, Genetic Factors, Attitude Functions, Attitude- Behavior link -
Persuasion: The Early Approach & the Cognitive Approach. Attitude
Change – Attitude scales - Prejudice - Discrimination in Action - Origin
- Methods to reduce it -Interpersonal attraction – Factors determining
Attraction – Sociometry

BLOCK - IV Leadership& Helping Behaviour

Leadership: Meaning – three major types – functions – theories –

Nature and impact in groups, Leader effectiveness, Transformational,
transactional and other types of leadership - Prosocial Behaviour- Why
do we help others- Situational Factors- Individual characteristics -
Empathy – Altruism
BLOCK - V: Applications of Social Psychology

Applying Social psychology: In Media, Legal System, Politics, Work

settings, Community, Health, Coping with the new realities and
Environmental Psychology.

REFERENCES:

1. Branscombe, N.R., Baron, R.A., &Kapur, P. (2017). Social Psychology

(14th Ed.). Chennai, India: Pearson India Education Services Private
Limited.
2. Myers, D.G., & Twenge, J.M. (2017). Social Psychology. (12th Ed.).
New York, NY: McGraw – Hill Education.
3. Feldman, R. S. (2001). Social Psychology (3rd Ed.) New Delhi, India:
Pearson India Education Services Private Limited.
4. Schultz, W., &Oskamp, S. (2000). Social Psychology: An Applied
Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
5. Schneider, F.W., Gruman, J.A., & Coutts, L.M. (2005) Applied Social
Psychology- understanding and addressing social and practical problems.
New York, NY: Sage publications.
 CONTENTS
Sl.No Title Page
No
1 BLOCK – I INTRODUCTION 1

2 Unit 1 Introduction to Social Psychology 2

3 22
Unit 2 Research Methods in Applied Social Psychology
4 BLOCK-II: UNDERSTANDIN OTHERS AND SOCIAL 36
COGNITION
5 37
Unit 3 Understanding Others
6 56
Unit 4 Attribution
7 78
BLOCK-III: ATTITUDES AND INTERPERSONAL
ATTRACION
8 79
Unit 5 Impression Formation and Management
9 Unit 6 Social Cognition 87
10 Unit 7 Attitude Formation, Change and Measurement 107

11 Unit 8 Prejudice – origins and methods of reducing 130

12 144
Unit 9 Interpersonal Attraction
13 BLOCK-IV: LEADERSHIP AND HELPING 158
BEHAVIOUR
14 159
Unit 10 Leadership Structure
15 Unit 11 Prosocial Behavior 186

16 BLOCK-V: APPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 204

17 205
Unit 12 Applications of Social Psychology in Media,
Legal System, Politics and Work Settings
18 Unit 13 Applications in Community and Health 219

19 237
Unit 14 Applications in Environment
20 245
Appendix: Plagiarism Certificate
 BLOCK I
ADVANCE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
INTRODUCTION

UNIT- 1: APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY–

AN INTRODUCTION

UNIT- 2: RESEARCH METHODS IN APPLIED

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

1
UNIT – 1

APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY–AN INTRODUCTION

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
1.1 Introduction to Social Psychology
1.1.1Social Psychology in Indian Context
1.1.2 Alternative social psychologies
1.2 Definition of Applied Social Psychology
1.2.1 Basic and applied social psychology as
science
1.2.2 Differences between basic and applied
social psychology
1.3 Historical Context of Applied Social Psychology
1.4 Theoretical approaches
1.4.1 Cognitive dissonance Theory
1.4.2 Group Think Behaviour Theory
Let us sum up

Check your progress

Glossary
Answers to check your progress

Model questions
Suggested Readings
OVERVIEW

The science of social psychology aims to understand the human social

behaviour and the cognitions, emotions, and motivations related to it.
Many societal problems have aspects that involve social psychology,
making research in this field of utmost importance to resolving major
problems. Applied social psychology, in turn, may be defined as the
systematic application of social psychological constructs, principles,
theories, intervention techniques, research methods and research
findings to understand or solve various social problems.In this unit, an
attempt has been made to discuss the meaning of applied social
psychology, its history and the theoretical underpinnings in detail.

2
OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you will able to:
• define and explain social psychology and applied Social
Psychology
• understand the Historical Context of Applied Social Psychology
• describe the various theoretical perspectives of social
psychology.
1.1 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Human life is connected by many invisible threads. The places that
people live, the situations they meet are all continuously and consistently
shape them as well as get shaped by them. The situations an individual
encountergenerates a good number of prospects for him to behave.
Social psychology is a specific branch in psychology that scientifically
tries to understand how people influence as well as gets influenced by
one another. It is anorganisedframework of the knowledge focusing on
the social thinking, social influence and social relations. A fundamental
theme of social psychology is to discover how a social situation leads
very different people to act very similarly. As well as how very similar
people act very differently. Social Psychology is a scientific discipline. It
is deeply committed to understand the nature of social behaviour and
social thought in a scientific way. Since it has a scientific orientation, has
a systematic development over the periods of history. And as the field
progressed the focusing of its area also get changed. Social
psychologists adopt the scientific method because “common sense”
provides an unreliable guide to a social behavior, and because our
personal thought is influenced by many potential sources of bias.
However, fields that are not scientific make assertions about the world,
and about people, that are not put to the careful test and analysis
required to be scientific. In such fieldsones like astrology and
aromatherapyintuition, faith, and unobservable forces are considered to
be sufficient for reaching conclusions that are opposite of what is true in
social psychology.
Definition of Social Psychology

Social psychology is as old as thehomosapiens on this earth.

Throughout the recorded history, social nature of man has intrigued
scholars, artists, and social reformers. Their work has significant bearing
on understanding how people relate with others and conduct their social
life. Scriptures, artefacts, music, poetry, all have contributed to this
endeavour. What has intrigued scholars is the evidence of both,

3
universality and uniqueness of social behaviour in different cultures.
People have lived together in all cultures as family, community and
nation, though they may not have learned to live together in peace.
Human nature has essentially remained the same ever since. It seems
that many of the questions which ancient social psychology rose are the
same which contemporary social psychology is striving to answer.
However, rapid social, economic, and political changes sweeping across
the oceans and continents have thrown up many new questions for
social psychologists.

Every science has its substantive field, a core by which it is identified.

The field of social psychology is usually defined as that branch of
science that deals with human interaction, i.e., the interaction between
man and man,theand man and society. It aims to search out general
laws of social behaviour. Social psychologists are trained in using the
tools of conceptual analysis and scientific methodology in the explaining
relationship between person and society. Obviously there could be
several social psychologies, depending on the meaning of the term
'Social'.

Staat (1983) posited that the concept of social refers to both - social
environment and social behaviour. Social environment, in a sense,
extends the analogy of physical environment to social setting. It refers to
social groups, organizations, structures, norms, obligations, support,
etc., which provide the context within which an individual performs.
Social behaviour refers to the affects, attitudes, activities, and
motivations in response to any social environment. The study of such
social behaviour is mostly at the individual level; more precisely, the
study of individual in a group. Thus, if psychology is defined as a science
of behaviour (than that of mind), social psychology can be defined as a
science of social behaviour. The same methodology which is used at the
individual level is employed to study societies.

Apart from this generalized view of 'social', the meaning of the term has
taken different shades for different schools of social psychology. The
behaviouristic school emphasizes those aspects of 'social' which are
directly observable, which fits in a complex stimulus-response system.
The work of Allport on social facilitation (1920) and that of Latane and
Darle on bystander's effect (1968) are examples of defining social in
terms of nature and number of others whose presence brought change
in the behaviour. The cognitive psychologists consider individual as an
information processing system, and as such view social as cognitive
representation of the society in which people live. The approach lays

4
emphasis on the cognitive constructions, which are held as significant
predictors of social behaviour, rather than the actual 'social world' in
which people live. The cultural psychologists define social as a psychic
representation in people of their society's cultural and social institutions.
This view is divergent with the previously held view of social as a
historical and a-cultural and considers social behaviour as rooted in the
history of society.
Providing a definition of almost any field is a complex task. In the case of
social psychology, this difficulty is increased by two factors: the field’s
broad scope and its rapid rate of change. According to Allport
(1985)Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts,
feelings, and behaviours are influenced by the actual, imagined, or
implied presence of others. Another way to define is that social
psychology investigates the ways in which our thoughts, feelings, and
actions are influenced by the social environments in which we live—by
other people or our thoughts about them. By the former definition,
scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms
thoughts, feelings, and behaviours include all of the psychological
variables that are measurable in a human being. The statement that
others may be imagined or implied suggests that we are prone to social
influence even when no other people are present, such as when
watching television, following social media or internalized cultural norms.
Social psychology is the field that attempts to gain a better
understanding of the nature and causes of individual behaviour and
thought in social settings. Important causes of social behaviour and
thought include the behaviour and characteristics of other people,
cognitive processes, emotions, cultures, and genetic factors.

In sum, social psychology focuses mainly on understanding the causes

of social behaviour and social thoughton identifying the factors that
shape our feelings, behaviour, and thought in various social situations. It
seeks to accomplish this goal through the use of scientific methods, and
it takes careful note of the fact that social behaviour and thought are
influenced by a wide range of social, cognitive, environmental, cultural,
and biological factors.
1.1.1 Social Psychology in Indian Context
The Indian world view lays emphasis on interdependence and
interrelatedness of man and society. As a social being, a person has no
existence outside this network of relationships. Each one is related to
the other in terms of innumerable relationships (based on caste, class,
family, community, and even gods) which define one's existence and

5
shape one's ego-identity. The interrelationship between man and society
is presumed to be complex and hierarchical, transcending the
boundaries of the material world. The ego-identity in this sense is
considered to be a social construction, and something, which is
contingent on one's life experiences and social background. Thus, one's
social-self exists only in the mind of the person not in reality. Self-
development lies in realizing this unreal existence and in performing
one’s dharma without a sense of attachment. This view of Dharma
provides 'ideal images' of life in Plato's sense and thus deals with
prescriptive social behaviour.
The ancient and classical Indian social theories pervaded throughout the
ages without being much influenced, either directly by the Muslims who
ruled the country for six centuries, or indirectly by the West. In essence,
Indian society remained Indian until the beginning of the colonial rule in
India in the 18th Century. All along, the notion of Dharma is rendered, a
sense of continuity to social institutions and traditions and remained a
guiding principle in social life.
Social Psychologist actively looked for a paradigm change: alternative
constructions of social problems and research methodology to render
social psychology more in tune with the changing world. In last 2-3
decades social psychology has branched into many clearly identifiable
systems of knowledge.
1.2 DEFINITION OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
The science of social psychology aims to understand human social
behaviour and the cognitions, emotions, and motivations related to it.
Many societal problems have aspects that involve social psychology,
making research in this field of utmost importance to resolving major
problems. Mostly, the solutions to and prevention of societal problems
involves a change in attitudes, beliefs, behaviour and lifestyles. Applied
social psychologists lay emphasis on the aspects of social problems that
can be improved through intervention. They examine which factors
influence a particular behaviour and examine which intervention
techniques are appropriate and available.

Applied social psychology is the systematic application of constructs,

principles, theories, intervention techniques, and research findings of
social psychology to the solving and understanding of social problems
(Oskamp& Schultz, 1998).Constructs are the individual psychological
characteristics that are latent and observable only through the use of
questionnaires ex. Attitudes, values, and norms. Examples are attitudes
(i.e., whether one evaluates a topic positively or negatively), values, that

6
are general beliefs about desirable behaviour or goals or social norms,
whether one’s social group disapproves or approves of a particular
behaviour).

Principlesare statements that describe how the psychological

processes function. The foot-in-the-door technique, cognitive
dissonance, and the availability heuristic is an example.

The foot-in-the-door technique, which involves making a small initial

request, followed by a larger related request within a short period,
generally, those who agreed to the small request are much more likely to
comply with the larger request as well, as compared with those who
were not asked to agree with a small request or to those who did not
agree to the small request. Cognitive dissonance, which refers to the
uncomfortable tension that can result from having two conflicting
thoughts at the same time, or from engaging in behaviour that conflicts
with one’s beliefs or attitudes . When two cognitions including beliefs,
emotions, attitudes, behaviour are incompatible, individuals try to reduce
this dissonance by inventing new thoughts or beliefs, or by modifying
existing beliefs. The availability heuristic refers to the tendency to judge
the likelihood or frequency of an event by the ease with which relevant
occurrences/events come to mind.
Theories are integrated sets of principles describing, explaining, and
predicting events based on observations. They cannot be considered
facts or laws and must be tested. Applied Social Psychology combines
the science of social psychology with the practical application of solving
the social problems that exist in the real world.
Theoretical breakthroughs in applied research
A good example is the work by Shelley Taylor and her colleagues on
social comparison among women with breast cancer. This research was
undertaken in order to examine the psychological aspects of the
strategies these women were using in coping with their disease.
Unexpectedly, when asked how well they were coping with their
problems compared with other women with breast cancer, 80 per cent of
the women interviewed reported they were doing ‘somewhat’ or ‘much’
better than other women. Perhaps what is more important, is an analysis
of the comments that were made spontaneously by these women during
the interview indicated that no matter how serious these women’s
problems were, they believed that there were others who were worse off.
And if they did not know of any specific person who had been more
seriously afflicted, they imagined others, or even fabricated a target, that
is, they cognitively constructed a target themselves. This study was of

7
 major theoretical importance because it suggested (1) that so called
downward comparisons with the others who were worse off were very
prevalent among people facing a threat; (2) that such comparisons did
not necessarily involve contact with others, but could take the form of
cognitively constructing others; and (3) that these comparisons seemed
to help women with breast cancer cope by allowing them to feel better
about themselves and their own situation. It is also possible that, for
these women, expressing these downward comparisons was a way of
maintaining a positive view of themselves towards their environment to
prevent being seen as a complainer.
1.2.1 Basic and applied social psychology as science
What is science? Many people seem to believe that this term refers only
to fields such as chemistry, physics, and biology whereones that use
the equipment to test and analyse. Now the question arises how the
study the nature of love, the causes of aggression, and everything in
between be scientific in the same sense as chemistry, physics, or
computer science. In reality, the term science does not refer to a special
group of highly advanced fields. Rather, it refers to two things: (1) a set
of values and (2) several methods that can be used to study a wide
range of topics. Some of the important core values to be adopted for all
fields to be scientific in nature are given below

a) Accuracy: A commitment to gathering and evaluating information about

the world (including social behavior and thought) in as careful, precise,
and error-free a manner as possible.
b) Objectivity: A commitment to obtaining and evaluating such information
in a manner that is as free from bias as humanly possible.
c) Skepticism: A commitment to accepting the findings as accurate, only to
the extent they have been verified over and over again.
d) Open-mindedness: A commitment to changing one’s views, even views
that are strongly held if the existing evidence suggests that these views
are inaccurate.
Social psychology, as a field, is deeply committed to these values and
applies them in its efforts to understand the nature of social behavior
and social thought. For this reason, it makes sense to describe it as
scientific in orientation.
1.2.2 Differences between basic and applied social psychology

1. Basic Social psychologists focus on developing and testing theories

whereas applied social psychologists focus on resolving and
understanding practical problems. Therefore, theory development is not

8
 the main reason that applied social psychologists do research, and they
can often use well-known theories to tackle problems.
2. Basic social psychologists follow a deductive approach, starting with a
theory and examining how it can be used to understand behaviour.
Applied social psychologists take an inductive approach, starting from
specific problems and examining which theories are best to understand
and explain the problem.
Inductive perspective: An example of an inductive approach might be
when understanding why in a particular organization many people are
often absent from work. We might examine this using the theory of
planned behaviour, which would suggest that such behaviour reflects the
lack of a negative attitude towards being absent, a lack of strong
negative sanctions for such behaviour, and a feeling of not being able to
go to work when one is not feeling well. A social comparison perspective
might suggest that people may often be absent from work because they
think that they do so less often than others, or because they feel that
they are treated worse than their colleagues. A social dilemma
perspective may suggest that the people are absent from work because
they do not feel responsible for their work, and feel their contribution to
the organizational goals is negligible. According to reciprocity theory,
people will often be absent when they feel they invest more in their work
than they obtain in return. These explanations are not necessarily
mutually exclusive, and may all contribute to the understanding of this or
any other problem.
Deductive perspective: A researcher may be particularly interested in
investigating the extent to which a specific theory is successful in
explaining various types of social behaviour. For example, the theory of
planned behaviour has been applied to understand a wide range of
social behaviours, including low fat diet consumption, drug and alcohol
use, smoking, safe sex, recycling, mode choice and driving violations. A
meta-analytic review revealed that TPB was quite successful in
explaining this wide range of social behaviour, although the TPB is less
successful in predicting the observed behaviour compared to self-
reported behaviour.Applied studies can lead to theoretical breakthroughs
and basic studies can often be conducted in applied settings, making a
contribution to applied social psychology.

1.3 HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

The field of social psychology is growing rapidly and is having an
increasingly important influence on how we think about human
behaviour. Newspapers, magazines, websites, and other media

9
frequently report the findings of social psychologists, and the results of
social psychological research are influencing decisions in a wide variety
of areas.

The science of social psychology began when scientists first started to

systematically and formally measure the thoughts, feelings, and
behaviours of human beings. The earliest social psychology experiments
on group behavior were conducted before 1900 (Triplett, 1898), and the
first social psychology textbooks were published in 1908 (McDougall,
1908/2003; Ross, 1908/1974). During the 1940s and 1950s, the social
psychologists Kurt Lewin and Leon Festinger refined the experimental
approach to studying behavior, creating social psychology as a rigorous
scientific discipline. Lewin is sometimes known as the father of social
psychology” because he initially developed many of the important ideas
of the discipline, including a focus on the dynamic interactions among
people. In 1954, Festinger edited an influential book called Research
Methods in the Behavioral Sciences, in which he and other social
psychologists stressed the need to measure variables and to use
laboratory experiments to systematically test research hypotheses about
social behaviour. He also noted that it might be necessary in these
experiments to deceive the participants about the true nature of the
research.

Social psychology was energized by researchers who attempted to

understand how the German dictator Adolf Hitler could have produced
such extreme obedience and horrendous behaviours in his followers
during the World War II. The studies on conformity conducted by
MuzafirSherif (1936) and Solomon Asch (1952), as well as those on
obedience by Stanley Milgram (1974), showed the importance of
conformity pressures in social groups and how people in authority could
create obedience, even to the extent of leading people to cause severe
harm to others. Philip Zimbardo, in his well-known “prison study” found
that the interactions of male college students who were recruited to play
the roles of guards and prisoners in a simulated prison became so
violent that the study had to be terminated early.

Two earlier forms of social thought over the centuries are Platonic and
Aristotelian. Platonic thought emphasised the primacy of state over the
individual who had to be educated to become truly social. Aristotelian
thought states that human being is social by nature and nature can be
trusted to enable the individuals to live together and to enter personal
relationships from which families, tribes and ultimately the state will
naturally develop.

10
Social psychology quickly expanded to study other topics. John Darley
and BibbLatané (1968) developed a model that, helped explain when
people do and do not help others in need, and Leonard Berkowitz
(1974) pioneered the study of human aggression. Meanwhile, other
social psychologists, including Irving Janis (1972), focused on group
behavior, studying why intelligent people sometimes made decisions
that led to disastrous results when they worked together. Still other
social psychologists, including Gordon Allport and MuzafirSherif,
focused on the intergroup relations, with the goal of understanding and
potentially reducing the occurrence of stereotyping, prejudice, and
discrimination. Social psychologists gave their opinions in the 1954
Brown v. Board of Education U.S. Supreme Court case that helped end
racial segregation in American public schools, and social psychologists
still frequently serve as expert witnesses on these and other topics In
recent years insights from social psychology have even been used to
design anti-violence programs in the various societies that have
experienced genocide.
The latter part of the 20th century saw an expansion of social
psychology into the field of attitudes, with a particular emphasis on
cognitive processes. During this time, social psychologists developed
the first formal models of persuasion, with the goal of understanding how
advertisers and other people could present their messages to make
them most effective. These approaches to attitudes focused on the
cognitive processes that people use when evaluating messages and on
the relationship between attitudes and behavior. Leon
Festinger’s important cognitive dissonance theory was developed during
this time and became a model forthe later research.

In the 1970s and 1980s, social psychology became even more cognitive
in orientation as social psychologists used advances in cognitive
psychology, which were themselves based largely on advances in
computer technology, to inform the field. The focus of these researchers,
including Alice Eagly, Susan Fiske, E. Tory Higgins, Richard Nisbett,
Lee Ross, Shelley Taylor, and many others, was on social cognition—
an understanding of how our knowledge about our social worlds
develops through experience and the influence of these knowledge
structures on memory, information processing, attitudes, and judgment.
Furthermore, the extent to which humans’ decision making could be
flawed due to both cognitive and motivational processes was
documented.

11
In the 21st century, the field of social psychology has been expanding
into still other areas. Examples that we consider in this book include an
interest in how social situations influence our health and happiness, the
important roles of evolutionary experiences and cultures on our
behavior, and the field of social neurosciencethe study of how our social
behavior both influences and is influenced by the activities of our brain.
Social psychologists continue to seek new ways to measure and
understand social behavior, and the field continues to evolve. We cannot
predict where social psychology will be directed in the future, but we
have no doubt that it will still be alive and vibrant.
Applied social psychology has been growing in reputation since the
1980s. With applications ranging from improving the criminal justice
system to informing education and health issues, the last few decades
have seen considerable increases in non-traditional funding sources.
While applied social psychological research continues within the
academic establishments, private and government scholarships, as well
as full-time research positions within large corporations, have allowed
researchers the flexibility and opportunity to study a diverse array of
social phenomena.
To list the entire areas to which social psychology is currently being
applied would be almost difficult. Mostly, applied social psychologists are
active in studying and improving educational programs, industrial and
organizational productivity, environmental and health care issues, justice
system reform, and all types of mass communication, including
advertising, public relations, and politics.
Some applied social psychologists conduct the research for academic
institutions, some for private foundations and corporations, and some for
government organizations. Some evaluate the success or failure of a
specific experimental social program while others work as internal
consultants to government agencies and businesses, providing feedback
on a variety of projects. Some applied social psychologists give policy
advice to the corporate or government managers from outside an
organization while still others become managers themselves. To
conclude, some applied social psychologists become full-time
supporters for social change, occupied with activist groups rather than
from inside a government or corporate body.

1.4 THEORETICAL APPROACHES

In this section we will discuss about the two prominent theories namely i)
Cognitive dissonance theory and ii) Group think behaviour theory. The
first one deals with how deals with conflicting attitudes and how

12
individuals who are in a state of cognitive dissonance will take steps to
reduce the extent of their dissonance. The Group think theory deals with
how we accept a viewpoint or the conclusions that represents a
perceived group consensus and behaves accordingly. Now we will
discuss about the same in detail.
1.4.1 Cognitive dissonance Theory

Cognitive dissonance refers to a condition involving conflicting attitudes,

beliefs or behaviours. This creates a feeling of mental discomfort leading
to amodification in one of the attitudes, beliefs or behaviours to reduce
the discomfort and restore balance. For example, when people smoke
(behaviour) and they know that smoking causes cancer (cognition), they
are in a state of cognitive dissonance.
How Attitude Change Takes Place
Festinger's (1957) cognitive dissonance theory proposes that, we have
an inner drive to hold all our attitudes and behavior in harmony and
avoid disharmony or dissonance. This is known as the principle of
cognitive consistency. When there is an inconsistency between attitudes
or behaviors (dissonance), something must change to eliminate the
dissonance.Some of the behaviors are explained below:
Forced Compliance Behavior
When someone is forced to do (publicly) something they (privately)
really don't want to do, dissonance is created between their cognition
and their behaviour Forced compliance happens when an individual
performs an action that is inconsistent with his or her beliefs. The
behaviour can't be changed, since it was previously done, so it is
essential to reduce the dissonance by re-evaluating their attitude as to
what they have done. This extrapolation has been verified
experimentally:
Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) asked participants to perform a series of
dull tasks (such as turning pegs in a peg board for an hour). As
predicted, participant's attitudes toward this task were highly negative.
Decision Making
Life is filled with decisions, and decisions as a general rule arouse the
dissonance.
For example, suppose you had to decide whether to accept a job in an
absolutely beautiful area of the country, or turn down the job so you
could be near your friends and family. Either way, you would experience
dissonance. If you took the job you would miss your loved ones; if you

13
 turned the job down, you would pine for the beautiful streams,
mountains, and valleys.
Both alternatives have their good points and bad points. The rub is that
making a decision cuts off the possibility that you can enjoy the
advantages of the unchosen alternative, yet it assures you that you must
accept the disadvantages of the chosen alternative.

People have several ways to reduce dissonance that is aroused by

making a decision. One thing they can do is to change the behavior. As
noted earlier, this is often very difficult, so people frequently employ a
variety of mental exercises. A common way to reduce dissonance is to
increase the attractiveness of the chosen alternative and to decrease the
attractiveness of the rejected alternative. This is referred to as
"spreading apart the alternatives."
Effort
It also seems to be the case that we value most highly those goals or
items which have required considerable effort to achieve. This is
probably because dissonance would be caused if we spent a great effort
to achieve something and then evaluated it negatively. We could, of
course, spend years of effort into achieving something which turns out to
be huge rubbish and then, in order to avoid the dissonance that creates,
attempts to convince ourselves, that we didn't really spend years of
effort, or that the effort was actually enjoyable. This method of reducing
dissonance is known as 'effort justification.'
If we put effort into a task which we have chosen to carry out, and the
task turns out badly, we experience dissonance. To resolve this
dissonance, we are motivated to try to think that the task turned out well.
Ways of resolving Cognitive Dissonance

Dissonance can be reduced in one of three ways: a) changing existing

beliefs, b) adding new beliefs, or c) reducing the importance of the
beliefs.

a) Changing existing beliefs

Change one or more of the attitudes, behaviour, beliefs, etc., to make
the relationship between the two elements a consonant one. When one
of the dissonant elements is a behavior, the individual can change or
eliminate the behaviour. However, this mode of dissonance reduction
frequently presents problems for people, as it is often difficult for people
to change the well-learned behavioural responses (e.g., giving up
smoking).

14
b) Adding new beliefs
For example, thinking that smoking causes lung cancer will cause
dissonance, if a person smokes. However, new information such as
“research has not proved definitely that smoking causes lung cancer”
may reduce the dissonance.
c) Reduce the importance of the cognitions (i.e., beliefs, attitudes).

A person could convince himself that it is better to "live for today" than to
"save for tomorrow."In other words, he could tell himself that a short life
filled with smoking and sensual pleasures is better than a long life
devoid of such joys. In this way, he would be decreasing the importance
of the dissonant cognition thatsmoking is bad for one's health.
1.4.2 Group Think Behaviour Theory
Groupthink, mode of thinking in which individual members of small
unified groups tend to accept a viewpoint or conclusion that represents a
perceived group consensus, whether or not the group members believe
it to be valid, correct, or optimal. The theory of groupthink was first
developed by the social psychologist Irving Janis in his classic 1972
study, Victims of Groupthink: A Psychological Study of Foreign-Policy
Decisions and Fiascoes, which focused on the psychological mechanism
behind foreign policy decisions such as the Pearl Harbor bombing, the
Vietnam War, and the Bay of Pigs invasion. Groupthink has become an
extensively accepted theory particularly in the fields of social
psychology, foreign policy analysis, organizational theory, group
decision-making sciences, and management.

Groupthink is a phenomenon that occurs when a group of individuals

reaches a consensus without critical reasoning or evaluation of the
consequences or alternatives. Groupthink is based on a common desire
not to upset the balance of a group of people (Investopedia). Groupthink
reduces the efficiency of thecollective problem within such groups. The
phenomenon can be problematic, but even well-intentioned people are
prone to making irrational decisions in the face of overwhelming
pressure from the group. Here are a few of the Characteristics of
groupthink:

15
Self-censorship: Individuals in a team will remain quiet about views that
are contrary to the ideas and decisions the group has decided on.
Collective rationalization: Team members won't reconsider their
beliefs and they will ignore warning signs.
Unquestioned beliefs: Moral problems and consequences of individual
and group actions are ignored by team members.

Direct pressure: Conformity is insisted when members who question a

subject or the group are believed to be disloyal.
Stereotyping: Allows members in the centre of the group to ostracize
the other group members who oppose the group’s ideas.
Illusions of invulnerability: Team members under the sway of
groupthinking are likely to be overly optimistic and take potentially-
dangerous risks.
A number of factors can influence this psychological phenomenon.
Some causes:

Group identity: It tends to occur more in situations where group

members are very similar to one another. When there is strong group
identity, members of the group tend to perceive their group as correct or
superior while expressing disdain or disapproval toward people outside
of the group.
Leader influences: Groupthink is also more likely to take place when a
powerful and charismatic leader commands the group.
Low knowledge: When people lack personal knowledge of something
or feel that the other members of the group are more qualified, they are
more likely to engage in group thinking.
Stress: Situations where the group is placed under extreme stress or
where moral dilemmas exist also increase the occurrence of
groupthinking.
Some of the Contributing Factors are
Janis suggested that groupthink tends to be the most prevalent in
conditions:
• When there is a high degree of cohesiveness.
• When there are situational factors that contribute to deferring to
the group such as the external threats, moral problems, and
difficult decisions.
• When there are structural issues such as group isolation and a
lack of impartial leadership.

16
 • While groupthink can generate consensus, it is by definition a
negative phenomenon that results in faulty or uninformed
thinking and decision-making. Some of the problems it can cause
include:
• Blindness to potentially negative outcomes
• Failure to listen to people with dissenting opinions
• Lack of creativity
• Lack of preparation to deal with negative outcomes
• Ignoring important information
• Inability to see other solutions
• Not looking for things that might not yet be known to the group
Obedience to authority without question
• Overconfidence in decisions
• Resistance to new information or ideas
• Group consensus can allow groups to make decisions, complete
tasks, and finish projects quickly and efficiently but, even the most
harmonious groups can benefit from some challenges. Finding ways
to reduce groupthink can improve decision-making and assure
amicable relationships within the group.
Janis identified a number of structural conditions leading to groupthink,
related to the cohesiveness of a given decision-making group, the formal
rules governing its decision-making process, the character of its
leadership, the social homogeneity of participants, and the situational
context they face. The eight symptoms of groupthinking is includes an
illusion of invulnerability or of the inability to be wrong, the collective
rationalization of the group’s decisions, an unquestioned belief in the
morality of the group and its choices, stereotyping of the relevant
opponents or out-group members, and the presence of “mind guards”
who act as obstacles to alternative or negative information, as well as
self-censorship and an illusion of unity. Decision making affected by
groupthinking neglects possible alternatives and focuses on a narrow
number of goals, ignoring the risks involved in a particular decision. It
fails to seek out alternative information and is biased in its consideration
of that which is available. Once rejected, alternatives are forgotten, and
little attention is paid to contingency plans in case the preferred solution
fails.

Critiques have underlined that in the decision-making processes,not all

bad decisions are necessarily the result of groupthinking, nor do all
cases of groupthink end up as failures. In certain contexts, groupthinking

17
 may also positively enhance members’ confidence and speed up
decision-making processes.
Means of reducing group thinking

There are steps that groups can take to minimize this problem. First,
leaders can give group members the opportunity to express their own
ideas or argue against ideas that have already been proposed. Breaking
up members into smaller independent teams can also be helpful. Here
are some more ideas that might help prevent groupthink.
• Initially, the leader of the group should avoid stating their opinions or
preferences when assigning tasks. Give people time to come up with
their own ideas first.
• Assign at least one individual to take the role of the "devil's advocate."
• Discuss the group's ideas with an outside member in order to get an
impartial opinion.
• Encourage group members to remain critical. Don't discourage dissent
or challenges to the prevailing opinion.
• Before big decisions, leaders should hold a "second-chance" meeting
where members have the opportunity to express any remaining doubts.

• Reward creativity and give group members regular opportunities to

share their ideas and thoughts.
LET US SUM UP
Human life is connected by many invisible threads and the society in
which they live also influences their behaviour. Social psychology is a
specific branch in psychology that scientifically tries to understand how
people influence as well as gets influenced by one another. It is an
organised framework of knowledge focusing on the social thinking,
social influence and social relations. Applied social psychology has been
growing in reputation since the 1980s. With applications ranging from
improving the criminal justice system to informing education and health
issues, the last few decades have seen considerable increases in non-
traditional funding sources. Basic social psychologists follow a deductive
approach, starting with a theory and examining how it can be used to
understand behaviour whereas applied social psychologists take an
inductive approach, starting from specific problems and examining which
theories are best to understand and explain the problem. Social
psychology and the applied Social psychology are scientific in nature, as
a field, and are deeply committed to the values and applies them in its
efforts to understand the nature of social behaviour and social thought.

18
Cognitive dissonance theory, group think behaviour, role theory and
reinforcement theory are some of the theories which help us to
understand the nature and causes of social behaviour and thought.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. The concept of ---------refers to both social environment and social
behaviour.

a) Social b) Psychology c) conformity d) Therapy

2. -------------- is the systematic application of constructs, principles,
theories, intervention techniques, and research findings of social
psychology to the solving and understanding of social problems
a) Applied Social Psychology b) Anthropology c) Ethnology d) Cultural
psychology
3. Important core values to be adopted for all fields to be scientific in
nature are
a)Accuracy and Objectivity b) Open mindedness c) Scepticism d) all of
the above
4. ----------is a phenomenon that occurs when a group of individuals
reaches a consensus without critical reasoning or evaluation of the
consequences or alternatives.
a)Cognitive dissonance b) Groupthink c)Conformity d) Reinforcement
5.Social psychologists follow a------------, starting with a theory and
examining how it can be used to understand the behaviour.
a)Deductive approach b) Inductive approach
c) Experimental d) Theoretical

6.Individuals in a team will remain quiet about views that are contrary to
the ideas and decisions the group has decided on is known as -------------
a)Deductive approach b) Direct pressure c)Collective rationalization d)
Self-censorship
State whether the following statements are true or false
7. Constructs like Attitudes, values, and norms are the individual
psychological characteristics that are latent and observable only through
the use ofquestionnaires (True/ False)
8.Group think behavior, which refers to the uncomfortable tension that
can result from having two conflicting thoughts at the same time, or from

19
engaging in behaviour that conflicts with one’s beliefs or attitudes. (True/
False)
9.The foot-in-the-door technique, which involves making a small initial
request, followed by a larger related request within a short period,
generally, those who agreed to the small request are much more likely to
comply with the larger request as well.(True/ False)

10. Changing existing beliefs, adding new beliefs, and /or reducing the
importance of the beliefs are the ways of reducing cognitive dissonance.
(True/ False)

GLOSSARY
Applied social psychology - The systematic application of constructs,
principles, theories, intervention techniques, and research findings of
social psychology to the solving and understanding of social
problems
Cognitive dissonance– Refers to a condition involving conflicting
attitudes, beliefs or behaviours.
Forced compliance - When an individual performs an action that is
inconsistent with his or her beliefs

Groupthink - Phenomenon that occurs when a group of individuals

reaches a consensus without critical reasoning or evaluation of the
consequences or alternatives.
Social cognition- An understanding of how our knowledge about our
social worlds develops through experience and the influence of these
knowledge structures on memory, information processing, attitudes, and
judgment.
Social psychology - The scientific study of how people's thoughts,
feelings, and behaviours are influenced by the actual, imagined, or
implied presence of others
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. Social 2. Applied Social Psychology 3. All of the above
4.Group think 5. Deductive approach 6. Self-censorship 7.
True 8.False9. True 10. True
MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Define social Psychology

2. Define Applied social Psychology
3. Explain in detail about cognitive dissonance theory

20
4. Discuss the Characteristics of groupthink
5. How Do Roles people play Lead to Behaviour?
SUGGESTED READINGS

1. Branscombe, N.R., Baron, R.A., &Kapur, P. (2017). Social

Psychology (14th Ed.). Chennai, India: Pearson India Education
Services Private Limited.

2. Myers, D.G., & Twenge, J.M. (2017). Social Psychology. (12th

Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw – Hill Education.
3. Feldman, R. S. (2001). Social Psychology (3rd Ed.) New Delhi,
India: Pearson India Education Services Private Limited.
4. Schultz, W., &Oskamp, S. (2000). Social Psychology: An Applied
Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
5. Schneider, F.W., Gruman, J.A., & Coutts, L.M. (2005) Applied
Social Psychology- understanding and addressing social and
practical problems. New York, NY: Sage publications.

21
UNIT - 2
RESEARCH METHODS IN APPLIED
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
2.1 Understanding research methods
2.1.1The Archival Study
2.1.2The Field Study
2.1.3 Systematic Observation

2.1.4 Experimental Method

2.2 Role of Applied Social Psychologists
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Glossary
Answers to check your progress

Model questions
Suggested readings

OVERVIEW
In applied social psychology we study the applications of human
behaviour in social context. Information based on the research covers
major part of any text on applied social psychology. To be scientific in
understanding, it is essential to know how the information is gathered.
This picture becomes clear, when we have some basic understanding of
research. It is important to know what was the method used in any
research. We often come across research, regarding the attitude of the
people towards certain product, what is the opinion of people regarding
a political party, political leaders, etc. To rely on this information the way
research was conducted needs to be explored. This helps us to develop
insight in to the issue. In this unit, we will discuss about the various
research methods adopted in social psychology.

22
OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you will able to
• Explain the various research methods in applied social
Psychology
• Understand the Role of Applied Social Psychologists
2.1 UNDERSTANDING RESEARCH METHODS

Explaining how social psychologists attempt to answer questions about

social behaviour and social thought how in short, they conduct their
research. Social psychology research methods allow psychologists to
get a better look at what causes the people to engage in the certain
behaviors in the social situations. In order to empirically study social
behaviour, psychologists rely on a number of different scientific methods
to conduct research on social psychology topics. These methods allow
researchers to test hypotheses and theories and look for relationships
between different variables. We will describe several methods of
research in social psychology. We will touch on some of the complex
ethical issues relating to social psychology research.
The methods will occupy our attention are: (i) Archival study, (ii) Field
study, (iii) Systematic observation, and (iv) Experimental methods. We
will consider each in turn, paying particular attention to their advantages
and shortcomings, and examining some ethical issues.
2.1.1 The Archival Study
Archival research involves primary sources held in archives, a Special
Collections library, or other repository. Archival sources can be
manuscripts, documents, records including the electronic records,
images, artefacts, recorded sound or moving images, or other materials.
This guide includes resources and instructions for defining primary
sources, developing archival research strategies, locating and citing
archival materials, and understanding essential aspects of archival
theory and practice. An example of archival research would be a
psychologist looking at mental institution records from the 1900s to
determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms in patients at the
time.

If you wanted to know what life was like under the reign of Napoleon
how would you go about findings out? One possibility would be to
examine the newspapers, autobiographic, and official records from the
archives of the period. Archives can be extremely useful of the social
psychologist who is interested in social patterns that unfold over long

23
periods of time or those that depend on particular historical conditions.
For example patterns of interaction within families have changed greatly
over the past century as have life patterns of the elderly and women.
Archival research furnishes one of the best means of exploring such
changes.
Let us see how the archival study operates in practice. One investigator
was curious to know why during certain periods in history were marked
by bursts of creative energy while other periods seemed to contribute so
little of lasting consequence. For example, during the Dark Ages of
Europe produced little in the way of art or scientific advances.
Simonton examined historical documents to identify specific ways in
which these historical periods differed. He was particularly interested in
the relationships between political strife and creativity. As he reasoned,
strong political or ideological differences in a nation of instigate people to
thinking motivate them to take sides, and bring them into contact with
differing ideas. Thus political strife of fragmentation might favour
creativity in the arts, letters, and sciences.Archival research methods
include a broad range of activities, applied to facilitate the investigation
of documents and the textual materials produced by and about
organizations.
In its most classic sense, archival methods are those that involve the
study of historical documents; that is, documents created at some point
in the relatively distant past, providing us access that we might not
otherwise have to the organizations, individuals, and events of that
earlier time. However, archival methods are also employed by scholars
engaged in non-historical investigations of documents and texts
produced by and about contemporary organizations, often as tools to
supplement other research strategies like field methods, survey
methods, etc.) Thus, archival methods can also be applied to the
analysis of digital texts including electronic databases, emails, and web
pages.
2.1.2 The Field Study
Because social psychology is primarily focused on the social context in
groups, families, cultures, researchers commonly leave the laboratory to
collect data on life as it is actually lived. To do so, they use a variation of
the laboratory experiment, called a field experiment.

A field experiment is similar to a lab experiment except it uses real-world

situations, such as people shopping at a grocery store. One of the major
differences between field experiments and laboratory experiments is that

24
the people in field experiments do not know they are participating in
research, so in theory they will act more naturally.
The field researcher attempts to record in precise and systematic
fashion the ongoing activities of people in their normal environment. The
researcher may take notes or use a tape recorder or film. Such
research has been conducted in the class room, at social gatherings, on
street corners, in businesses, in private homes, and even in public
lavatories.
When a field study is limited to a single person, group, or occasion, it
usually is called a case study. Because of the small number of persons
or occasions observed and because of the small number of
observations, one cannot confidently draw broad generalizations from
the case findings. However, the case study can be an excellent vehicle
for developing ideas for more thorough study, since firsthand experience
in a given setting frequently provides the investigator with much
interesting information.
Field research need not be confined to a single person, group, or
occasion. Modern electronic devices make possible recording of
activities of large numbers of people. For example, by analyzing dozens
of telephone calls, investigators have been able to identify a widely
shared ritual that is used to end conversations.

Field research furnishes the best method for documenting people’s daily
activities. When effective, it calls attention to patterns of behaviour that
were not noticed previously. However subjects in such research
sometimes know that they are being observed and do not act as they
would normally. When people change their behaviour because, they are
under an observation, that they are said to be responding reactively. To
combat reactive responding psychologists have developed unobtrusive
measures that document people’s behaviour without their awareness.
The field researcher faces other problems as well. The method of
observation is time consuming and people’s ideas or feelings often
cannot be explored. In addition, the method raises some ethical
questions like, is it right to study people without their consent to breach
the barriers of their privacy?
2.1.3 Systematic Observation
One basic technique for studying social behaviour involves systematic
observation carefully observing behaviour as it occurs. Such
observation is not the kind of informal observation we all practice from
childhood or rather in a scientific field such as social psychology, it is

25
observation accompanied by careful accurate measurement. For
example, suppose that, a social psychologist wanted to find out how
frequently people touch each other in different settings. The researcher
could study this topic by going to shopping malls, airports, college
campuses, and many other locations and observing, in those settings,
who touches whom, how they touch, and with what frequency. Such
research which has actually been conducted would be employing what is
known as naturalistic observation of behaviour in natural settings. Note
that in such observation the researcher would simply notice what is
happening in various contexts she or he would make no attempt to
change the behaviour of the persons being observed. In fact, such
observation requires that the researcher take great pains to avoid
influencing the persons observed. Thus, the psychologist would try to
remain as inconspicuous as possible, and might even try to hide behind
barriers such as telephone poles and walls.
Another technique that is often included under the heading of the
systematic observation is known as the survey ora interview method.
Here, researchers ask large numbers of individuals to respond to
questions about their attitudes or behaviour where the individuals usually
respond in writing to printed questions. Many investigators usually
respond in writing to printed questions. Many investigators believe that
the single best way to find out about the psychological underpinnings of
the people’s action is to ask them directly.
Surveys are used for many purposes to measure attitudes towards
specific issues. Social psychologists sometimes use this method to
measure attitudes concerning social issues for instance, national health
care or affirmative action programs. Scientists and practitioners in other
fields use the survey method to measure voting preference prior to
elections and to assess consumer reactions to new products.
Surveys offer several advantages. Information can be gathered about
thousands or even hundreds of thousands of persons with relative ease.
Further, because surveys can be readily created, public opinion on new
issues can be obtained quickly very soon after the issues arise. In order
to be useful as a research tool, though, surveys must meet certain
requirements. First, the persons who participate must be representative
of the larger population about which conclusions are to be drawn, the
issue of sampling. If this condition is not met, serious errors can result.
The public opinion survey, is large representative samples of people are
questioned, either in person or by telephone. The survey through
interview is perhaps the best available method for documenting the

26
broad characteristics of a culture at any given time reliable information
may be obtained on almost any topic about which people feel free to
talk.

Another issue that must be carefully addressed with respect to surveys

is this: The way in which the items are worded can exert strong effects
on the outcomes obtained. For example, suppose a survey asked, ‘’Do
you think that persons convicted of multiple murders should be
executed?’’ Many people might agree; after all, the convicted criminals
have murdered several victims. But if, instead, the survey asked, ‘’Are
you in favour of the death penalty?’’ a smaller percent might agree. So,
the way in which questions are posed can strongly affect the results. In
sum, the survey method can be a useful approach for studying some
aspects of the social behaviour, but the results obtained are accurate
only to the extent that issues relating to sampling and wording an
carefully addressed.
Generally these researches employ the correlation method of analysis.
It provides evidence of the existence of relationships between two
factors, such as a theprogram’s popularity and the amount of violence in
it.
a) Correlational Analysis
The term correlation refers to a tendency for one event to change as the
other changes. From the point of view of sciences, the existence of a
correlation between two variables can be very useful. This is so
because when a correlation exists, it is possible to predict one variable
from information about one or more other variables. The ability to make
such predictions is one important goal of all the branches of science,
including social psychology. Being able to make accurate predictions
can be very useful.
The stronger the correlation between the variables in question, the more
accurate the predictions. Correlation can range from -1.00 to + 1.00 the
greater the departure from 0, the stronger the correlation. Positive
numbers mean that as one variable increases, the other increases, too.
Negative numbers, indicate that as one variable increases, the other
decreases. For instance, there is a negative correlation between age
and the amount of hair on the heads of males, the older they grow, the
less hair they have. These basic facts reflect an important method of
research sometimes used by social psychologists the correlation
method. In this approach, social psychologists attempt to determine
whether, and to what extent, different variables are related to each other.
This involves making careful observations of each variable, and then

27
performing appropriate statistical tests to determine whether and to what
degree the variables are correlated.
The fact that two variables are correlated even highly correlated, does
not guarantee that there is a casual link between them that changes in
one cause changes in the other. Correlations do not indicate whether
the first factor alone is responsible for the variations in the second.

2.1.4 Experimental Method

The factor systematically varied by the researcher is termed the
independent variable. In a simple experiment then, different groups of
participants are exposed to contrasting levels of the independent
variable such as low, moderate, and high. The researcher then carefully
measures the participant’s behaviour to determine whether it does in fact
vary with these changes in the independent variable. If it does and if two
other conditions are also met the researcher can tentatively conclude
that the independent variable does indeed, cause the changes in the
aspect of behaviour being studied.
Experimentation:
A method of research in which one or more factors that the independent
variables are systematically changed to determine whether such
variations affect one or more other factors, dependent variables.The
factor systematically varied by the researcher is termed the independent
variable, while the aspect of behavior studied is termed the dependent
variable. Two conditions that must be met before a researcher can
conclude that changes in an independent variable have caused changes
in a dependent variable. The first involves what is termed random
assignment of participants to experimental conditions. This requirement
means that all participants in an experimental must have an equal
chance of being exposed to each level of the independent variable. The
reason for this rule is simple and if participants are not randomly
assigned to each condition, it may later be impossible to determine
whether the differences in their behaviour stem from differences they
brought with them to the study, or from the impact of the independent
variable or both.

The second condition essential for successful experimentation is as

follows: In so far as possible all factors other than the independent
variable that might also affect participant’s behaviour must be held
constant.
To avoid such experimenter effects, unintended effects on the
participants’ behaviour produced by researcher’s social psychologists

28
often use a double blind procedure in which the researchers who have
contact with participants do not know the hypothesis under investigation.
Because they don’t, the likelihood that they will influence results in subtle
ways is reduced.
To illustrate the basic nature of experimentation in social psychology,
we’ll use the following example. Suppose that a social psychologist is
interested in the question, Does exposure to violent video games
increase the likelihood that people will aggress against others in various
ways e.g., verbally, physically, spreading false rumours, or posting
embarrassing photos of them on the internet. How can this possibility be
investigated by using the experimental method? Here is one possibility.
Participants in the experiment could be asked to play a violent or
nonviolent video game. After these experiences in the research, they
would be placed in a situation where they could, if they wished, aggress
against another person. For instance, they could be told that the next
part of the study is concerned with taste sensitivity and asked to add as
much hot sauce as they wish to a glass of water that another person will
drink. Participants would taste a sample in which only one drop of sauce
has been placed in the glass, so they would know how hot the drink
would be, if they added more than one drop. Lots of sauce would make
the drink so hot that it would truly hurt the person who consumed it.

If playing aggressive video games increases aggression against others,

then participants who played such games would use more hot sauceand
so inflict more pain on another personthan participants who examined
the puzzle. If results indicate that, this is the case, then the researcher
could conclude, at least tentatively, that playing aggressive video games
does increase subsequent, overt aggression. The researcher can offer
this conclusion because if the study was done correctly, the only
difference between the experiences of the two groups during the study is
that one played violent games and the other did not. As a result, any
difference in their behaviorin their aggression, can be attributed to this
factor. It is important to note that in experimentation, the independent
variablein this case, exposure to one or another type of video game is
systematically changed by the researcher. In the correlational method, in
contrast, variables are not altered in this manner; rather, naturally
occurring changes in them are simply observed and recorded. By the
way, research findings reported over several decades do indicate that
regular exposure to violence in the media or in video games does seem
to increase aggression against others, and that this link is in fact a
casual one: regular or frequent exposure to violent content reduces

29
sensitivity to such materials, and enhances aggressive thoughts and
emotions.
a) Experimenter bias

In a typical experiment the investigator and the subjects communicate

with one another, and the investigator may sometimes use the
communication inadvertently to give subjects cues as to how they should
behave. Thus, the results of the experiment may not be due to the
variations that the investigator claims. Such experimental results are
said to reflect the experimenter bias.

b) Ethical issues in experimentation

A final problem in social psychological experiments is ethical in
character and two major concerns have emerged. First is the infliction of
pain. Social psychologists are interested in the effects that pain, stress,
fear low self-esteem, and a host of other unpleasant psychological
states have on the social relationships. To study these states in an
experimental setting, the experimental conditions almost always must be
manipulated so that some subjects experience pain and others do not,
or so that some undergo stress and others remain neutral, and so forth.
Many critics believe that experimenters have no the right to inflict such
stated on other person.
In response to this criticism, many social psychologists argue that the
discomfort experienced by subjects usually is minor. When subjects are
debriefed after the experiment that is, when they are informed of the
completed design and purpose of the experiment any remaining
discomfort usually vanishes. Further, it is argued, since the ultimate aim
of research usually is to help the society, people should make small
sacrifices.

The second important ethical problem is deception and the problem has
come about because experimenters need to have subjects remain
unaware of the true purpose of their studies. If subjects are aware of the
questions that are being studied, the true purpose of their studies. If
subjects are aware of the question that is being studied, the results of
the research may be distorted by experimenter bias.Many social
psychologists have searched for alternative research methods in order
to resolve these issues. For example role playing has been proposed as
a major alternative to the common experiment.

A second important way in which the ethical problem has been reduced
is by establishing ethical standards for research. These standards are
used by review boards within various institutions to evaluate all

30
theexperimental designs before they are carried out. At present the
entire field of psychology, as well as most areas of research that involve
human subjects, is guided by a code of research ethic.

2.2 ROLE OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGISTS

Can social psychology help in solving societal problems? And if this is
the case, how can social psychology do so? Social psychology is a basic
science which tries to build knowledge primarily through experiments
and surveys. Sometimes, the theories and findings from social
psychology may seem a bit remote from the problems in society.
However, have social psychological aspects for example crime, racism,
environmental pollution, and therefore social psychology may not only
help in clarifying such problems, but also contribute to finding solutions.
The main utility of Social psychology is that through its study we may get
enough help in solution of various social problems. Each nation of the
world is facing different types of problems. For instance, our own
country India is facing problems of unemployment, caste communalism,
ethnocentrism, Regionalism, socialism, communism, sectarianism,
beggary, prostitution, capitalism, religion, dress, feed habits, standard of
living, robbery, dacoity, poverty, diseases etc. All these create great
difficulties from time to time. Similar problems are found in other
countries too. At the root of all these problems are some psychological
causes. Social psychology is capable of reaching the roots of these
problems and offering some solutions. Therefore, the utility of Social
psychology for us cannot be disputed. Individuals, institutions, society or
the government have equal opportunities to make use of social
psychology. Thus, we take the help of social psychology for solving our
social problems as and when needed in some form or the other
explained below. A social psychologist analyses the thoughts, feelings,
and the behaviours of a community. They do so to establish what their
faults are and to develop plans and interventions with which to improve
their quality of life. Psychology covers various fields and specialties. For
instance, the social psychologist belongs in the social environment field
dedicated to studying the behavior, feelings, and thoughts associated
with human interaction.
In addition, social psychologists intervene to improve people’s quality of
life. Thus, they generate a greater sense of well-being in the people they
work with. They must perform various functions to do so, though. Social
psychological theory, research, and practice have played an important
role in the development of work psychology or industrial ⁄organisational

31
psychology, occupational psychology, personnel psychology, both in the
Western Countries like United States and the United Kingdom.
Researcher: Applied social psychological researchers conduct applied
experiments. They study the causes of social problems, understand the
most relevant influences on behaviour, and evaluate the effect of
interventions on this behaviour. Some interventions like information
campaigns can be effective when the problem is misinformation. . They
also evaluate the effects of intervention on behavior, cognitions, social
problems and individual quality of life. However, when people’s
behaviour does not result from theignoranceand the information
campaigns will be ineffective.
Consultant: As a consultant, applied social psychologists help
individual, organizations, groups or communities to resolve particular
problems they are facing. They are commonly employed as consultants,
concerned with tasks such as training, managing, marketing, and
communication. Within government and business, courses run by
applied social psychologists are valuable.
Policy advisors: Sometimes applied social psychologists are put to the
task of advising policy-makers on ways to change cognitions and
behaviour to improve various kinds of social problems. They also take
active part in policy making by public and governmental agencies or
business or civic organizations.
Program designer: The applied social psychologists are also involved
in developing or improving the interventions designed to find solutions
for social and practical problems.
Evaluation researcher: As an evaluation researcher, the applied social
psychologist applies the research methods of social science to evaluate
the process and outcomes of interventions such as social programs and
policies. Example: Evaluating the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana
scheme and its impact on citizens welfare.

Action researcher: As an action researcher, the applied social

psychologist actively participates in a change situation while
simultaneously conducting research. Larger organizations or institutions
also take help of action researcher, guided by professional researchers,
to improve their strategies, practices and knowledge of the environments
within which they practice. For example in educational set up, the action
research process can help you understand what is happening in your
classroom and identify the changes, that improve teaching and learning.
Action research can help answer questions you have about the

32
 effectiveness of specific instructional strategies, the performance of
specific students, and classroom management techniques.

LET US SUM UP
Social psychology currently adopts a multicultural perspective. This
perspective recognizes the importance of cultural factors in social
behavior and social thought, and notes that research findings obtained in
one culture do not necessarily generalize to other cultures. With
systematic observation, behavior is carefully observed and recorded. In
naturalistic observation, such observations are made in settings where
the behavior naturally occurs. Survey methods often involve large
numbers of people who are asked to respond to questions about their
attitudes or behaviour. When the correlational method of research is
employed, two or more variables are measured to determine how they
might be related to one another. The existence of even strong
correlations between variables does not indicate that they are causally
related to each other. Experimentation involves systematically altering
one or more variables and independent variablesin order to deter mine
whether changes in this variable affect some aspect of behavior on the
dependent variables. In addition, social psychologists intervene to
improve people’s quality of life. Thus, they generate a greater sense of
well-being in the people they work with. Social psychological theory,
research, and practice have played an important role in the development
of work psychology or industrial ⁄organisational psychology, occupational
psychology, personnel psychology, they contribute to the society in the
name of evaluation researcher, consultant, program designer, Action
researcher, Policy adviser, consultants etc.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. ----------- can also be applied to the analysis of digital texts including
electronic databases, emails, and web pages.
a) Archival study b) Case study C) correlational study d) randomization
method
2. When a field study is limited to a single person, group, or occasion, it
usually is called a case study.
a) Archival study b) Case study C) Experimental study d) non
experimental study
3. A method of research in which one or more factors (the independent
variables) are systematically changed to determine whether such
variations affect one or more other factors (dependent variables).
a) Fieldstudy b) Case study C) Experimental study d) survey

33
4. Social psychologist is commonly employed as------------------------,
concerned with tasks such as training, managing, marketing, and
communication.
a) field executives b) researcher C) program designer d) consultants
5. As an --------------, the applied social psychologist applies the research
methods of social science to evaluate the process and outcomes of
interventions such as social programs and policies.
a) field executives b) counselor C) Evaluation researcher d) consultants
State whether the following statements are true or false

6. Archival research involves primary sources held in an archives, a

Special Collections library, or other repository (True /False)
7. A survey gathers data by asking a group of people their thoughts,
reactions or opinions to fixed questions (True /False)
8. Systematic observation refers to a tendency for one event to change as
the other changes (True /False)
9. Sometimes applied social psychologists are put to the task of advising
policy-makers on ways to change cognitions and behaviour to improve
various kinds of social problems (True /False)
10. Correlational research is a type of non-experimental research method in
which a researcher measures two variables, understands and assesses
the statistical relationship between them with no influence from any
extraneous variable (True /False)
GLOSSARY
Archival research - Research that involves searching for and extracting
information and evidence from original archives which are historical –
non-current – documents, records and other sources relating to the
activities and claims of individuals, entities or both.

Correlational method - A method of research in which a scientist

systematically observes two or more variables to determine whether
changes in one are accompanied by changes in the other.

Experimentation (experimental method) - A method of research in

which one or more factors (the independent variables) are systematically
changed to determine whether such variations affect one or more other
factors (dependent variables).
Survey methods - Often involve large numbers of people who are
asked to respond to questions about their attitudes or behaviour.

34
 Systematic observation - Behaviour is carefully observed and
recorded. In naturalistic observation, such observations are made in
settings where the behaviour naturally occurs

ANSWER TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Archival study 2. Case study 3. Experimental study 4. Consultants 5.
Evaluation researcher 6. True 7. True 8. False 9. True 10. True
MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Explain the various methods of research applied by social
psychologist in understanding and solving social problems
2. Explain the systematic observation method of research in detail.
2. Describe the role of applied social Psychologist
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Branscombe, N.R., Baron, R.A., &Kapur, P. (2017). Social Psychology
(14th Ed.). Chennai, India: Pearson India Education Services Private
Limited.
2. Myers, D.G., & Twenge, J.M. (2017). Social Psychology. (12th Ed.). New
York, NY: McGraw – Hill Education.

3. Feldman, R. S. (2001). Social Psychology (3rd Ed.) New Delhi, India:

Pearson India Education Services Private Limited.
4. Schultz, W., &Oskamp, S. (2000). Social Psychology: An Applied
Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
5. Schneider, F.W., Gruman, J.A., & Coutts, L.M. (2005) Applied Social
Psychology- understanding and addressing social and practical
problems. New York, NY: Sage publications.

35
 BLOCK II
UNDERSTANDING OTHERS AND
SOCIAL COGNITION

UNIT- 3: UNDERSTANDING OTHERS

UNIT- 4: ATTRIBUTION

36
UNIT – 3

UNDERSTANDING OTHERS

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives

3.1.1.1 Introduction
3.1.2 Nonverbal Communication
3.1.3 Basic Channels
3.3.1 The Visible Channel
3.3.2 Facial Expressions
3.3.3 Paralanguage
3.3.4 Multiple Channels
3.4 Deception
3.5 Recognizing deception
3.6 Methods of Lie Detection
3.6.1Phrenology and graphology
3.6.2 The polygraph

3.6.3 Voice Stress Analysis (VSA)

3.6.4 Brain-based lie detection.
3.7. Applications
3.7.1 Law Enforcement
3.7.2 Forensic Context
3.7.3 Other Field

Let us sum up
Check your progress
Glossary

Answers to check your progress

Model questions
Suggested Readings

37
OVERVIEW
Nonverbal communication refers to the ways in which the beings convey
information about their emotions, needs, intentions, attitudes, and
thoughts without the use of verbal language. Nonverbal communication,
the communication of information through various channels other than
the written or spoken word, involves a vast array of behavior. Nonverbal
cues serve important functions in human social life, including expressing
emotions; conveying interpersonal attitudes such as friendliness, insult,
or dominance; regulating affect; regulating turn taking between people in
conversation; and facilitating one's own speech production. Nonverbal
signals are important in many psychological processes, including the
attachment, attraction, social influence, deception, self-presentation, and
interpersonal self-fulfilling prophecies. Deception is the act of misleading
or wrongly informing someone about the true nature of a situation. In
this unit various channels of nonverbal communication, nature of
deception and the various methods of lie detection will be discussed in
detail.

OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you will able to
• Understand the nonverbal means of communication
• Analyze the various channels of communication
• Understand the concept of deception and different methods of lie
detection

3.1 INTRODUCTION
The process through which we seek such information is known as social
perception, and it has long been a central topic of research in social
psychology. Our efforts to understand the persons around us take many
different forms, and two aspects of this process seem to be most
important. First, we try to understand other persons’ current feelings,
moods, and emotions-how they are feeling here and now. Such
information is often provided by nonverbal cues from their facial
expressions, eye contact, body posture, and movements. Second, we
attempt to understand the more lasting causes behind others actions,
their traits, motives, and intentions. Information relating to this second
task is acquired through attribution-a complex process in which we
observe others’ behavior and then attempt to infer the causes behind it
from the various clues.

38
Nonverbal communication and attribution are basic aspects of social
perception. They are not the entire story where social perception is
concerned. However, In addition, social perception frequently involves
efforts to form unified impressions of other persons. When we interact
with the others, and especially when we do so for the first time-we try to
combine diverse information about them, for example, information about
their appearance, their words, and their actions, into a consistent overall
impression. Common sense suggests that such first impressions are
very important; and, as we’ll soon see, research findings tend to confirm
this widespread belief. The other side of the coin, of course, involves
efforts on our part to make favourable impressions on others-a process
known as impression management. We certainly attempt to make a
good impression on the others by wearing the best clothes, being early
for appointment, and soon. Impression formation and impression
management are important aspects of social perception.
3.2 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
People make judgments about others emotional states on the basis of
more than facial expression. What other cues do they use? What are
the ways in which people communicate their internal states in general,
and how do others which people communicate their internal states in
general, and how do others interpret them? The effect of nonverbal
communication on the impressions of others can be extremely potent. A
study by Amaby and Rosenthal gave students 30-second silent video
clips of college professors lectures and then had them rate the
professors on a variety of personal qualities. Students were able to
make reliable ratings of the professor’s qualities. Students were able to
make reliable ratings of the professor’s qualities-ratings that showed a
fair degree of consensus and were significant predictors of end-of
sentence student evaluations of those teachers. The impact of even
small amounts of nonverbal behavior can be substantial indeed.

Generally speaking, people communicate information about themselves

through three main channels. The most obvious is verbal
communication, the content of what a person says. The other channels
are nonverbal and provide a whole set of much subtler cues. Nonverbal
communication is the sum of the ways in which we transmit information
without using language. The communication comes to us through a
visible channel, which includes such features as the facial expression,
gesture, posture, posture, and appearance. It also comes to us through
a paralinguistic channel, namely the reminder of the speech signal when

39
the content has been reconverted, such as the pitch amplitude, rate,
voice quality, and contour of speech.
The visible and paralinguistic channels have generated a good bit of
research and they do prove informative to perceivers. As research has
progressed a wide variety of different nonverbal cues have been
identified, and observers seem to get quite different kinds of information
from them. However, as helpful as they can be, verbal communication
provides no magic clues to other person’s internal states Perceivers
usually require the other information about a person. There are five
major channels of nonverbal behaviors that assist in communication.
These are paralanguage, kinesics, proxemics, facial expression and
visual behavior.
3.3 BASIC CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION
In this section we will discuss about the visible channel, eye contact,
facial expressions, paralanguage and multiple channels which are
actively involved in the communication process.

40
3.3.1 The Visible Channel
Some of the main nonverbal cues of the visible channel are expressed
through distance, gesture, and eye contact.

Distance
In general the friendlier and intimate a person feels toward another, the
closer he or she will stand. Friends stand closer than strangers, people
who want to seem friendly choose smaller distances, and people who
are sexually attracted to each other stand close. Although most people
do not think much about personal space, we are all aware that standing
clos3e is usually a sign of personal space, we are all aware that
standing close is usually a sign of friendship or interest. It may be one of
the most important and easiest ways of telling someone you have just
met that you like him or her. The other person is immediately aware of
your interest and if not interested, he or she will probably move farther
away to make that clear.

Gestures
In recent years many popular have been published on the subject of
body language. These books suggest that people can tell exactly what
others are thinking or perfectly interpret what they say merely by
observing their bodily movements and posture. An open palm is an
invitation; crossed legs are defensive, and so on. Clearly, bodily
gestures and posture carry information. There are straightforward, direct
gestures and are very subtle ones. Many bodily movements are
generally accepted and convey specific information or directions-the
gestures for ‘’come’’ are examples, as are gestures for ‘’stop ‘and
‘’come’’ are examples, as are gestures for ‘’sit down’’, ‘’yes’’, ‘’Go’’
away’’, ‘’good bye’’ Various obscene gestures have well-known
meanings. In a sense, all these gestures are a sign language.

Gestures have meaning mainly when observers and participants

understand the context, and especially when they understand the
culture. An open palm is not always an invitation: sometimes, putting a
hand up with palm out means, ‘‘’stop’’ not ‘’go’’ reverse gesture, with the
palm in and the fingers moving toward the body, means ‘’ come’’ or
enter. No one has constructed a reliable
Dictionary of gestures. Popular books on body language are usually not
based on the scientific research and should be read with scepticism.

41
The meaning of gestures depends on context, on the person doing the
action, on the culture, and probably on other factors also.
Eye Contact

Eye contact is an especially interesting form of nonverbal

communication. As with other forms, the meaning of eye contact varies
greatly and depends on the context. But in nearly all social interactions,
eye contact does communicate information. At the minimum, eye
contact indicates interest or lack of it. In movies, couples stare into each
other’s eyes to portray the love, affection, or great concern. Certainly we
are all familiar with eye contact held for a long time as a means of
demonstrating attraction for someone. An otherwise casual
conversation can become an expression of romantic interest if one of the
speakers maintains eye contact. Conversely, avoiding or breaking if one
of the speakers maintains eye contact. Conversely, avoiding or breaking
the contact is usually a sign that the person is not interested. Indeed,
when someone does not make eye contact during a conversation, and
we tend to make eye contact during a conversation; we tend to interpret
this, as an indication that he or she is not really involved in the
interaction. However there are obvious exceptions to this general
principle.

Someone who is conveying bad news or saying something painful may

avoid eye contact. Lack of eye contact can sometimes mean the person
is shy or frightened. When people have feelings they are embarrassed
about, they do not like to be the focus of a direct gaze. In a study by
Ellsworth, Friedman, Perlick, and Hoyt female college students were told
they would have to discuss questions ‘’about rather intimate personal
areas of your life, things that college students usually do not like to talk
about’’. Each student then had to wait with a confederate who stared
directly at her 75% of the time, or glanced at her only once. By far, most
participants preferred the confederate who did not gaze. This was not
true of other participants who were not expecting an embarrassing
conversation. The direct gaze apparently threates the embarrassed
women.
Moreover, eye contact can be used more actively, to threaten.
Apparently prolonged eye contact can be interpreted as a threat and
causes people to escape or act in a conciliatory manner. We can all
probably remember teachers who have used these techniques very
effectively.It is perhaps not surprising that eye contact can have two
seemingly contradictory meanings-friendship or threat. In both cases,

42
eye contact indicates greater involvement and the higher emotional
context; whether the emotion is positive or negative depends on the
context; the nonverbal cusses themselves have no fixed meaning.

3.3.2 Facial Expressions

Facial expressions also can be intended to communicate to others. One
interesting case of this is mimicry. It has often been observed that
people physically mimicry. It has often been observed thatthe people
are physically mimic and distress when others are feeling it. It is
possible that this mimicry is an expression of sympathy for the victim;
the mimic may want the other person to know that distress about the
painful experience is shared.
To test this idea, Bavelas et.al., had the undergraduate woman
individually view a person accidentally drop a heavy TV monitor on an
already injured finger, one with a heavily taped splint on it. In some
cases the victim, a confederate, then looked directly at the observer, in
other cases no eye contact was made. Most of the observers in turn
displayed an expression of pain, but it quickly faded in the absence of
eye contact.

3.3.3 Paralanguage
Variations in speech other than the actual verbal contact, called
paralanguage carry a great deal of meaning. Voice, pitch, loudness,
rhythm, inflection, and hesitations convey information. Parents can often
tell whether their baby is hungry, angry, or just mildly cranky by the
sound of his or her cry. Dogs bark in different ways, and each means
something different to someone familiar with the animal. And, of course,
the significance and meaning of adult speech depends in part on these
paralinguistic factors.

A simple statement such as, ‘’you want to move to japan’’ can mean
entirely different things depending on emphasis and inflection. Say it
aloud as a flat statement with no emphasis, and it sounds like a mere
statement of fact. Say it with an inflection at the end, and it questions
the wisdom of going to japan you are expressing doubt that it is a good
place to move to. Say it with added emphasis on the first word, and it
turns into a question as to whether or not the person addressed is
qualified; you are raising doubts about whether not the person is capable
of getting along in such a foreign country. The short phrase ‘’I like You’’
may indicate almost anything from mild feelings to intense passion,
depending on its paralinguistic characteristics.These variations are often
crucial in conveying emotion. One of the difficulties in studying

43
 paralanguage is that, the cues have no fixed meaning. We all agree on
the meaning of words. We all know that ‘’Japan ’refers to, and, with
some variations, we know that when someone says he ‘’likes’’ you. He is
making a statement of positive feelings. In contrast, people differ
considerably in the meanings they attach to paralinguistic cues. For
some people a pause may be for emphasis; for others, it may mean
uncertainty. Higher pitch may mean excitement or lying loudness can
indicate anger, emphasis, or excitement. The particular meaning
depends on the context.

3.3.4 Multiple Channels

Which of these three channels of communication-verbal, visible, and
paralinguistic-provides the most information about a person’s real
emotions? Typically, and not surprisingly, people tend to form more
accurate judgments about another person when they have access to all
channels of communication. However, in the specific case of emotion,
researchers have speculated that observers weigh nonverbal cues most
heavily and tend almost to disregard verbal communication. The
question of which channels communicate most powerfully becomes,
particularly important, when the observer is receiving conflicting cures
from different channels. Conflicts across channels are particularly
important in interpreting apparently deceptive communication.

In conflict situations, is noon verbal, and especially visible,

communication truly relied on most heavily, as some of these
researchers suggest? Such claims have been subjected to rigorous
tests. In one of the clearest of such studies, Krauss presented the
participants with videotapes of the 1976 televised debate between the
two candidates for vice-president ship. The debate started pleasantly
but turned rather heated and rancorous. A the researchers selected 12
passages for each speaker, half of which seemed to display positive
emotions and half negative, then each participants was presented these
passages in one of four conditions.
• Audiovisual-the standard videotaped version;
• Verbal only-a written transcript as published in the New Your Times
• Video only-with the audio channel turned off; and
• Paralinguistic-the audio track only, but, with the content filtered out, so
that speech was unintelligible, while nonverbal features such as pitch,
Loudness, rate and so on were preserved.
The written transcript turned out to be critical for detecting
whether positive or negative emotions were being expressed; that is,
verbal information was most important, contrary to speculations about

44
the importance of the nonverbal communications. The data from this
study are shown in Table 1.

TABLE -1

Dimension of Verbal only Video only Audio

Judgment Filtered

Evaluation 51.8 2.2 8.8

Potency 3.4 29.6 45.1

Activity 0.1 36.8 5.2

The visible channel made little contribution to observer’s judgments

Paralinguistic information did contribute to judgment of the potency and
activity levels of the speaker’s presentations. That is, observers who
were given only the unintelligible soundtrack made the same kinds of
judgments about energy levels as did those given full audiovisual
information. The implication is that paralinguistic information, like eye
contact, can be sufficient to detect energy and involvement, even if it is
not sufficient to detect the particular kind of the emotion that is
expressed.
In general, nonverbal cues are not very precise guides to emotional
feelings in others. Most can communicate a variety of messages
depending on the context. A touch on the arm by an attractive
acquaintance means something quite different from the same touch
made by a homeless person in a subway station. Being taped on the
shoulder by your boss may mean something that isstill different.
When we do not have a known or familiar context, for example, when
visiting a foreign country-we frequently feel lost and can make little
sense of nonverbal cues. The reason is that many cues that we
understand within our own cultural context have a very different meaning
in other cultural contexts. Nonverbal behavior, then, conveys a great
deal of information that is culture-dependent and failure to respect these
cultural differences can result in awkward misunderstandings.

45
 3.4 DECEPTION
Lying and deception are most common human behaviours. According to
the Oxford Dictionary of English, deception is “a statement that deviates
from or perverts the truth”. Social psychology defines deception as: “a
communicator’s deliberate attempt to foster a belief or understanding in
others which the recipient considers to be untrue. There has been little
actual research into frequency of people lie. Recently 2004, a poll by
Reader’s Digest found that as many as 96% of people admit to lying at
least sometimes. People are remarkably bad at detecting lies. One
study, for example, found that people were only able to accurately detect
lying 54% of the time in a lab setting hardly impressive when factoring in
a 50% detection rate by pure chance alone.
Lie detection is the main part of numerous criminal, medical or legal
professions. Police officers are challenged by deception especially in the
identification of facts in crimes that have been committed. Judges and
lawyers seek justice in the legal disputes and medical specialist demand
the truth for exact diagnosis and suitable treatment of patients.
Obviously, behavioural differences between honest and lying individuals
are difficult to discriminate and measure. Researchers have attempted to
uncover the different indicators of detecting lies.
3.5 RECOGNIZING DECEPTION

A few of the potential red flags the researchers identified that might
indicate that people are deceptive include:
• Being vague: offering few details and intentionally leaves out important
details, it might be because they are lying.
• Vocal uncertainty: If the person seems unsure or insecure, they are
more likely to be perceived as lying.

• Indifference: Shrugging, lack of expression, and a bored posture can be

signs of lying since the person is trying to avoid conveying theemotions
and possible tells.

• Over thinking: If the individual seems to be thinking too hard to fill in the
details of the story, it might be because they are deceiving you.
• Repeating questions before answering them.

• Grooming behaviours such as playing with hair or pressing fingers to lips

• When it comes to detecting lies, people often focus on body language
or subtle physical and behavioural signs that reveal deception. However
it is not true in all the cases.

46
• Researcher Howard Ehrlichman suggests that shifting eyes mean that a
person’s thinking, or more precisely, that he or she is accessing their
long-term memory.

The lesson here is that while body language may be helpful, it is

important to pay attention to the right signals. However, some experts
suggest that relying too heavily on certain signals may impair the ability
to detect lies.
3.6 METHODS OF LIE DETECTION
One of the first methods to prove the veracity of a statement uttered by
the accused was described in China circa 1000 BC. The person
suspected of lying was required to fill his/her mouth with a handful of dry
rice. After sometime, s/he was to spit out the rice. If the expectorated
rice remained dry, the suspect was found guilty of fraud. This method
was based on the physiological principle and the postulation that
experiencing fear and anxiety is accompanied by decreased salivation
and a dry mouth. The works of present-day authors imply that fear
paralyzes us and are physically mirrored in an increased heart rate and
a mental sense of desperateness. The somatic expression of anxiety
and fear include changes in behaviour accompanying the feeling of a dry
mouth.
3.6.1 Phrenology and Graphology
In 1870, Franz Joseph Gall discovered a new method of detecting
deception through recognition of emotions of the accused. The main
ideas of their theory pointed to the brain as the central organ of the mind
which can perceive individual emotions such as ambitious,
destructiveness, the tendency to lie, and to engage in criminal
behaviour. The more active parts of the brain are well recognizable from
the contour of the skull these areas were more convex or concave. It
was anticipated that the relative size of each area can be enlarged or
reduced by training and self-discipline. Gall became a forerunner in
mapping the human skull and this newly-created scientific discipline was
named phrenology. Gall often made public appearances demonstrating
various criminals with shaved heads and emphasized the “anomaly” on
the skulls. Through phrenology, he tried to determine liars randomly
chosen from the audience. His services were also rarely used in legal
disputes to determine which party was lying. Concurrently with
phrenology, graphology began to spread and in 1875 started to be
considered a useful scientific method of lie detection. Its founder, J. H.
Michon, estimated that some particularities of handwriting may relate to
certain personality traits. During the world war graphology was believed

47
to be an appropriate means of verifying the authenticity of documents
and signatures. However, graphology was not approved as an
appropriate tool for lie detection.

Contemporary Methods of Lie Detection

3.6.2 The polygraph
After phrenology, in 1881, the first modern lie detection device called
Lombrosso’s Glove was created by Cesare Lombrosso. He attempted to
measure changes in the accused person’s blood pressure which were
recorded on a graph or chart. A few years later, John Larson and
Leonard Keele designed a psychiatric device called “Cardio-Pneumo
Psychograph” also known as a polygraph or a lie detector. This
polygraph recorded respiratory rate, blood pressure changes, and
changes in galvanic skin response inthebioelectric reactivity of the
skin.Lewis &Cuppari, (2009) point out to the ratio between thoracic and
diaphragmatic breathing as a sensitive indicator of stress and emotional
change the male and female breathing in these indicators usually differ,
modern polygraphs measure respiratory rate of chest and abdomen
separately which leads to a significant increase in the diagnostic value of
measurement.
Lie detection, also known as deception detection, uses questioning
techniques and technology to ascertain truth and falsehood in response.
Even the term "lie detector," used to refer to polygraph testing, is a
misnomer. So-called "lie detection" involves inferring deception through
analysis of physiological responses to a structured, but unstandardized,
series of questions. The instrument typically used to conduct the
polygraph tests consists of a physiological recorder that assesses three
indicators of autonomic arousal: heart rate/blood pressure, respiration,
and skin conductivity. Most examiners today use computerized recording
systems. Rate and depth of respiration are measured by pneumographs
wrapped around a subject's chest. Cardiovascular activity is assessed
by a blood pressure cuff. Skin conductivity called the galvanic skin or
electrodermal response is measured through electrodes attached to a
subject's fingertips.

The recording instrument and questioning techniques are only used

during a part of the polygraph examination. A typical examination
includes a pre-test phase during which the technique is explained and
each test question reviewed. The pre-test interview is designed to
ensure that subjects understand the questions and to induce a subject's
concern about being deceptive. Polygraph examinations often include a

48
procedure called a "stimulation test," which is a demonstration of the
instrument's accuracy in detecting deception.
Several questioning techniques are commonly used in polygraph tests.
The most widely used test format for subjects in criminal incident
investigations is the Control Question Test (CQT). The CQT compares
responses to "relevant" questions, with those of "control" questions. The
control questions are designed to control for the effect of the generally
threatening nature of relevant questions. Control questions concern
misdeeds that are similar to those being investigated, but refer to the
subject's past and are usually broad in scope; for example, "Have you
ever betrayed anyone who trusted you?"
A person who is telling the truth is assumed to fear control questions
more than relevant questions. This is because control questions are
designed to arouse a subject's concern about their past truthfulness,
while relevant questions ask about a crime they know they did not
commit. A pattern of greater physiological response to relevant
questions than, to control questions leads to a diagnosis of "deception."
Greater response to control questions leads to a judgment of
nondeception. If no difference is found between relevant and control
questions, the test result is considered "inconclusive."An alternative
polygraph procedure is called the Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT).The
techniques of graphology, psycho-physiological stress response, and
non-verbal communication studies have been widely used in law
enforcement in crime investigation, intelligence agencies, forensic trials,
and other fields
Observation of nonverbal expressions and Voice Stress Analysis
Apart from usage of various technical instruments for lie detection,
Observation and attention focused on some specific behavioural
expressions have also played important roles. Darwin suggested that lie
can be detected through observation of facial expressions. A smile
which is the result of experiencing happiness is manifested by
constriction of zygomatic major muscle causing the corners of the mouth
to lift. In case of electrical stimulation of this muscle, the smile appears
to be unnatural. Similarly, this applies to the circular muscles in the eye
which, when constricted, pull the face slightly higher and depress the
eyebrows. These two muscles can reveal the true emotional state since
their activity can be purposely controlled only with great difficulties,
remarked Charles Darwin in 1872.

49
3.6.3 Voice Stress Analysis (VSA)
Stress has been conceptualized by Hans Selye as “the non-specific
response of the body to any demand” Related to human performance,
these demands can be physical and/or mental, evoked by internal and/or
external environmental circumstances e.g., noise, heat, cold, altitude,
isolation. During coping with stress, an individual appraises his stressor
and will experience a bidirectional exchange between processes of
mental taxation and physiological reactivity. So, a stress response does
not occur solely within an individual or within the environment, but it is a
transaction between the individual and the environmental stress factor.
Here comes the great competitor of Voice Stress Analysis (VSA). This
device or technology is supported by the belief that the deceiver will
produce physiological response and tracing down these changes could
find evidence of deception. The person who takes the test will be asked
some simple question first, such as what is his name, what is his cell
phone number etc. The response is restricted to “yes” or “no”. While
answering these questions their physiological responses, e.g. blood
pressure, plus, respiration and skin conductivity will be recorded as a
normal range. Then critical questions contributing to the investigation will
be asked to see if the person, has changes beyond the range. Although
the process is based on questioning, Polygraph is categorized into the
Non-Verbal branch because it works upon electronic technology and the
study of physiology. The expression of experienced emotions is related
to another technique called Voice Stress Analysis (VSA). “Voice Stress
Analysis (VSA) systems are marketed as a computer-based system
capable of measuring stress in a person’s voice as an indicator of
deception. This technique was developed by three retired U.S. Army
officers in 1970s. It generally can be understood that the machine
consists of three components: a tape recorder, microphone, and the
most state-of-art part, a fast-speed computer with special designed VSA
software. The suggestion is given that a sufficient deceptive stress
database with the ground truth is needed to enhance its credibility.
Voice stress analysis (VSA) is accomplished by measuring fluctuations
in the physiological micro tremor present in speech. A micro tremor is a
low amplitude oscillation of the reflex mechanism controlling the length
and tension of a stretched muscle caused by the finite transmission
delay between neurons to and from the target muscle. Micro tremors are
present in every muscle in the body including the vocal chords and have
a frequency of around 8–12Hz. During times of increased stress, this

50
micro tremor shifts in frequency. This change in frequency transfers from
the muscles in the vocal tract to the voice produced.

3.6.4 Brain-based lie detection

A group of researchers at Harvard used BOLD fMRI to compare the
brain activation in three scenarios: truth, spontaneous lies and
memorized lies. They found that both types of lies elicited more
activation in the anterior prefrontal cortices bilaterally, involved in
retrieving the memory. They also found that spontaneous lies
preferentially activated the anterior cingulate cortex as compared with
memorized lies. Psychologists have utilized research on body language
and deception to help members of law enforcement distinguish between
the truth and lies.
The more recently developed physiological measures considered to
have potential for lie detection are Electroencephalography (EEG) and
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).Both are established
medical technologies developed and widely used for the assessment of
brain activity. The EEG dates back to the 1920s, while fMRI was first
reported in humans in 1992. The two techniques critically differ from the
polygraph in that they measure the central (brain) rather than the
peripheral galvanic skin response, heart rate, blood pressure and
respiration that correlates of the nervous system activity. EEG-based lie
detection was pioneered by J.P. Rosenfeld, and has been a topic of
sustained research since. fMRI is greatly superior to EEG in its ability to
localize the source of the signal in the brain. EEG, on the other hand, is
significantly less expensive, more mobile and has a better time
resolution than fMRI. The recent progress in the ability of fMRI to reliably
measure and localize the activity of the central nervous system (CNS)
has created the expectation that an fMRI-based system would be
superior to both the polygraph and the EEG for lie detection.

Deception can be detected through linguistic means. Three of these

means besides Statement Analysis can be handwriting analysis, voice
stress analysis and non-verbal analysis. This thesis deals with how
these techniques can be used to detect lies. It is shown that people
really mean what they say and lies can be thus detected by handwriting
analysis, voice stress analysis and non-verbal analysis. The techniques
of graphology, psychophysiological stress response, and non-verbal
communication studies, briefly discussed in this and, have been widely
used in law enforcement in crime investigation, intelligence agencies,
forensic trials, and other fields.

51
Applications Almost all deception detection knowledge is drawn from
real-life practice and its ultimate goal shall be the application back to life.
Law Enforcement

The first applied field on the top of the list should be law enforcement
agencies. As a matter of fact, techniques such as Statement Analysis
are developed from the police officers with years of working experience.
The standard process to investigate a suspect will be a request of
statement, asks him to write down all the events that happened during a
period of time, and then based on the written statement, the suspect will
be given an interview which will be recorded for further investigation and
re-evaluation. At that point, VSA will possibly be applied.

Other Fields
Linguistic deception detection approaches can also be applied in
everyday life:-Business Negotiation;-Job/School Admission Interview;-
CV (Curriculum Vitae), PS (also known as Statement of Purpose), Email,
and Other Documents Detection Audio Conference;-Online Dating,
along with other potential deception in computer mediated texts e.g. fake
reviews posted on the online shopping websites.

LET US SUM UP
Nonverbal communication plays an important role in how we convey
meaning and information to others, as well as how we interpret the
actions of those around us. While nonverbal communication and
behavior can vary dramatically between cultures, the facial expressions
for happiness, sadness, anger, and fear are similar throughout the world.
Deliberate movements and signals like waving, pointing, and using the
fingers to indicate numeric amounts are an important way to
communicate meaning without words.MoreoverParalinguistic refers to
vocal communication that is separate from actual language. This
includes factors such as tone of voice, loudness, inflection, and pitch are
also considered as a powerful means of nonverbal communication. Body
Language and Posture can also convey a great deal of information such
as feelings and attitudes etc.The important thing to remember when
looking at such nonverbal behaviors is to consider the actions in groups.
What a person actually says along with his or her expressions,
appearance, and tone of voice might tell you a great deal about what
that person is really trying to say. Lie detection is the main part of

52
numerous criminal, medical or legal professions. The goal of lie
detection is the discovery of a truth that is known to one person and
concealed from others. Lie detection is based on the assumption that
when an individual experiences apprehension, fear, or emotional
excitement, his or her respiration rate, blood pressure, and galvanic skin
resistance sharply increase. Phrenology and graphology, Polygraph,
Voice Stress Analysis (VSA) and brain based lie detection are various
methods of detection of lie.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1.------------plays an important role in how we convey meaning and

information to others, as well as how we interpret the actions of those
around us.
a) Verbal communication b) Nonverbal communication c) emotional
excitement d) Lie detection
2. Distance, gesture, and eye contact are some of the main ---------- of
the visible channel ofnon verbal communication
a) Verbal communication b) Nonverbal cues c) galvanic skin resistance
d) Lie detection

3. ---------------is accomplished by measuring the fluctuations in the

physiological micro tremor present in speech.
a) Voice stress analysis (VSA) b) Phrenology c) graphology d) Lie
detection
4.----------------also known as deception detection, uses questioning
techniques and technology to ascertain truth and falsehood in response.

a) Voice stress analysis (VSA) b) Phrenology c) Graphology d) Lie

detection
5. An open palm is an invitation; crossed legs are defensive are some of
the examples of ----------which gives a clue to nonverbal communication
in some cultures.
a) Gestures b) Pitch c) paralanguage d) facial reaction

State whether the following statements are true or false

6.The five major channels of nonverbal behaviors that assist in
communication are paralanguage, kinesics, proxemics, facial expression
and visual behavior (True/False).

53
7. In 1870, Franz Joseph Gall discovered a new method of detecting
blood pressure through recognition of emotions of the accused.
(True/False).

8. The most widely used test format for subjects in criminal incident
investigations is the Control Question Test (CQT) (True/False).
9.Polygraph recorded respiratory rate, blood pressure changes, and
changes in galvanic skin response (bioelectric reactivity of the
skin)(True/False)..
10. “Voice Stress Analysis (VSA) systems are marketed as computer-
based system capable of measuring stress in a person’s voice as an
indicator of deception. (True/False).
GLOSSARY
Deception - Deception is the act of misleading or wrongly informing
someone about the true nature of a situation.
Graphology -Graphology is the analysis of handwriting with attempt to
establish someone's personality traits
Paralanguage - Paralanguage is nonverbal communication such as
your tone, pitch or manner of speaking.

Phrenology - Phrenology is a pseudoscience which involves the

measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits
Polygraph - A polygraph machine records the body's involuntary
responses to an examiner's questions in order to ascertain deceptive
behaviour.
Voice Stress Analysis - aims to infer deception from stress measured
in the voice.
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. b) Nonverbal communication 2.b) Nonverbal cues 3. a) Voice stress
analysis (VSA) 4. d) Lie detection 5. a) gestures 6. True 7. False 8. True.
9. True 10. True
MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Explain the various methods of lie detection?

2. What is Deception?
3. What is Phrenology?

4. Describe the various channels of nonverbal communication.

54
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Branscombe, N.R., Baron, R.A., &Kapur, P. (2017). Social
Psychology (14th Ed.). Chennai, India: Pearson India Education
Services Private Limited.
2. Myers, D.G., & Twenge, J.M. (2017). Social Psychology. (12th
Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw – Hill Education.

3. Feldman, R. S. (2001). Social Psychology (3rd Ed.) New Delhi,

India: Pearson India Education Services Private Limited.
4. Schultz, W., &Oskamp, S. (2000). Social Psychology: An Applied
Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
5. Schneider, F.W., Gruman, J.A., & Coutts, L.M. (2005) Applied
Social Psychology- understanding and addressing social and
practical problems. New York, NY: Sage publications.

55
UNIT – 4

ATTRIBUTION

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.1.1 When are Attributions Made?
4.1.2 Why are Attributions Important?
4.2 Basic Principles of Causal Attribution

4.2.1 When Attributions are made

4.3 How attributions are made
4.3.1 Kelley’s Covariation model
4.3.2 Discounting Principle
4.3.3 Jones & Davis Correspondent Inference Theory
4.4 Biases in the Attribution process
4.4.1 Salience
4.4.2 Over attributing actions
4.4.3 Actors versus Observers

4.4.4 False consensus

4.4.5 Self Serving Attribution
4.4.6 Self Centred bias

4.4.7 Origin of Bias

4.5 Applications
Let us sum up

Check your progress

Glossary
Answers to check your progress

Model questions
Suggested Readings

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OVERVIEW
In order to obtain information about the other’s lasting traits, motives,
and intentions, we often engage in attribution. Attribution theory is
concerned with how the people infer the causes of social events.
Although causal attribution can be made by most people for most
events, people are most likely to ask ‘’why’’ questions when something
unexpected, unusual, or unpleasant happens. We attempt to infer others
traits from observing certain aspects of their behavior. Especially
behavior that is freely chosen produces non common effects and is low
in social desirability. Attribution is subject to many potential sources of
error, the tendency to attribute our own behaviour to external causes
and internal causes in the self-serving bias. Attribution has been applied
to many practical problems, often with great success. In this unit, an
attempt has been made to discuss the above said facts.
OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit you will able to:

• Obtain information about others lasting traits, motives, and intentions
• Apply attribution to practical problems
• Describe the process through we form impressions of others
• Explain how do attribute to others and ourselves
• Discuss about the causes of biases
• Explain why people are concerned with making good first
impressions

4.1 INTRODUCTION
Accurate knowledge of others current moods or feelings can be useful in
many ways. Yet, where social perception is concerned, this knowledge
often only the first step. In addition, we usually want to know more- the
caused behind their behaviour. Social psychologists believe that our
interest in such questions stems, from our basis desire to understand
causeand theeffect relationship in the social world. In other words, we
don’t simply want to know how others have acted; we want to
understand why they have done so. The process through which we
seek such information is known as attribution refers to our efforts to
understand the causes behind and, on some occasion the causes
behind our behaviour, too. Social psychologists have studied attribution
for several decades, and their research has yielded many intriguing
insights into this important process.

57
4.1.1 When are Attributions Made?
When do people engage in this process of asking why? Although human
beings are supposedly a curious species, they do not go around asking
why about everything that happens. They do not ask why the sun
comes up in the morning, why the bus they are riding has started moving
as the red light has changed to green. Most natural events and human
actions do not inspire much cognitive effort to search out correct causal
explanations.
As the opening example implies, people tend to ask ‘’why’’ questions
when something unexpected or unusual happens. Newspaper readers,
government officials, and the social scientists want answers when there
is a sudden unexpected outburst of racial violence or student unrest, but
not when thing Negative, painful, and unpleasant events also inspire a
search for causal attributions. To illustrate this point, researchers talked
with distressed couple who had come to a clinic for marital therapy. All
were asked to list a variety of positive or negative events that happened
in their marriage and how frequently those events concurred. The
authors found that the most attribution thoughts were made about the
most distressing events; their partners frequent negative behaviors or
infrequent positive behaviors.
Finally, it is important to explain why people are uncertain about
something that is important to them. These conditions were clearly
identified in a field study exploring workers reaction to the layoffs of
some of their co-workers. The remaining workers who had received
very clear explanations from their mangers regarding the bases felt
better about the reasons behind the layoffs. These effects were
especially pronounced for those, who felt very uncertain about the
layoffs initially and for whom understanding the layoffs were very
important.
4.1.2 Why are Attributions Important?

Causal attributions are important for several reasons, first, attributions

help people to predict and control the environment. The reasons
unexpected and negative events give rise to more causal explanation
then expected or positive events is that people need to be able to avoid,
offset, or at least anticipate these kinds of events in the future. Causal
attributions, then, fit in with broader needs to predict the control the
environment.
Causal attributions are also important because they determine our
feelings, attitudes, and the behaviour. According to Weiner, for

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example, anger usually results when something negative happens to us
and we perceive it as being under someone else’ control. For example,
if you are standing on a platform and a car whips past, splashing dirty
water all over you, you might feel angry if you felt the driver could have
avoided splashing you. You might feel less angry if there was only one
lane and the driver had no choice. Pity arises when a negative event
happens to someone else and no one could have controlled it. You feel
sorry for a person with cardiac arrest; no one could have prevented the
disease. Other emotions also follow directly from the attributions.

Our expectations about the future are also influenced by attributions for
past events. When we attribute our past successes to ability, we are
likely to expect future successes to ability. We are likely to expect future
successes. Our reactions to other people-liking, aggression, helping,
conformity, and so on the frequently depend on how we interpret the
world and the causal attribution we make for the events around us.
4.2 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CAUSAL ATTRIBUTION
Although there are different approaches to the attribution process, they
rest on a common set of basic principles called attribution theory.

Heider’s Naive Psychology

Theorizing about attributions began with Fritz Heider, 1958, he was
interested in how people in everyday life figure out what causes what.
He proposed two strong motives in all human beings; the need to control
the environment.
One of the essentials for satisfying these motives is the ability to predict
how people are going to behave. If we cannot predict how others will
behave, we will view the world as random, surprising, and incoherent.
We would not know whether to expect reward or punishment for our
work performance, a kiss or a punch in the jaw from a friend.
Similarly, to have a satisfactory level of control over our environment, we
must be able to predict others behaviour. To avoid an accident, we
need to be able to predict that the big truck will not suddenly make a U-
turn into our front bumper. To control our diet, we need to be able to
count on getting a salad when we order it in a restaurant, rather than
suddenly being presented with the deep roasted meat.
To be able to predict how others are going to behave, we need some
elementary theory of human behaviour. Heider proposed that everyone,
not only psychologists, searches for explanations in other people’s

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behaviour. He called the result a naive psychology-that is, a general
theory of human the behaviouris held by the ordinary people.

4.2.1 When Attributions are made

a) Locus of Causality
The central issue in most perceptions of causality is whether to attribute
a given act to internal states or to external forces. That is, the ‘’locus of
causality when you asked your friend, who sits next to you at a lecture to
go out a movies this weekend, but he/she said she is busy. What is the
‘’real’’ cause of her refusal? It could be due to some internal state, such
as his/her lack of attraction to you. Or it could be due to some external
Factor, such as that she really does have some other obligations.
Internal attributions include all causes internal to the person, such as
moods, attitudes, personality traits, abilities, health, preferences, or
wishes. External attributions include all causes external to the person,
such as pressure from others, money, the nature of the social situation,
the weather, and so on. Is this friend is really busy is an external
attribution or has he/she just decided that he/she is not interested in
accompanying you is an again internal attribution
b) Stability or Instability
A second dimension of causality is whether the cause is stable or
unstable that is, we need to know whether the cause is a relatively
permanent feature of that external environment or of the internal
dispositions of the person. Some of those external causes are quite
stable, such as rules and laws where the prohibition against crossing a
red light, or against breaking the throwing arm of an overly successful
quarterback or the occupational roles where the professors are called
upon to give lectures year in and year out.
Other external causes are quite unstable. For example, the weather has
a lot of influence over whether we spend Saturday out shopping or at
home reading, but the weather varies a lot. Certain jobs vary in the
external demands they place on the jobholder. Army generals face quite
different external forces in wartime than in peacetime.

Internal causes can also be stable or unstable. In the achievement

domain, a student’s success or failure at a particular task could be
attributed to ability which is internal and relatively stable, effort
andwhich is internal and usually fairly unstable, luck which is external
and unstable or task difficulty which is external and stable.

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c) Controllability
A third general dimension of attributions is controllability. We perceive
some causes as within control and others as beyond control. Perceived
controllability or uncontrollability can coexist with any combination of
locus and stability, as Table 1 indicates
TABLE 1
INTERNAL EXTERNAL
Controllability Stable Unstable Stable Unstable
Controllable Typical Temporary Some forms Unusual
effort effort exerted of teacher help from
Exerted bias others
Uncontrollable Ability Mood Task Luck
difficulty

For example an internal unstable cause such as temporary effort is

generally seen as controllable; a student can try to work hard or can
decide not to. A stable internal cause such as ability, however, is
usually seen as uncontrollable. A ‘born genius’ is someone born with
that ability, not someone who has gone about acquiring knowledge in a
calculated way. Similarly, lunch, which is an external unstable factor, is
also typically seen as uncontrollable, whereas unusual help from others,
though external and unstable, is presumably under those controls.
Some researchers have questioned whether locus of causality, stability
or instability, and the controllability are the best dimensions for
understanding causal attribution and, indeed, whether they are causal
dimensions at all. For example, evidence that people think in terms of
these standard attribution dimensions is weak, and the researchers have
especially criticized the internal-external dimension, arguing that the two
may not be opposites but may actually co-occur. Moreover, these
dimensions show some degree of cross-cultural generalizability,
emerging in culture as diverse as the United States, Britain, China,
Belgium, West Germany, India, and South Korea.

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 4.3 HOW ATTRIBUTIONS ARE MADE?
4.3.1 Kelley’sCo variation model
Harold Kelley has generated the most formal and comprehensive
analysis of attribution, which he calls the Covariation model. Covariation
refers to people’s tendency to look for an association between a
particular cause and a particular effect across a number of different
conditions. If a given cause is always associated with a particular effect
in many different situations, and if the effect does not occur in the
absence of that cause, we attribute the effect to that cause. The cause
always covaries with the effect and whenever the cause is present, so is
the effect andand whenever the cause is absent, there is no effect.
Suppose your roommate complaining about everything right before
exams but is quite pleasant the rest of the time. Do you conclude that
she is a grouch in general, that is, that she has a generally personality?
Probably not instead, you would attribute her complaints to the tensions
associated with exams, rather than to her being generally a short-
tempered person. Her grouchiness is almost always associated with
exams and does not occur in the absence of exams. So you attribute it
to exams, not to her personality. This principle of Covariation is, of
course, exactly the same as the scientific method scientist’s use. A
scientist’s also arrives at a judgment of causality by seeing that a
particular factor is associated with a particular effect across a number of
different conditions. This is why Kelley’s model is called as the naive
scientist model. Although most people are not scientists, they are able
to use certain scientific principles such as Covariation to infer causality.
Kelley’s suggests that the people use three specific types of information
to arrive at casual attribution. They check to see whether or not the
same effect occurs across.
1. Stimulus objects’
2. Actors (persons)
3. Contexts

This process is perhaps easiest to grasp with a simple example.

Suppose your friend Mary shows up at work one day and tells you that
the show featured a comedian. She laughed hysterically at his jokes
and, in fact, thought he was funniest comic she had heard in years. You
should definitely to see him. You want a causal attribution for her
hysterical laughter. If the cause was that the comedian really is very
funny you should follow her advice.

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 Kelley’s theory suggests that people use all the three of these kinds of
information in trying to arrive at a causal attribution:
1. Distinctiveness information. Does the person act in this manner only in
regard this stimulus object, and not in regard to other objects?
2. Consensus information. Do other people act in the same way in this
situation?
3. Consistency information. Does this person consistently react the same
way at other times or in other situations?
Kelley hypothesized that this process occurs when we attribute a given
effect to a given cause. We quickly review our store of information along
these three dimensions. The review may be implicit and rapid rather
than deliberate and conscious, but still we review what we know. For an
external attribution to be made-that is, for the comedian’s comic ability to
be the true cause of Mary’s laughter-all three tests have to be passed in
the appropriate manner; high distinctiveness, high consensus, and high
consistency. Her reaction has to be distinctive to this comedian and not
to others; other people have to like the comedian and she has to like the
comedian consistently in this and the other situations. For an internal
attribution to be a made-that is, for her laughter to be attributed to her
general disposition to laugh at anything-low distinctiveness, low
consensus, and high consistency must hold. She laughed at all
comedians, no one else does, and she laughs in all places and at all
times.
In a classic study, McArthur tested Kelley’s predictions. She gave
participants a simple hypothetical event, varied the kind of consensus,
distinctiveness, and consistency information available to them, and then
measured their attributions. The three main predictions and the results
are shown in Table II, using the same example.
Table II

AVAIALBLE INFORMATION

Condi Distinctivene Consensu Consistency Most

tions ss s com
mon

1. High-she High – High-she Stimul

didn’t laugh at everyone always laughs us
anyone else else at him object
laughed the
too come

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 dian
(61%)

2. Low-she Low- High-she Perso

always laughs hardly always laughs n:
at comedians anyone at him Mary
else (85%)
laughed

3. High-she Low- Low-she has Conte

didn’t laugh at hardly almost never xt
anyone else anyone laughed at (72%)
else him
laughed

The first condition is the same as the example just described and
promotes an attribution to the object itself, since it passes all three tests.
Everyone else was also laughing, Mary did not laugh at any of the other
performers, but she always laughed at this one. So, he must be funny
comedian. The majority of the participants saw it that way too and given
this pattern of information, 61% attributed her reaction to the comedian.

The second condition leads the observer to make a person attribution:

Mary laughs at any comedian and always laughed at this one, but hardly
anyone else did. Mary must be laugh 86%. The third condition leads us
to think there is something special about the context: She did not laugh
at anyone else, she had almost never laughed at him before, and hardly
anyone else had laughed. Something unique must have happened.
Seventy two percent did attribute her laughter to the particular
circumstances.
Other researchers have suggested that somewhat different reasoning
processes than the one Kelley suggested may underlie causal
attribution. For example, Hamilton, Grubb and Carpenter proposed that
people decide whether to attribute behaviour to a person’s dispositions
or to the situation by comparing the relative weight of evidence
contained in the context of circumstances in which the behaviour
occurred. In trying to understand why your roommate is working very
hard on a paper, for example, you might evaluate the information
favouring the explanation that your roommate is typically a hard worker
against the information suggesting that this is an especially important
paper that is due soon.

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4.3.2 Discounting Principle
Sometimes there may be several possible causal explanations for a
particular behaviour, and we need guidelines to determine which
attribution is correct. This dilemma rises about the major principle used
to make causal attributions, termed the discounting principle: ‘’the role of
a given cause in producing a given effect is discounted if other possible
causes are also present’’. That is, we are less likely to attribute the
effect to any particular cause, if more than one cause is likely. An
insurance salesperson is very nice to us and offers us coffee, but we
may not be able to make a confident attributions about why he or she is
so friendly. We could attribute the behaviour to a real liking for us. More
likely, we may discount that possible cause and attribute the behaviour
partly to the salesperson’s wanting our business. On the other hand, if
the person knows we have no money to buy insurance, we may not do
any such person knows we have no money to buy insurance, we may
not do any such discounting, because the desire for business is no
longer a possible cause. By and large, research findings do seem to
follow the pattern described by the covariation and discounting
principles.
4.3.3 Jones & Davis Correspondent Inference Theory
Jones and Davis (1965) thought that people pay particular attention to
intentional behaviour as it is opposed to accidental or unthinking
behaviour.
Jones and Davis’ theory helps us understand the process of making an
internal attribution. They say that we tend to do this when we see a
correspondence between motive and behavior. For example, when we
see a correspondence between someone behaving in a friendly way and
being a friendly person.
Dispositional (i.e., internal) attributions provide us with information from
which we can make predictions about a person’s future behavior. The
correspondent inference theory describes the conditions under which we
make dispositional attributes to the behavior we perceive as intentional.
Davis used the term correspondent inference to refer to an occasion
when an observer infers that a person’s behavior matches or
corresponds with their personality. It is an alternative term to
dispositional attribution.

Jones and Davis say we draw on five sources of information that leads
us to make a correspondent inference n:

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Choice: If a behavior is freely chosen it is believed to be due to internal
(dispositional) factors.
Accidental vs. Intentional Behavior: Behavior that is intentional is
likely to be attributed to the person’s personality, and behavior which is
accidental is likely to be attributed to situation / external causes.
Social Desirability: Behaviors low in sociable desirability (non
conforming) lead us to make (internal) dispositional inferences that are
that are more than socially undesirable behaviors. For example, if you
observe a person getting on a bus and sitting on the floor instead of one
of the seats. This behavior has low social desirability (non conforming)
and is likely to correspond with the personality of the individual.
Hedonistic Relevance: If the other person’s behavior appears to be
directly intended to benefit or harm us.
Personalism: If the other person’s behavior appears to be intended to
have an impact on us, we assume that it is “personal”, and not just a by-
product of the situation we are both in.
4.4 BIASES IN THE ATTRIBUTION PROCESS
Attribution theory, as described up to this point, tends to suggest a
rational, logical process. It assumes that people process information in
a quite orderly way and that they are fairly objective in assessing the
usefulness of information and combining it to produce a conclusion.
However, people tend to be misery in their expenditure of cognitive
effort. People are far from logical and their rational in all their thoughts
and behaviours. In that context, we now turn to several biases that have
been identified in attribution processes. We begin with a consideration
of biases that derive from the tendency to respond more to salient or
figural stimuli than to the background stimuli and to simplify perception
by developing meaningful, structured impressions.
4.4.1 Salience
One way we simplify cognitive processing is by overreacting to salient
stimuli. This bias leads us to perceive the most salient stimulus as the
most influential. If something is in motion or colourful or loud or novel,
we are likely to see it as a cause of whatever else is changing in the
environment. The person who is running down the street is seen as
having caused the bank alarm to go off. A loud thunderclap is perceived
as causing people to scurry for cover.

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Sometimes, the most salient stimuli are, in fact, the strongest causes of
people’s behaviour, so such attributions are often accurate. But biases
arise because the most perceptually salient stimuli sometimes dominate
causal explanations, even when they are not actually the most powerful
causes.
What makes people salient? You are salient if you are the only one of
your kind in a roomful of other people. For example, if you are the only
student in a crowd of professors, the only tall person in a group of short
people, you feel conspicuous. All eyes have a singly target. When your
solo status is known or obvious, as in the case of salient physical
attributes, this is indeed the case. Research on the salience supports the
idea that, it, is an uncomfortable experience being the solo and being the
canter of attention.
The finding that perceptual salience induces exaggeration of a person’s
causal role is quite widespread. In fact, people seem to make causal
attributions to salient stimuli so readily that some have argued that the
causality ascribed to perceptually salient stimuli is a virtually an
automatic consequence of the perceptual experience and does not
involve and deliberate causal inference on the part of the perceiver.
4.4.2 Over attributing Action to Dispositions
Another bias in the causal attribution process is that we are too likely to
explain others behaviour as resulting from such dispositions as their
general personality traits or their attitudes, while e tend to overlook the
importance of the situations they are in. When we ask for the
information from a clerk at a window in the college administration
building and he seems impersonal, brusque, and unhelpful, we think he
is a cold, unfriendly person. We tend to ignore the fact that he must
have scores of such brief encounters with the anonymous complaining
students each day. It probably of his particular job situation, rather than
his personality, that makes him acts brusquely. Over attribution to
situation is so common that Ross has called it the fundamental
attribution error.

The finding that observers make internal attributions even when actors
have no choice is an important one. It illustrates the principle that causal
attributions for the behaviour of others are biased in the direction of
overemphasizing dispositions and underemphasizing the environment.
Many subsequent studies have found substantially the same thing.

67
There is no simple explanation for the fundamental attribution error and
the corresponding tendency to regard individual behaviour ad due to
their dispositions. Disposition inference is prompted by a variety of
goals, including informing an impression of another’s personality, or
predicting that person’s future behaviour. Nonetheless, there are
several possible explanations. Salience is one likely explanation for the
fundamental attribution error. According to Heider, we pay so much
attention to the person’s behaviour that we tend to ignore the situation in
which it occurs. The behaviour becomes figural and stands out against
the surrounding ground of the situation. And salience leads to the
perception of causality. Thus, the essay writer, rather than the situation,
is seen as the primary causal factor.
Recent research suggest that attributions of the dispositional qualities to
other people on the basis of their behaviour may be made
spontaneously without awareness, perhaps even automatically, upon
simply learning that another person had demonstrated a particular
behaviour.
Much recent attention has focused on interpreting others and the
behaviours stemming from their dispositions are really a bias or not. In
some respects, this tendency is quite functional. When we are required
to communicate to others or about them, we need to simplify a rich and
detailed store of information about them into brief and meaningful form.
Traits are convenient summaries for all that information. It is easier to
say, ‘’She is a little immature ‘than to list all the behaviours that lead you
to say that. It is also the case that trait labels do not mean the same
thing to everyone.
4.4.3 Actors versus Observers
One of the most interesting aspects of the fundamental attribution error
is that it holds for observers, but not for actors. Actors instead seem to
overemphasize the role of external factors in explaining their own
behaviour. For example, some parents set fairly restrictive rules for their
adolescent children. They have to be home at a certain hour; they can
watch television only during certain hours, and so on. How is this rule
making interpreted? The ‘’observers’’, namely, the adolescents,
frequently perceive these rules as dispositionally caused: Their parents
are mean, authoritarian, arbitrary, and old fashioned. The ‘’actors’’
themselves, the parents are often more likely to explain their behaviour
in terms of the situation. They are simply doing what is best for their
children, living up to the role of the parent, or responding to the
rebelliousness and irresponsibility of their children.

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How do both sides interpret the situation if the adolescents repeatedly
violate the rules? The ‘’observers’’, this time the parents, interpret it
dispositinally: the adolescents are rebellious, irresponsible, and s on.
The actors, this time the adolescents, interpret their own behaviour as
situation ally caused. The party was fun so they did not want to leave,
the parent’s rules are unreasonably strict, and the parents
misunderstand them. In short observers infer dispositional causes,
actors infer situational ones. Both groups are explaining the same
behaviour, but with quite different attributions.

This actor-observer bias has proved to be one of the most widely

researched of the various attribution biases. In one of its earliest
demonstrations, Nisbet, Caputo, Leant, and Maracek asked male
students to write a paragraph on what they most like about the women
they dated and why they had chosen their major. Then they were asked
to answer the same questions as if they were their own best friend.
Responses were scored for the extent to which the behaviour we
attributed to the actor’s disposition, such as, ‘’I knew someone I can
relax with’’ or ‘’I want to make a lot of money’’ or externally, to aspects of
the woman or major, such as, ‘’she is smart and fun’’, or ‘’chemistry is a
high-paying field’’. The participants gave more situational reasons for
their own behaviour and the more dispositional reasons for a friend’s
behaviour.
A related tendency is that actors see their own behaviour not only as
less dispositionally based than observers do; they also see their
behaviour as less stable. When behaviour is thought to result from a
disposition, that disposition remains stable across situations, but when
behaviour is credited to situational factors, it should change as the
situation changes. One may regard one ‘sown periods of gloominess as
temporary reactions to bad circumstances, but regard another’s bouts of
gloominess as the stable indicators of an inherently gloomy personality.

Differences in actors’ and observers’ attributions are weakened under

certain conditions. People are more likely to attribute positive outcomes
to dispositional factors and negatively valenced outcomes to situational
factors, regardless of whether they are committed by actors by actors or
observers. For example, we are more likely to see a person’s
friendliness as part of her nature, but her impatience as due to
frustrating circumstances. The actor-observer effect can also be
reversed when people feel empathy for the person whose behaviour
they are observing. Regan and Totten found that if the observer adopts
an empathetic attitude and tries to think of and see thingsthey way the

69
actor does, the observer comes to see the world the way the actor does,
namely, in terms of situational factors. The surrounding situation
becomes more prominent, presumably as it would for the actor himself
or herself. Personal involvement in an actor’s situation yields similar
effects. People tend to see the world as the actor does if they believe
they will be involved in similar circumstances in the future.

4.4.4 False Consensus

People tend to imagine that every one responds the way they do. They
tend to see their own behaviour as typical. This tendency to exaggerate
how common one’s own opinions and behaviour are is called the false
consensus effect. In an early demonstration of this effect, students were
asked if they would walk around their college campus for 30 minutes
wearing a large sandwich board with the message ‘’Eat at Joe’s’’. Some
students agreed which the others refused. Both groups estimated that
about two-thirds of the other students on the campus would make the
same choice they did. Clearly, both groups could not be right.
This false consensus effect has been shown to occur in a broad array of
different situations. For example, smokers in college high school/college
are likely to estimate much higher levels of smoking, both among youths
in school and in the general population, than are non-smokers. The
effect occurs for both important and relatively unimportant attitudes and
behaviour. There are several possible explanations for the false
consensus effect. One possibility stems from the fact that people seek
out the company of others who are similar to them and who behave as
they do. Consequently, estimates of others, beliefs about behaviour
may simply reflect the biased sample of people one has available for
social inference.

A next possibility is that in trying to predict how we might respond in a

situation, we resolve ambiguous details in our mind in a way that favours
a preferred course of action. We fail to recognize that our own choices
are a result not simply of the objective situation, but of our subjective
estimation of the situation as well.
A third possibility is that people have a need to see their own beliefs and
behaviours as good, appropriate, and typical, and so they attribute them
to others to maintain high self-esteem. Research investigators suggest
that all these explanations play some role in the false consensus effect.

On certain personal attributes, people show a false uniqueness effect,

For example, when people are asked to list their best abilities and
estimate how others stand on these abilities, they underestimate their
peers abilities. To value ability and consider it special, people seem to

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need to feel distinctive and uniquely good at that ability. On attitude
issues, in contrast, where the people overestimate the frequency with
which others agree with them, providing false consensus. Attitudes and
opinions then show false consensus effects, whereas one’s own highly
valued skills and abilities tend to show false uniqueness effects.
The false consensus effect has important implications from how people
interpret social reality. It may be one vehicle by which people maintain
that their beliefs and opinions are right. IT may, lead people to assume
that there are lots of others who agree with them, when actually it may
not be the case. Consequently, under certain conditions, the false
consensus effect may function as a justification for the imposition of a
political or a religious belief on the others.
4.4.5 The self-serving Attribution Bias
This tendency to take credit for success and deny responsibility for
failure is known as the self-serving attribution bias.

Overall, there is more evidence that people take credit for success than
that they deny responsibility for failure. People are sometimes willing to
accept responsibility for failure if they can attribute it some factor over
which they have future control, such as effort. For example, if a team
loses the game and blames to help them improve next time. But, if they
realize that they failed to complete almost every pass, they have
something to work on for the next week’s game.
Much work on self-serving biases has assumed that the biases stem
from a need to protect the ego from assault. Presumably, one feels
better when one causes good things to happen. People try to succeed,
and when they do, their apparent self-enhancing explanation for success
may reflect little more than the perceived covariation between their effort
and the outcome. When people estimate the amount of control, they
have in a situation, they utilize instances in which they have been
successful more than instances in which they have. All these factors can
contribute to the self-enhancing bias.
As the football example implies, self-serving biases include not only
explanations for one ‘own behaviour, but explanations for the behaviour
of one’s intimates, close friends, and other groups with which one is
allied. At the group level, this bias has been termed the ethnocentric or
group-serving bias, and it refers to the tendency of people both to
attribute internal causes to their own group’s positive behaviour and to
the negative behaviour of an out group as well as to attribute in negative

71
behaviour of their own group and positive behaviour of an out-group to
external causes.
4.4.6 Self-Centered Bias

People consistently exaggerate their own contributions to shared

activities, a bias called the self-centred bias. How does this bias differ
from the self serving bias just described? Whereas the self-serving bias
involves taking credit for success but not failure, the self centred bias
consists of taking more than one’s share or responsibility for a jointly
produce outcome, whether the outcome is successful or unsuccessful.
Ross and Sicily did several studies ofthe married couple’sand estimated
the relative contributions to jointly produced outcome, whether the
outcome is successful or unsuccessful.
What accounts for the self-cantered bias? First, it is easier to notice
one’s own contributions than those of another person. One may be
distracted from another’s contributions or not even be physically present
when the other person is doing his or her share of the joint task. It may
also be easier to recall one’s own contributions than those of another
person, since they are more personally salient. There may be
motivational factors involved as well. Thinking about how much you have
contributed may increase your self-esteem, particularly for positive
tasks. Which of these explanations is correct? As in the previous biases
discussed, there appears to be no one factor that accounts for the bias,
but several contributing factors.
4.4.7 Origin of Biases
Where do they come from?
We have now considered several biases that enter into the process of
making causal attributions. Why do they occur? Some represent
cognitive shortcuts, ways of cutting through masses of available
information efficiently to reach a good explanation.
Some of the attribution biases, such as the fundamental attribution
error, may come from the fact that people routinely overestimate the
strength of any cause of an outcome. When a cause for a particular
event is suggested to us, we tend to look for evidence that will support
that cause. So, for example, if a roommate is studying furiously for an
exam and we believe her to be a diligent student, we bring other
examples of her studious diligence to mind, thus, inferring that her
diligent nature is the important cause of her current studious behaviour.
Other biases arise from peoples efforts to satisfy their own needs and
motives. In addition to the need for a coherent understanding of the

72
world, people have other needs0for love, revenge, self-esteem, prestige,
material goods, and so on. These factors, too, play a substantial role in
biasing the causal attributions. Many of these motivational factors fall
into two categories: self-serving biases that enhance self-esteem and
biases that enhance the sense that people can control their lives.
Finally, biases also stem from the desire to impress others. People
typically want to create a favourable impression in the minds of other
people and therefore adopt certain of their behaviors as strategic means
of enhancing their self-presentation. Most biases seem to stem from a
combination of factors that include cognitive factors, that motivational
needs, and self-presentational concerns.
4.5 APPLICATIONS
Attribution theory can be applied to juror decision making. Jurors use
attributions to explain the cause of the defendant's intent and actions
related to the criminal behavior. The attribution made (situational or
dispositional) might affect a juror's punitiveness towards the defendant.
In Marketing Communication
The Attribution theories have been used as a tool to analyze causal
attributions made by consumers and its effectiveness in marketing
communication.
In clinical psychology
Attribution theory has had a big application in clinical psychology.
Abramson, Seligman, and Teasdale developed a theory of the
depressive attributional style, claiming that individuals who tend to
attribute their failures to internal, stable and global factors are more
vulnerable to clinical depression. The Attributional Style Questionnaire
(ASQ) was developed back in 1996 to assess whether individuals have
the depressogenic attributional style.
Learned helplessness
The concept of learned helplessness emerged from animal research in
which psychologists Martin Seligman and Steven F. Maier discovered
that dogs classically conditioned to an electrical shock which they could
not escape, subsequently failed to attempt to escape an avoidable shock
in a similar situation. They argued that learned helplessness applied to
human psychopathology. In particular, individuals who attribute the
negative outcomes to internal, stable and global factors reflect a view in
which they have no control over their situation. It is suggested that this

73
aspect of not attempting to better a situation exacerbates negative
mood, and may lead to clinical depression and related mental illnesses.
In Classroom settings

Students and teachers are motivated to understand what causes certain

things to happen in the classroom and at school. This idea is known as
the attribution process. For example, if a student is disruptive, a teacher
will determine what is causing this behavior. They may conclude that, it
is due to the inattention, another student, family problems at home, etc.
If a student sees that another student is given an award over them, they
may attribute this to perhaps their race, gender, etc., and decided that
there is no hope in achieving the same reward themselves. Attribution
can also be divided into two categories, which are external and internal
causes. An example of an internal cause may be that a student was a
hard worker, and thus this is why they received an award. An external
cause may be that the student was lucky in getting the award. There are
many different ways in which people can attribute the behavior and the
things that happen around them. According to research, teachers and
students can attribute or explain their environment around them from at
least three perspectives: consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness.
Consensus is how much a person’s behavior is in alignment with the
group. For example, if a student is disruptive, a teacher may comment
that “no one else is acting like this.” This attributes the bad behavior to
the student because their actions are not in alignment with the class. If
the entire class were disruptive, the teacher would have to attribute the
bad student’s behavior to something else.
Consistency is whether the behavior is normal for the student. If a
student is usually well-behaved but suddenly is out of control, the
teacher will probably attribute this to something external to the student.
However, if the student is behaving normally, the teacher will probably
attribute this to some internal cause. This also applies to the teacher. If
the teacher’s behavior changes, the student may begin to investigate
and ask questions. On the other hand, if the teacher behaves normally,
the students may attribute this to the teacher’s character.

Distinctiveness is how varied a person’s behavior is as the situation

changes. Low distinctiveness means the person’s behavior never
changes, while high is the opposite. For example, some teachers are
always calm, no matter what. Therefore, if they are excited suddenly,
students will probably look for an external cause for this behavior
change. In addition, some students are always difficult and disruptive. If

74
 a student is quiet and working one day, the teacher may become
suspicious because of this behavior change.
Making conclusions like this can naturally lead to mistakes. The error of
discounting external causes and overly emphasizing the internal causes
is known as fundamental attribution error. As teachers, we often blame
students rather than looking at our classroom management style, when
they are disruptive. In other words, people like to blame individuals
rather than look at factors that led to the behavior.
Another attribution error is self-serving bias. Self-serving bias attributes
success to one’s actions while blaming others for failure. For example,
when students do well academically or behaviourally, a teacher will often
take credit for this. However, when students are misbehaving, it is the
students’ fault and not the teachers fault.
LET US SUM UP
Attribution studies consider how people understand the causes of others’
and their own, behavior. In considering that people act like “naive
scientists,” Attribution theories seek to explain how people look for
situational and dispositional causes behind behavior. Jones and Davis’s
correspondent inference theory of attribution focuses on how closely an
overt behaviour represents a specific underlying intention, trait, or
disposition. Kelley’s model of causal attribution focuses on the role of
three kinds of information: consensus, consistencyand Distinctive
information.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Choose the most appropriate answer

1. The whole is often greater than the sum of its parts
a. Cognitive Approach b. Slime effect
c. Internal attributions d. Gestalt psychology
2. The process through which we form impressions of others
a. Distinctiveness b. Impression management

c. Impression formation d. External attributions

3. Do our best to look good to others when we meet them for the first
time

a. actor-observer bias b. Impression management

c. Impression formation d. discounting principle
4. A general theory of human behavior held by ordinary people.

75
 a. Naïve psychology b. Cognitive Approach
c. other-enhancement d. Gestalt psychology
5. People’s tendency to look for an association between a particular
effect and a particular cause across a number of different conditions.
a. Discounting principle b. Other-enhancement
c.Covation d. Fundamental attribution error

6. People consistently exaggerate their own contributions to shared

activities, a bias called the
a. Actor-observer bias b. Other-enhancement
c. Consistency information d. Self-centred bias
State whether the following statements are true or false
7. Slim effect-a tendency to form very negative impressions of others
who” lick upward but kick downward; that is, persons in a work setting
who play up to their superiors but treat subordinates with disdain and
contempt.

8. Internal attributions include all the causes external to the person,

such as pressure from others, money, the nature of the social situation,
the weather, and so on.

9. The role of a given cause in producing a given effect is discounted if

other plausible causes are also present is termed as discounting
principle.
10. According to Jones and Davis, there is only one cue that we can use
to determine
whether a person’s behavior reflects an underlying disposition.

11. Low degrees of physiological arousal give rise to a search for an

appropriate
attribution.

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Gestalt psychology
2. Impression formation
3. Impression management
4. Naïve psychology
5. Covariation
6. Self-centred bias

76
7. True
8. False
9. True
10. True
11. False
12. False

GLOSSARY
Actor-observer bias : attribution theory
Attributions : correspondent inference theory

Covariation : defensive attribution

Discounting principle : illusion of control
Just world : locus of control
Misattribution : naïve psychology
Over justification : self-centred bias

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Bring out the basic principles of causal attribution.
2. Explain how attributions are made, using Kelly’s model?
3. Discuss the attributions about self.
4. State the Asch’s research on central and peripheral traits.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Branscombe, N.R., Baron, R.A., &Kapur, P. (2017). Social Psychology
(14th Ed.). Chennai, India: Pearson India Education Services Private
Limited.

2. Myers, D.G., & Twenge, J.M. (2017). Social Psychology. (12th Ed.). New
York, NY: McGraw – Hill Education.
3. Feldman, R. S. (2001). Social Psychology (3rd Ed.) New Delhi, India:
Pearson India Education Services Private Limited.
4. Schultz, W., &Oskamp, S. (2000). Social Psychology: An Applied
Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

5. Schneider, F.W., Gruman, J.A., & Coutts, L.M. (2005) Applied Social
Psychology- understanding and addressing social and practical
problems. New York, NY: Sage publications.

77
 BLOCK III
ATTITUDES AND INTERPERSONAL ATTRACTION

UNIT-5: IMPRESSION FORMATION AND

MANAGEMENT
UNIT-6: SOCIAL COGNITION
UNIT-7: ATTITUDE: FORMATION, CHANGE AND
MEASUREMENT
UNIT-8: PREJUDICE-ORIGINS AND METHODS OF
REDUCING
UNIT-9: INTERPERSONAL ATTRACTION

78
UNIT - 5

IMPRESSION FORMATION AND MANAGEMENT

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
5.1 Impression Formation
5.1.1 Asch’s Research
5.1.2 Impression Formation: A Cognitive Approach

5.2 Impression Management

5.2.1 Tactics of impression Management
5.2.2 Impression Management: The Role of Cognitive Load
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Glossary

Answers to check your progress

Model questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
Making a good first impression on others,does seem to exertA strong
and even lasting effect on the other person’s perception. In this unit, we
will discuss about the way other persons percetion us can strongly
influence their behaviour toward us.

OBJECTIVES
After reading this you will be able to:
• describe about the Impression Formation
• narrate the Asch’s Research on attribution
• explain the Cognitive approach of Impression Formation
• discuss about Impression Management
ilustrate the tactics of impression Management

79
xplain the role of cognitive load on Impression Management

5.1 IMPRESSION FORMATION

How We Combine-and Use-Social Information

What are first impressions? How are they formed? And what steps can
we take to make sure that we make good first impressions on others?
These are among the questions we will now consider. Before turning to
modern research on impression formation and impression management,
however, let’s briefly examine the research that started social
psychologists thinking about formation are a series of influential studies
by Solomon Asch.

5.1.1 Asch’s Research on Central and Peripheral Traits

As we have already seen, some aspects of social perception, such as
attribution, require lots of hard mental work: it is not always easy to draw
inferences about others motives or traits form their behaviour. In
contrast, forming first impressions seems to be relatively effortless. As
Solomon Asch put it in a classic paper on this topic: ‘’We look at a
person and immediately a certain impression of this character forms
itself in us. A glance, a few spoken words are sufficient to tell us a story
about a highly complex matter’’
At the time Asch conducted his research, social psychologists were
heavily influenced by the work of Gestalt psychologists, specialists in the
field of perception. A basic principle of Gestalt psychology was this: ‘’the
whole is often greater than the sum of its parts’’. This means that what
we perceive is often more than the sum of individual sensations. To
illustrate this point for yourself, simply look at any painting. What you see
is not individual splotches of paint on the canvas; rather you perceive an
integrated wholea portrait, a landscape, a bowl of fruit, whatever the
artist intended. So, as Gestalt psychologists suggested, each h part of
the world around us is interpreted, and understood, only interpreted, and
understood, only in terms of its relationships to other parts or stimuli.

Asch applied these ideas to understanding impression formation,

suggesting that we do not form impressions simply by adding together
all of the traits we observe in other persons. Rather, we perceive these
traits in relation to one another so that the traits cease to exist
individually and become, instead, part of an integrated, dynamic whole.
He gave individuals lists of the traits that are supposedly possessed by a

80
stranger, and then asked them to indicate their impressions of this
person by putting check marks next to traits that they felt fit their overall
impression of the stranger.

Interlligent-skillful-undustrious-warm-determined-practica-cautious
Intelligent-skillful-industrious-cold-determined-practical-cautious

As you can see, the lists differ only with respect to two words: warm and
cold. Thus, if people form impressions merely by adding together
individual traits, the impressions formed by persons exposed to these
two lists shouldn’t differ very much. However, this was not the case.
Persons who read the list containing warm were much more likely to
view the stranger as generous, happy, good-natured, sociable, popular,
and altruistic than were people who read the list containing cold. The
words warm and cold, Asch concluded, described the central traits-ones
that strongly shaped overall impressions of the stranger and coloured
the other adjectives in the lists.

On the basis of many studies such as this one, Asch concluded that
forming impressions of others involves more than simply adding together
individual traits. As he put it: ‘’there is an attempt to form an impression
of the entire person... As soon as two or more traits are understood to
belong to one person they cease to exist as isolated traits, and come
into immediate .interactionThe subject perceives not this and that
quality, but the two entering into a particular relation.
5.1.2 Impression Formation: A Cognitive Approach
Creative as it was, Asch’s research was only the beginning where the
study of impression formation-the process through which we form
impressions of others-is concerned. Social psychologists have found it
very useful to examine impression formation in terms of basic cognitive
processes. For instance, when we meet others for the first time, we
don’t pay equal attention to all kinds-the kinds of input we view as being
most useful. Further, in order to form lasting first impressions, we must
enter the various kinds of information into memory so that we can recall
it at later times. And, of course, our first impressions of others will
depend, to a degree, on our own characteristics.

5.2 IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT

The Fine Art of Looking Good
The desire to make a favourable impression on others is a strong one,
so most of us do our best to look good to others when we meet them for

81
the first time. Social psychologists use the term impression management
to describe these efforts to make a good impression on others, and the
results of their research on such efforts suggest that they are worthwhile:
Persons who perform impression management successfully, often gain
the important advantages in many situations.

What tactics of individuals use to make favourable impression on

others? Which work best?
5.2.1 Tactics of impression Management and their Relative Success
While individuals use many different techniques for boosting their image,
most of these fall into two major categories: self-enhancement, efforts to
increase their appeal to others, other-enhancements and the efforts to
make the target person feel good in various ways.

With respect to self-enhancement, specific strategies include efforts to

boost one’s physical appearance through style of dress, personal
grooming, and the use of various props. For example, eyeglasses, which
have been found to encourage impressions of intelligence? Additional
tactics of self-enhancement involve efforts to describe one in positive
terms, explaining, for instance, how they overcame daunting obstacles
or rose to meet a challenge; other findings indicate that many persons
use this tactic to increase their appeal to potential dating partners and
they describe themselves in very favourable terms, in order to impress
thepersons they want to date. In short, they bend the truth to enhance
their own appeal.

Turning to others-enhancement, individuals use many different tactics to

induce positive moods and reactions in others. A large body or research
findings suggest that such reactions, in turn, play an important role in
generating liking for the person responsible for them. The most
commonly used tactic of others enhancement is flattery-making
statements that praise the target person is associated. Additional tactics
of other-enhancement involve expressing agreement with the target
person’s views, showing a high degree of interest in this person doing
small favours for them, asking for their advice and feedback in some
manner or expressing liking for them nonverbally.

In one large-scale study involving more than 1400 employees, Wayne

and his associates found that social skills were the single best predictor
of job performance ratings and assessments of potential for promotion
for employees in a wide range of jobs. These findings and those of many

82
related studies indicate that impression management tactics often do
succeed in enhancing the appeal of persons who use them effectively.
However, we should hasten to add that the use of these tactics involves
potential pitfalls, if they are overused or used ineffectively, they can
backfire, in a though provoking study, Vonk found strong evidence for
what he terms the slime effecta tendency to form very negative
impressions of others who lick upward but kick downward; that is,
persons in a work setting who play up to their superiors but treat
subordinates with disdain and contempt. The moral of these findings is
clear: while tactics of impression management often succeed, this is not
always the case; sometimes they can boomerang, adversely affecting
the reactions to the persons who use them.

5.2.2 Impression Management: The Role of Cognitive Load

That we try to make a favourable impression on others in many
situations is obvious, and this makes a great deal of common sense. We
have strong reasons for wanting to ‘’look good’’ in job interviews, on first
dates, and in many other contexts. Generally, we can do quite a good
job in this respect because we have practiced impression management
skills for many years. As a result we can engage in positive self-
presentation in a relatively automatic and effortless manner-we try to
make a good first impression on others, however, are very demanding
ones: a lot is going on, so we do not have the luxury of concentrating
solely or entirely on making a good first impression. For instance, when
professors interview for jobs at universities, they are usually required to
give a formal presentation about their research. Such talks require lots of
cognitive effort, so while giving them; the task or impression
management may recede into the background, with the result that, the
person giving the talk does a less effective job at presenting himself or
herself favourably. For instance, they may make a comment that is
unflattering to the research of one of the people in the audience.

Some persons are very uncomfortable in social situations, because they

feel anxious and tend to a worry about how others will perceive them.
For such persons, being busty with other task may distract them from
such feelings and thoughts and so actually enhance their ability to
present themselves favourably. In fact research by Pontari and
Schlenkar in 2000 indicates that this is true. They had persons who were
extraverts and persons who were introverts take part in a mock job
interview in which, they tried to present themselves either as they were
or as the opposite kind of person. During the interview, participants

83
 either were busty performing another task or were not busy. Results
indicated that for the extraverts, cognitive busyness is interfered with
their ability to present themselves as introverts. For introverts, however,
the opposite was true: trying to remember the eight-digit number
actually. Improved their ability to appear to be extraverts. Pontari and
Schlenkar in 2000 interpreted these findings as indicating that, being
busy with other tasks prevented introverts from feeling anxious and
focusing on their fear of doing poorly. Thus, for such persons, cognitive
distraction was actually a plus-it helped them to do a better job at self-
presentation. Once again, therefore, a cognitive perspective helps us to
understand the complex processes at work when people meet for the
first time and try-often while doing several other things- to present them
in a favourable light.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
Choose the most appropriate answer

1. The whole is often greater than the sum of its parts

a. Cognitive Approach b. Slime effect
b. Internal attributions d. Gestalt psychology

2. The process through which we form impressions of others

a. Distinctiveness b. Impression management
b. Impression formation d. External attribution

3. Do our best to look good to others when we meet them for the first time
a. Actor-observer bias b. Impression management
c. Impression formation d. discounting principle

4. A general theory of human behavior held by ordinary people.

a. Naïve psychology b. Cognitive Approach
C. other-enhancement d. Gestalt psychology

5. People’s tendency to look for an association between particular

effects

and a particular cause across a number of different conditions.

a. Discounting principle b. Slime effect
c. Co variation d. Fundamental attribution error

84
 6. People’s consistently exaggerate their own contributions to shared
activities, a bias called the

a. actor-observer bias b. other-enhancement

c. Consistency information d. Self-centred bias

State whether the following statements are true or false

7. Slime effect-a tendency to form very negative impressions of others who

lick upward but kick downward; that is, persons in a work setting who
play up to their superiors but treat subordinates with disdain and
contempt.
8. Internal attributions include all causes external to the person, such as
pressure from others, money, the nature of the social situation, the
weather, and soon.
9. The role of a given cause in producing a given effect is discounted if
other plausible causes that are also present are termed as discounting
principle.
10. According to Jones and Davis, there is only one cue that we can use to
determine whether a person’s behavior reflects an underlying
disposition.
11. Low degrees of physiological arousal give rise to a search for an
appropriate attribution.
GLOSSARY

Actor-observer bias : attribution theory

Attributions : Correspondent inference theory
Co variation : defensive attribution

Discounting principle : Illusion of control

Just world : locus of control
Misattribution : naïve psychology

Over justification : self-centred bias

Impression management: efforts to make a good impression on others,
and the results of their research on such efforts suggest that they are
worthwhile:

85
 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. Gestalt psychology 2. Impression formation
3.Impression management 4. Naïve psychology

5.Covariation 6. Self-centred bias

7.True 8. False
9.True 10.True

11.False 12.False

MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Bring out the basic principles of causal

2. Explain how attributions are made, using Kelly’s model?
3. Discuss the attributions about self.
4. State the Asch’s research on central and peripheral traits.
5. Mention the impression management process.
SUGGESTED READINGS
Branscombe, N.R., Baron, R.A., &Kapur, P. (2017). Social Psychology
(14th Ed.). Chennai, India: Pearson India Education Services Private
Limited.

Myers, D.G., & Twenge, J.M. (2017). Social Psychology. (12th Ed.). New
York, NY: McGraw – Hill Education.
Feldman, R. S. (2001). Social Psychology (3rd Ed.) New Delhi, India:
Pearson India Education Services Private Limited.
Schultz, W., &Oskamp, S. (2000). Social Psychology: An Applied
Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Schneider, F.W., Gruman, J.A., & Coutts, L.M. (2005) Applied Social
Psychology- understanding and addressing social and practical
problems. New York, NY: Sage publications.

86
UNIT - 6

SOCIAL COGNITION

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
6.1 Introduction to Social cognition
6.2 Schemas
6.2.1 The impact of Schemas
6.2.2 Evidence for the Self-confirming Nature of Schemas:

6.3 Heuristic and Automatic Processing

6.3.1 Automatic Processing in Social Thought
6.4 Potential Sources of Error in Social cognition
6.4.1 Negativity Bias
6.4.2 The Neural Basis of the Negativity Bias
6.4.3 The Optimistic Bias

6.4.4 Counterfactual thinking

6.4.5 Magical Thinking
6.5 Affect and Cognition

6.5.1 Influence of Affect on cognition

6.5.2 The Influence of Cognition on Affect
6.5.3 Cognition and the Regulation of Affective States

Let us sum up
Check your progress
Glossary

Answers to check your progress

Model questions
Suggested Readings

87
OVERVIEW
Social cognition is a very important area of research in social
psychology. To acquaint you with some of the truly fascinating aspects
of the social thought that are uncovered by the social psychologists we
will focus on the following topics. First, we will examine a basic
component of social thought-schemas. These are mental frameworks
that allow us to organize large amounts of information in an efficient
manner. Once formed, however, these frameworks exert strong an
efficient manner. Once formed, however, these frameworks exert strong
effect on social thought-effects that are not always beneficial from the
point of view of accuracy. Second, we will consider the several mental
shortcuts mentioned above, techniques that people use to reduce the
cognitive effort involved in making sense of the social world. Third, we
will examine several specific tendencies in social thought-tendencies
that can lead us to false conclusions about others or to other kinds of
efforts in our efforts to understand the social world. Many of these errors
exist, so here we will focus on several that appear to exert strong effects
on social thought. Finally, we will focus on the complex interplay
between our feelings or moods and various aspects of social cognition.
6.1 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL COGNITION
Thinking about others, and about the social world in general, is one of
life’s major tasks. We want to understand the people around us-to know
why they do and say the things they do.
In order to make judgments about others, we must somehow notice, sort
remember, and use a wealth of social information. As you probably know
from your own experience, the task of doting so is anything simple. The
raw materials for social thought are all around us, all the time. Thus,
even when making relatively simple judgments about others, we have a
truly vast array of potential input at our disposal. We know what people
look like, what they ‘ve said at various times, and how they acted in
different situations. We have expectations about them and can compare
their current words or deeds to these personal predictions. Finally we
have feelings about them, and these too enter into the picture.

Our minds work as we try to understand the world around us and

function in it in adaptive ways. Cognition, is the basis of social cognition.
Social psychologists use this term to refer to the ways in which we
interpret, analyze, remember, and use information about the social world
in other words, how we think about other people.

88
In many situations, we can process information from the world around us
in a seemingly automatic, effortless, and unintentional manner. This is
why we can often do two things at once-drive and listen to the radio, tie
our shoelaces while talking to a friend, brush our teeth while thinking
about our plans for the weekend. Social cognition, too, can often
proceed on automatic. For instance, once we know that someone
belongs to a specific social group, we tend to assume, often in an
automatic and unintentional manner, that they possess certain traits.
Second, and on the other side of the cognitive coin, certain incidents
also illustrate the fact that our cognitive capacities are definitely limited.
Yes, a driver could sometimes talk on the phone and drive at the same
time. However, the conversation could be so absorbing or complex that
he ‘’loses it’’ where driving was concerned and put himself and many
other motorists in danger. This is another important theme of research
on social cognition: There are definite limits on our capacity to think
about other people. For this reason, we often adopt shortcuts designed
to save mental effort and preserve our precious cognitive capacity. While
these succeed in reducing such effort, they do so at a cost and
sometimes, they lead us into serious errors in our thinking about others.
Finally, traffic incidents also illustrate the important links between
cognition and affect-how we think and how we feel. After getting away
for the intersection, the driver suddenly could realize what he had done.
As the thought about what might have occurred a devastating or even
fatal accidenthe might experience a powerful emotional reaction. As we
will soon see, the link between cognition and affect works both ways: our
thinking can influence our emotions and feelings, and our feelings, in
turn, can shape our thoughts.

6.2 SCHEMAS: MENTAL FRAMEWORKS FOR ORGANIZING-AND

USING-SOICAL INFORMATION
Once schemas are formed, they exert powerful effects on several
aspects of social cognition, and therefore on our social behaviour. Let’s
take a closer look at these efforts to make sense out of the complex
social world around us.

6.2.1 The Impact of Schemas on Social Cognition

How do schemas influence social thought? Research findings suggest
that they exerta strong effect on three basic processes:

a) Attention
b) Encoding

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 c) Retrieval
Attention refers to what information we notice. Encoding refers to the
processes through which information we notice gets stored in memory.
Finally, retrieval refers to the processes through which we recover
information from memory in order to use in some manner-for example, in
making judgments about other people.

a) Attention: Schemas have been found to influence all of these basic

aspects of social cognition. With respect to attention, schemas often act
as a kind of filter: information consistent with them is more likely to be
noticed and to enter our consciousness. Information that does not fit with
our schemas is often ignored, unless it is so extreme that we can’t help
but notice it. And even, it is often discounted as ‘the exception that
proves the rule’’.
b) Encoding: Turning to encoding-what information is entered into memory-
it is a basic fact that information that becomes the focus of our attention
is much more likely to be stored in long term memory. So again, in
general, it is information that is consistent with our schemas that is
encoded. However, information that is sharply inconsistent with our
schemas-information that does not agree with our expectations in a give
a situation may sometimes is encoded into a separate memory location
and marked with a unique ‘’Tag’’ After all, it is so unexpected that it
literally seizes our attention and almost forces us to place it in ling-term
memory. That leads us to the third process: retrieval from memory.
c) Retrieval: What information is most readily remembered-information
that is consistent with our schemas or information that is inconsistent
with these mental frameworks? This is a complex question that the has
been investigated in many different studies. Overall, this research
suggests that people tend to report, remembering and using, information
that is consistent with schemas to greater extent that information that is
inconsistent. However, this action could response tendencies. In other
words, information inconsistent with schemas might be present as
strongly or even more strongly in memory than information consistent
with schemas, but people simply have a tendency to report consistent
with schemas, but people simply have a tendency to report information
consistent with their schemas. In fact, this appears to be the case. When
measures of memory are corrected for this response tendency or when
individual are asked to actually recall information rather than simply use
it or indicate whether they recognize it, a strong tendency to remember
schema-incongruent information appears. So, there is no simple answer
to the question, which do we remember better-information consistent of
inconsistent with our schemas or expectations?’’Rather, this depends on

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the measure of memory employed. In general, people report the
information consistent with their schemas, but, in fact, information
inconsistent with schemas may b strongly present in memory, too.
At this point, it is important to note that the effects of schemas on social
cognition are strongly influenced by several other factors. For instance,
such effects are stronger when schemas are themselves strong and well
developed ad stronger when cognitive load-how much mental effort we
are expanding at a given time-high rather than low. In other words, when
we are trying to handle a lot of social information at one time, we fall
back upon schemas because these frameworks allow us to process this
information with less effort.

Before concluding, we should call attention to the fact that although

schemas are based on our past experience and are often helpful to us,
they have a serious downside, too. Bu influencing what we notice,
entering into memory, and later remembering, schemas can produce
distortions in our understanding of the social world. For example,
schemas play an important role in prejudice, forming one basic
component of stereotypes about specific social groups. And,
unfortunately, once they are formed, schemas are often very resistant to
change-unfortunately, once they are formed, schemas are often very
resistant to change and they show a strong perseverance effect,
remaining unchanged even in the face of contradictory information. For
instance, when we encounter information inconsistent with our schemas,
such as a highly intelligent and cultivated person who is also a member
of a minority group, we do not necessarily alter our schema. Rather, we
may place such persons into a special category or subtype consisting of
persons who do not confirm to the schema or stereotype. Perhaps even
worse, schemas can sometimes be self-fulfilling: they influence the
social world in ways that make it consistent with the schema! Let’s take
a closer look at this process, known in social psychology as the self-
fulfilling prophecy or the self-confirming nature of schemas.

6.2.2 Evidence for the Self-confirming Nature of Schemas

Let us take the example of bank failure. Many banks faced the following
situation: they were quite solvent, but rumours circulated indicating that
they were not. As a result, so many depositors lined up to withdraw their
funds that, ultimately, the banks really did fail and they did not have
enough money on hand to meet all of their customer’s demands. In a
sense, depositors in the banks actually caused their own worst fears to
be confirmed

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.
Schemas can produce effects, which are described as a self-fulfilling
prophecy-prediction that, in sense, make themselves come true. Classic
evidence for such effects was provided by Robert Rosenthal and Lenore
Jacobson during the turbulent 1960s. During that period, there was
growing concern over the possibility that teacher’s beliefs about minority
students-their schemas for such youngsters who were causing them to
treat such children differently than majority-group students and that, as a
result, the minority, group of students were falling further and further
behind. No, the teachers were not overtly prejudiced; rather, their
behaviour was shaped by their expectation and beliefs-their schemas for
different racial or ethnic groups.
To gather evidence on the possible occurrence of such effects,
Rosenthal and Jacobson conducted an ingenious study that exerted a
powerful effect to subsequent research in social psychology. They went
to an elementary school in San Francisco and administered an IQ test to
all students. They then told the teachers that some of the students had
scored very high and were about to bloom academically. In fact, this was
not true and the researchers chose the names of these students
randomly. But Rosenthal and Jacobson predicted that this information
might change teacher’s expectations and schemas about these children,
and hence their behaviour toward them. Teachers were not given such
information about other students, who constituted a control group.

To find out whether this was true, Rosenthal and Jacobson returned
eight months later rand tested both groups of children once again.
Results were clear-and dramatic: Those who had been described as
bloomers to their teachers showed significantly larger gains on theIQ
test than those in the control group. In short, teacher’s beliefs about the
students had operated in a self-fulfilling manner where the students that
teachers believed would bloom academically actually did.

How did such effects occur? In part, through the impact of schemas on
the teachers behaviour. Further research indicated that teachers gave
the bloomers more attention, more challenging tasks, more and better
feedback and more opportunities it respond in class. In short, the
teachers acted in ways that benefited the students they expected to
bloom, and, as a result these youngsters rally did.

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 As a result of this early, research, social psychologists began to search
for other self-confirming effects of schemas in many settings-in
education, therapy, and business, to name just a few. They soon
uncovered much; evidence that schemas do often shape behaviour in
ways that lead to their confirmation. For example, they found those
teachers lower expectancies for success by students or females are
often undermined with the confidence of these groups and areactually
contributed to poorer performance by them. In view of these and many
relate findings, we now know that stereotypes not only may influence-
they may, through their self-confirming effects shape social reality;; as
well.

6.3 HEURISTIC AND ATUTOMATIC PROCESSING: HOW WE

REDUCE OUR EFFORT IN SOCIAL COGNITION
Earlier we described an incident in which a driver talking on a cell phone
through a busy intersection. One reason why this may have happened is
that he had overloaded his cognitive capacity. The conversation he was
having been so absorbing that it did not leave even enough cognitive
resources for him to drive safely, even though driving was, for him, a
highly practiced activity that he could usually perform with very little
effort. In short, he may have entered a state of information overload: the
demands on this cognitive system were greater thanwhar it could
handle. Because we encounter situations like this quite often, we adopt
various strategies designed to stretch out cognitive resources-to let us
do more, with less effort, than would otherwise be the case. To be
successful, such strategies must meet two requirements. They must
provide a quick and simple way of dealing with large amounts of social
information, and they must work and they must be reasonably accurate
much of the time. Many potential shortcuts for reducing mental effort
exist, but among the time. Many potential shortcuts for reducing mental
effort exist, but among these perhaps the most useful are heuristics
where simple rules for making complex decisions or drawing inferences
in a rapid and seemingly effortless manner.
Another means of dealing with the fact the social world is complex yet
our information processing capacity is limited is to put many activities-
including some aspects of social thought and social behaviour on
automatic. Now let us see some factors like a) Representativeness, b)
Availability and c) Priming.
a) Representativeness
Suppose that you have just met your next-door neighbour for the first
time. While chatting with her, you notice that she is dressed in a

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 conservative manner, is very neat in her personal habits, has a very
large library in her home, and seems to be very gentle and a little shy.
Later you realize that, she never mentioned, what she does for a living.
Is she a business manager, a physician, a waitress, an attorney, a
dancer, or a librarian? One quick way of making a guess is to compare
her with other members of each of these occupations. How well does
she resemble persons you have met in each of these fields or, perhaps,
the typical member of these fields? If you proceed in this manner, you
may quickly conclude that she is probably a librarian; her traits seem
closer to those associated with this profession than they do to the trait
associated with being a physician, dancer, or executive. If you made
your judgment about your neighbour’s occupation in this manner, you
would be using the representativeness heuristic. In other words, you
would make your judgment on the basis of a relatively simple rule. The
more similar an individual is to typical members of a given group, the
more likely she or he is to belong to that group.

Sometimes, judgments based on representativeness are wrong, mainly

for the following reason. Decisions of judgments made on the basis of
this rule tend to ignore the base rates, the frequency with which given
events or patterns occur in the total population. In fact, there are many
more business managers than librarians-perhaps fifty times as many!
Thus, even though your neighbour seemed more similar to librarians
than to managers in her personal traits, the chances are actually higher
that she is in business than that she is a librarian. In this and related
ways, the representativeness heuristic, can lead to the errors in our
thinking about other persons.
b) Availability
Which are more common: words that start with the letter k(e.g., king) or
words with k as the third letter (e.g., awkward)? In English there are
more than twice as many words with k in the third position s there are
with k in the first position. Yet, despite this fact, when asked this
question most people guesses incorrectly. Why? In part because of the
operation of another heuristic-the availability heuristic, which suggests
that the easier it is to bring information to mind quite easily suggests that
it must be important and should influence our judgments and decisions.
But, relying on the availability in making social judgments can also lead
to errors. For instance, it can lead us to overestimate the likelihood of
events that are dramatic but rare, because they are easy to bring to
mind. Consistent with this principle, many people fear travel in airplanes

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more than travel in automobiles, even though the chance of dying in an
auto accident is hundreds of times higher.

Interestingly, research suggests that there is more to the availability

heuristic that merely the subjective ease with which relevant information
comes to mind. In addition, the amount of information we can bring to
mind seems to matter, too. The more information we can think of the
greater its impact on our judgments. Which of these two factors is more
important? The answer appears to involve the kind of judgment that we
are making. If it is one involving emotions or feelings, we tend to rely on
the ‘’amount’’ rule.

c) Priming
It is related to another especially important process: priming –increased
availability of information resulting from exposure to specific stimuli or
events.
Here’s a good example of such priming: During the first year of medical
school, many students experience the ‘’medical student syndrome’’: they
begin to suspect that they or others have many serious illnesses. An
ordinary headache may lead them to wonder if they have a brain tumour,
while a mild sore throat may lead to anxiety over the possibility of some
rare but fatal type of infection. What accounts for such effects? The
explanation favoured by social psychologists is as follows. The students
are exposed to descriptions of diseases day after day in their classes
and assigned readings. As a result, such information increases in
availability. This, in turn, leads them to imagine the worst when
confronted with mild symptoms.
6.3.2 Automatic Processing in Social Though
How We Manage To Do Two Things at Once?

As we have noted repeatedly, a central dilemma we face with respect to

social cognition is this: Our capacity to process information is limited, yet
daily life floods us with large amounts of information and requires us to
deal with it both effectively and also efficiently. As we have already seen
heuristics is one means of solving this problem. Another involves
automatic processing. This occurs when, after extensive experience with
a task or type of information, we reach the stage where we can perform
the task or process the information in a seemingly effortless, automatic,
and non conscious manner. You can remember your efforts to learn to
ride a bicycle. At first, you had to devote a lot of attention to this task; if
you did not, you would fall down! But as you mastered it, riding required

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less and less attention until. Finally, you could do it while thinking of
entirely different topics, or even while engaging in other tasks, such as
talking to a friend. So, in many cases, the shift from thecontrolled
processing to automatic processing is something we want to happen: it
saves us a great deal of effort.

Perhaps even more surprising, research findings indicate that schemas,

once activated, may even exert seemingly automatic effects on
behaviour. In other words, people may act in ways consistent with these
schemas, even though they do not intend to do so, and are unaware that
they are acting in this manner. A clear illustration of such effectsare
provided by research conducted by Bargh, Chen, and Burrows.

6.4 POTENTIAL SOURCES OF ERROR IN SOCIAL COGNITION

Why Total Rationality Is Rarer Than You Think?

Human beings are definitely not computers. Although we can imagine

being able to reason in a perfectly logical way, we know from our own
experience that we often fail. This is definitely true with respect to many
aspects of social thought. In our efforts to understand others and made
sense out of the social world, we are subject to a wide range of
tendencies, that, together, can lead us into serious error. In this section,
we will consider several of these ‘’tilts’’ in social cognition. Before doing
so, however, we should emphasize the following point: while these
aspects of social though do sometimes results in errors, they are also
quite adaptive. They often help us to focus on the kinds of information
that are most informative, and they reduce the effort required focus
understanding the social world.
6.4.1 Negativity Bias
The Tendency to Pay Extra Attention to Negative Information
Imagine that in describing someone you have not met, one of your,
friend mentions many positive things about this person-he or she is
pleasant, intelligent, good-looking, friendly, and so on. The, your friend
mentions on negative piece of information: this person is also somewhat
suspicious. What are you likely to remember? Research findings indicate
that, probably, the negative information will stand out in your memory.
Moreover, because of this, the negative information will have a stronger
influence on your desire to meet this person than will any one equivalent
piece of the positive information. Such funding suggests that we show
sensitivity to negative information than to positive information.

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Why do we have this tendency? From an evolutionary perspective,
negative information reflects features of the external world that may be
threatening to our safety or well being. For this reason, it is especially
important that we be sensitive to such stimuli and thus, able to respond
to them quickly. The results of many studies indicate that we are faster
and more accurate in detecting negative facial expressions than positive
facial expressions.

6.4.2 The Neural Basis of the Negativity BIAS

In recent years, a growing number of social psychologists have begun to

use modern techniques for studying the brain to uncover the neural
bases of social thought. For instance, in one informative study, to and
his colleagues showed participants neutral, positive, or negative stimuli
that are the photos, in the context of other, neutral stimuli. The neutral
stimuli were photos of a plate, and Positive stimuli were photos of a red
Ferrari or people enjoying a roller coaster ride. Negative stimuli included
photos of a mutilated face or a coaster ride. Negative stimuli included
photos of a mutilated face or a handgun aimed at the camera.
Participants were asked to look at each picture and then to indicate their
evaluation by pressing keys on a computer keyboard. Electrical activity
in their brains was recorded as they watched and responded to the
photos. This activity also known as late positive potentials or LPPs for
short had previously been shown to reflect the evaluative-categorization
stage of social cognition-Results indicated that negative stimuli produced
large LPPs than did positive stimuli. These findings suggest that the
negativity bias operates during very early stages of social cognition-the
stage at which were first evaluating a stimulus on a simple positive and
negative dimension. This finding is consistent with the evolutionary
perspective, which suggests that quick responses to negative stimuli are
often important for survival.
In sum, we appear to have a strong tendency to show enhanced
sensitivity to negative information. This tendency seems to be a very
basis aspect of social thought and may, in fact be built into the structure
and functioning of our brains.

6.4.3 The Optimistic Bias

Although the tendency to notice negative information is a strong one, we
also have a seemingly opposite tendency known as the Optimistic Bias-
a predisposition to expect things to turn out well overall. In fact, research
findings indicate that most people believe that they are more likely than

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others to experience positive events, and less likely to experience
negative events. This tendency is seen in many different contexts, where
most people believe that they are more likely than others to get a good
job, have a happy marriage, and live to a ripe old age, but less likely to
experience negative outcomes such as being fired, getting seriously ill,
or being divorced.

Yet another illustration is with respect to the planning fallacy-our

tendency to believe that we can get more done in a given period of time
than we actually can. Due to this aspect of the optimistic bias,
governments frequently announce overly optimistic schedules for public
words e.g., new roads, new airports, and new bridges and the individual
adopt unrealistically optimistic schedules for their own work.

Why do we fall prey to this particular kind of optimism? According to

Buehler, Griffin, and Ross, social psychologists who have studied this
tendency in detail, several factors play a role. One is that when
individuals make predictions about how long it will take them to complete
a given task, they enter a planning or narrative mode of thought in which
they focus primarily not the future and how they will perform the task.
This in turn, prevents them from looking backward in time and
remembering how long similar tasks took them in the past. As a result,
one important reality check that might help them, avoid being overly
optimistic is removed. In addition, when individuals do consider past
experiences in which the tasks took than expected, they tend to attribute
such outcomes to factors outside their control. The result: They tend to
overlook important potential obstacles when predicting how long a task
will take, and fall prey to the panning fallacy. These predictions have
been confirmed in several studies, so they do seem to provide important
insights into the origins of the tendency to make optimistic prediction
about task completion.

This is not the entire story, though. Research suggests that another
factor, too, may play an important role in the planning fallacy: motivation
to complete a task. When predicting what will happen, the individuals
often guess what they want to happen. In cases in which they are
strongly motivated to complete a task, therefore, they make
overoptimistic predictions when we will complete tasks which are indeed
influenced by our hopes and desires: we want to finish early or on time,
so we predict that we will.

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Similar findings have been obtained in several related studies, so there
appear to be strong grounds for concluding that, sometimes, thinking too
much can get us into serious cognitive trouble. Yes, trying to think
systematically and rationally about important matters is important; such
high-effort activities do often yield better decisions and more accurate
judgments that than shoot from the overdone. When it is, the result may
be increased confusion and frustration rather than better and more
accurate decision or conclusions.

6.4.4 Counterfactual thinking

Thought about what might have been-known in social psychology as
counterfactual thinking-occur in a wide range of situations, not just ones
in which we experience disappointments. Remember the driver who
drifted across a busy intersection while talking on his cell phone? He
imagined what might have happened if he had not been so lucky. He
imagined worse outcomes than he experienced not better ones. So,
counterfactual thinking can involve imagining either better outcome or
worse ones than we actually experience.

These are not the only effects of counterfactual thinking, however. As

noted by Neal Rose, a social psychologist who has conducted many
studies on counterfactual thinking, engaging in such thought can yield a
wide range of results, some of which are beneficial and some of which
are costly to the persons involved. For instance, counterfactual thinking
can, depending on its focus, yield either boosts to or reductions in our
current moods. If individuals imagine upward counterfactuals, comparing
their current outcomes with more favourable ones than they
experienced, the result may be the strong feelings of dissatisfaction or
envy, especially if they do not feel capable of obtaining better outcomes
in the future.

In sum, imaging what might have been in a given situation can yield
many effects, ranging from despair and intense regret on the one hand,
through hopefulness and increased determination to do better on the
other. Our tendency to think not only about what is but, also about what
might be, therefore, can have far reaching effects on many aspects of
our social thought and social behaviour.

6.4.5 Magical Thinking

Answer truthfully

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Suppose someone who had died of cancer had bought a sweater sealed
in a plastic bag and put it way in a drawer; if someone gave the sweater
to you a year after the person’s death, would you wear it?
Imagine that someone offered you a piece of chocolate shaped like a
spider-would you eat it? How about a chocolate shaped like some
human body part?

On the basis of purely rational considerations, you know what your

answers should be to these questions: No, yes, and yes. But are those
the answer you actually gave if you are like most person, perhaps not. In
fact, research findings indicate that, as human beings, we are quite
susceptible to what has findings indicate that, as human beings, we are
quite susceptible to what has been termed magical thinking. Such
thinking makes assumptions that do not hold up to rational scrutiny but
that are compelling nonetheless. One principle of such magical thinking
is the law of contagion: it holds that when two objects touch, they pass
properties to one another, and the effects of that contact may last well
beyond the end of the contact between them. Another is the law of
similarity, which suggests that things that resemble one another share
basic properties. Still a third assumes that one’s thoughts can influence
the physical world in a manner not governed by the laws of physicist.
The law of contagion is linked to the question about the sweater and the
law of similarity has to do with the chocolate and the third principles
trade to the possibility that thinking about some event can make it
happen

In one study on this topic,Rozin, Marwith, and Nemeroff asked

individuals to rate a sweater owned either by a person with AIDS by a
healthy person, which had been left of contagion, participants rated the
sweater less favourably when it had been owned by person with AIDS,
even though they knew that there was no chance they could catch the
diseases from the sweater.
Thought Suppression

At some time or other, everyone has tried to suppress certain thoughts-

to keep ideas and images from coming into consciousness. For
example, a person on a diet may try to avoid thinking about delicious
desserts, someone who is trying to quit smoking might try to avoid
thoughts about the pleasures of lighting up, and someone who is
nervous about giving a speech might try to avoid thinking about all the
ways, in which he or she risks looking foolish while speaking to a large
audience.

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Social Cognition: A Word of Optimism
The negatively bias, the optimistic bias, counterfactual thinking, Magical
thinking, thought suppression-having discussed these sources of error in
social thought. Can we ever get it right? The answer is absolutely
possible. Despite being folded by truly enormous amounts of social
information, we manage to sort store, remember, and use a large portion
of this input in an intelligent and highly efficient manner.
Our thinking is indeed subject to many potential sources of bias, and we
do make errors. But by and large, we do a very good job of processing
social information and making sense out social worlds in which we live.
6.5 AFFECT AND COGNITION
How Feelings Shape Thought and Thought Shapes Feelings

In our earlier discussion of our optimistic bias, we used the phrase

‘’seeing the world through coloured glasses’’ to reflect our tendency to
expect positive outcomes in many situations. But there is another way in
which these words apply to the social cognition.They also illustrate the
effects that being in a good mood had on our thoughts and perceptions.
Think of a time in your own life when you were in a very good mood; did
not the world seem to be a happier place? And did not you see
everything and everyone with whom you came into contact more
favourably than you would when in a less pleasant mood? Experiences
such as this illustrate the fact that there is often a complex interplay
between affect-our current moods-and cognition-the ways in which we
process, store, remember, and use social information. We say interplay
because research on this topic indicates that, in fact, the relationship is
very much a two way street and our feelings and moods strongly
influence several aspects of cognition, and cognition, in turn; exerts
strong effects on our feelings and moods.

6.5.1 Influence of Affect on Cognition

We have already mentioned the impact of moods on our perceptions of
the world around us. Such effects apply to people as well as objects.
Imagine, for instance, that you have just received some very good news
and you did much better on an important exam than you expected. As a
result, you are feeling great. Now, you run into one of your friends and
he/she introduces you to someone you do not know. You chat with this
person for a while and then leave for another class. Your first impression
of the stranger is influenced by the fact that you are feeling so good? In
other words, our current moods can strongly affect our reactions to new
stimuli we encounter for the first time, whether these are people, foods,

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or even the geographic locations we have never visited before, causing
us to perceive them more favourably than would otherwise be the case.

A growing body of evidence indicated that even experienced

interviewers in the job interviews cannot avoid being influenced by their
current moods; they assign higher ratings to the persons they interview
when they interview when they are in a good mood than to those
interview when they are in a bad mood.

Another way in which affect influences cognition involves its impact on

memory. Here, two different, but related, kinds of effects seem to occur.
One is known as mood-dependent memory. This refers to the fact that
what we remember while in a given mood may be determined, in part, by
what we learned when previously in that mood. For instance, if you
stored some information into the long-term memories when in a good
mood, you are more likely to store or remember positive information
when in a positive mood and negative information, when in a negative
mood; in other words.We notice or remember information that is
congruent with our current moods. When we are in a positive mood, we
tend to remember positive information, and when in a negative mood,
we tend to remember negative information.
Research confirms the existence of the mood- that is ependent memory
and also suggests that such effects may be quite important. For
instance, mood-dependent memory helps explain why depressed person
have difficulty in remembering times when they felt better; being in a
very negative mood now, they tend to remember information they
entered into memory when in the same mood-and this information what
it felt like to not be depressed can play an important part in successful
treatment of this problem.

Our current moods also influence another important component of

cognition-creativity. The results of several studies suggest that being in a
happy mood can increase creativity- perhaps because being in a happy
mood activates a wider range of ideas and association than being in a
negative mood, and creativity consists, in part, of combing such
association into new patterns.

Finally, findings indicate that information that evokes affective reactions

may be processed differently than other kinds of information, and that,
as a result, this information may be almost impossible to ignore or

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 disregard. Clear evidence pointing to such conclusions have been
reported by Edwards and Bryan.

LET US SUM UP
Social cognition is the branch of social psychology that examines how
people form inferences based on social information in the environment.
The schemas that are most likely to be used to interpret information are
those that match the natural contours of that information. Heuristics are
shortcuts that help to relate information in the environment to the
schemas. Heuristics reduce complex or ambiguous problems to simpler,
judgmental operations. Social perceivers are prone to certain errors and
biases in their judgments. Affect influences cognition in several ways.
Our current moods can cause us to react positively or negatively to new
stimuli, including other persons, the extent which we think systematically
or heuristically, and can influencethe memory and creativity also.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Choose the most appropriate answer:
1. The ways, in which we interpret, analyze, remember and se information
about the social world-in other words, how we think about other people.
a. Social cognition b)Encoding
b. Counterfactual thinking d)Heuristics

2. __________________ refers to the processes through which

information we notice gets stored in memory
a)Perseverance effect b) Encoding
c) Social Cognition d) Decoding

3. Prediction that, in a sense, makes them comes true

a)evaluative-categorization b)Heuristics
c)Self-fulfilling prophecy d)Magical thinking

4. Simple rules for making complex decisions or drawing inferences in a

rapid and seemingly effortless manner.
a)Priming b)Social Information
c) Information overloads d) Heuristics

5. Increased availability of information resulting from exposure to specific

stimuli or events
a) Counterfactual thinking b) Magical thinking

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 c) Priming d) Evaluative categorization

6. A predisposition to expect things to turn out well overall

a) Thought suppression b) Optimistic Bias
c) Negativity Bias d) automatic priming

State whether the following statements are true or false

7. Retrieval refers to the processes through which we recover the
information from memory in
order to use in some manner-for example, in making judgments about
other people.
8. Information overload-the demands on his cognitive system were less
than it need not handle.
9. Planning fallacy-our tendency to believe that we can get more done
in a given period of time than we actually can.
10. Information overload: the demands on a person’s cognitive system
will be greater than he could handle.

11. Mood dependent memory refers to the fact that we are more likely to
store or Remember the positive information when in a positive mood
and negative information when in a negative mood.
12. Mental contamination- a process in which our judgments, emotions,
or behavioursthat are influenced by mental processing.

GLOSSARY
Attention: A state in which cognitive resources are focused on
certain aspects of the environment rather than on others and the central
nervous system is in a state of readiness to respond to stimuli.

Counterfactual thinking: Any process of reasoning based on a

conditional statement of the type “If X, then Y” where X is known to be
contrary to fact, impossible, or incapable of empirical verification.
Heuristic: A heuristic is a mental shortcut that allows people to solve
problems and make judgments quickly and efficiently.

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 Information Overload: The state that occurs when the amount or
intensity of information exceeds the individual’s processing capacity,
leading to anxiety, poor decision making, and other undesirable
consequences.
Magical thinking: The belief that events or the behavior of others can
be influenced by one’s thoughts, wishes, or rituals.

Mood congruence effects:Relating to a consistency or agreement

between a particular expressed feeling and the general emotional
context within which it occurs.

Mood-dependent memory: The finding that memory for an event can

be recalled more readily when one is in the same emotional mood (e.g.,
happy or sad) as when the memory was initially formed.
Planning fallacy: The tendency to underestimate the amount of time
needed to complete a future task, due in part to the reliance on overly
optimistic performance scenario

Priming: The effect in which recent experience of a stimulus facilitates

or inhibits later processing of the same or a similar stimulus.

Retrieval: The process of recovering or locating information stored in

memory. Retrieval is the final stage of memory, after encoding and
retention.
Schemas: A schema is a cognitive structure that serves as a framework
for one’s knowledge about people, places, objects, and events.
Self-fulfilling prophecy: A belief or expectation that helps to bring
about its own fulfilment
Social cognition: Is a sub-topic of social psychology that focuses on
how people process, store, and apply information about other people
and social situations.
Thought suppression: The attempt to control the content of one’s
mental processes and specifically to rid one of undesired thoughts or
images.
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. Social cognition 2. Encoding

3. Self-fulfilling prophecy 4. Heuristics

5. Priming 6. Optimistic Bias
7. True 8. False

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9. True 10. True
11.True 12.True
MODEL QUESTIONS

1. How are Schemas useful in forming Mental Frameworks for

Organizing-and Using-Social Information?
2. State the impact of Schemas on Social Cognition
3. How do we reduce our effort in Social Cognition using Heuristic and
Automatic Processing?
4. Mention the potential sources of error in Social Cognition.
5. How does feelings shape thought and thought shapes feelings?
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Branscombe, N.R., Baron, R.A., &Kapur, P. (2017). Social
Psychology (14th Ed.). Chennai, India: Pearson India Education
Services Private Limited.
2. Myers, D.G., & Twenge, J.M. (2017). Social Psychology. (12th
Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw – Hill Education.
3. Feldman, R. S. (2001). Social Psychology (3rd Ed.) New Delhi,
India: Pearson India Education Services Private Limited.

4. Schultz, W., &Oskamp, S. (2000). Social Psychology: An Applied

Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
5. Schneider, F.W., Gruman, J.A., & Coutts, L.M. (2005) Applied
Social Psychology- understanding and addressing social and
practical problems. New York, NY: Sage publications.

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UNIT - 7

ATTITUDE: FORMATION, CHANGE AND MEASUREMENT

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
7.1 Definition
7.2 Attitude formation
7.2.1 Classical Conditioning approach
7.2.2 Attitude Instrumental conditioning approach

7.2.3. Other Process

7.3 Attitude functions
7.3.1 Utilitarian Function.
7.3.2 Ego-Defensive Function.
7.3.3. Value-Expressive Function.
7.3.4 Knowledge Function

7.4 Attitude Behavior Link

7.5 Attitude Change
7.5.1 Persuasion

7.5.2 Early approach

7.5.3 Cognitive approach
7.5.4 Communicator

7.5.5 Message
7.5.6 Channel
7.5.7 Audience

7.5.8 Environment
7.5.9 Resistance to Persuasion
7.6 Cognitive Dissonance

7.6.1 Reducing the Cognitive Dissonance

7.7 Attitude Measurement

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 7.7.1 Thurstone’s Method of Equal Appearing intervals
7.7.2 Likert’s Method of Summated Ratings
7.7.3 Guttmann’s Cumulative Scale

7.7.4 Bogardus Scales

Let us sum up
Check your progress

Glossary
Answers to check your progress
Model questions
Suggested Readings
OVERVIEW
Social psychologists are concerned with the attitude, because of the
close connection between the attitudes and people’s actions. The
conduct of human beings is influenced by underlying thoughts and
feelings where people often act on what they believe and feel about the
other, themselves and the world around them. In this unit, we will see
about how we form attitudes, the role played by the persuasion to
change it, its effect on behavior, about the cognitive dissonance, and the
ways to measure the attitudes.

OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit you will be able to:

• define attitude
• explain the formation of attitude
• discuss the role of persuasion in attitude change
• describe the role of attitude on behavior
• explain the concept of Cognitive dissonance
• list out the various measures of attitude

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7.1 DEFINITION
Attitude has been defined in a number of different ways. Allport defined
an attitude as a mental and neural state of readiness, organized through
experience exerting directive or dynamic influence upon the individual’s
response to all objects and situations with which it is related. Oskamp
(1977) defined the attitude as a readiness to respond in a favourable or
an unfavourable manner to particular object or class of objects, i.e., the
attitudes have a (i)topic (object), (2) judgment or evaluative (favourable
or unfavourable) and are relatively long lasting (the readiness to
respond).

From this we can inter that attitude is an enduring system that includes a
cognitive, feeling and cognitive components. Since it involves emotional
component, the resistance to change occurs and it does not generally
respond to new facts.
People can have attitudes about almost anything from a cake to an
abortion, from social psychology to Chinese communist. In each
instance the individual is predisposed to respond an object, issue or
group, where the object may be a social object, i.e., a person, creation of
a person, or a social event.
Altitudes give some consistency to our thinking about the social objects
as well as our feeling toward them. People also tend to act consistently
as a result of these consistent beliefs and feelings. Our attitudes are
primarily derived from the social influences. From birth, human beings
are exposed to the social institutions which constitute his environment
and the home, which is being the primary social unit, has a great
influence on the formation of attitude.
7.2 ATTITUDE FORMATION
As noted above, the majorities of attitudes held by a person are acquired
from the members of the family and form the peer group in early
childhood and later. This social learning occurs through several
processes.

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 7.2.1 Classical Conditioning Approach
Whenever the first stimulus is represented, individuals expect that the
second will follow. As a result, they may acquire the same kind of
reaction to the first stimulus as they show to the second stimulus. For
example, a young child sees her mother show sign of emotional
discomfort, through facial expressions, when she encounters members
of a minority group. Though, initially the child has no emotional reaction
to the characteristic of these people, after repeated pairing of her mother
emotional upset with these characteristic the child acquires and
develops a negative emotional reaction, resulting in a racial prejudice.
7.2.2 Instrumental Conditioning
By rewarding children with smile, approval, and compliments for stating
some ‘right views’ or “right things” , i.e., the one the adults favour the
parents and other adult play an active role in shaping youngster’s
attitude. For example, it is because of this reason that until they reach
their ten year, most children express political, religious, and social views
highly similar to those held by their families.

7.2.3. Other Process

(i) Modeling : appears to play an important role in the attitude formation By
this the individual acquire new forms of behavior merely through
observing the action of others and this can even happen when parents
have no desire to transmit specific views to their children.
(ii) Social comparison: It is a basic tendency to compare ourselves with
others in order to determine whether our view of social reality is correct
or not. To the extent our views agree with those of others, we conclude
that our ideas and attitudes are accurate. Because of this process, we
may change our attitude so as to hold views closer to others.
(iii) Genetic factors: a small but growing body of empirical evidence
indicated that genetic factors may play some small role in attitudes. This
is found form the studies on the town, particularly the identical twins.
The identical turns do correlate more than those of fraternal twins.

7.3 ATTITUDE FUNCTIONS

Based on an extensive review of the surveys of employers, an analysis
concluded that “the most important consideration in hiring and the
biggest deficit among new workforce entrants are the attitudes
concerning work that they bring with them to their jobs.
The most important function of an attitude can only be ascertained by
considering it about the person who holds it and the environment in

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 which they operate.Consequently, what is the same attitude may serve
rather different purposes depending on who holds it and where/when it
becomes salient to them.

Katz's functionalist theory also offers an explanation as to why attitudes

change. According to Katz, an attitude changes when it no longer serves
its function and the individual feels blocked or frustrated. That is,
according to Katz, where attitude change is achieved not so much by
changing a person's information or perception about an object, but rather
by changing the person's underlying motivational and personality needs.

Daniel Katz outlines 4 functions of attitudes;

• Utilitarian Function.
• Ego-Defensive Function.
• Value-Expressive Function.
• Knowledge Function

7.3.1 Utilitarian Function

Attitudes often help people to adjust to their work environment.

When employees are well treated, they are likely to develop a positive
attitude toward management and the organization. When employees are
criticized and given a minimal salary, they are likely to develop a
negative attitude toward management and the organization. These
attitudes help employees adjust to their environment and are a basis for
future behavior. The adjustment function directs people toward
pleasurable or rewarding objects and away from unpleasant, undesirable
ones. It serves the utilitarian concept of maximizing thereward and
minimizing punishment. Thus, the attitudes of consumers depend to a
large degree on their perceptions of what is needed satisfying and what
is punishing.

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7.3.2 Ego-Defensive Function
The ego-defensive function refers to holding attitudes that protect our
self-esteem or that justify actions that make us feel guilty. This function
involves psychoanalytic principles where people use defense
mechanisms to protect themselves from psychological harm.
Mechanisms include denial, repression, projection, rationalization, etc.
For example; an older manager whose decisions are continually
challenged by a younger subordinate manager may feel that, the later is
brash, cocky, immature, and inexperienced. In truth, the younger
subordinate may be right in challenging the decisions. The older
manager may not be a very effective leader and may constantly make
poor decisions. On the other hand, the older manager is not going to
admit this but will try to protect the ego by blaming the other party.
7.3.3. Value-Expressive Function
Whereas ego defensive attitudes are formed to protect a person’s self-
image, value-expressive attitudes enable the expression of the person’s
centrally held values. Central values tend to establish our identity and
gain us social approval thereby showing us who we are, and what we
stand for. Some attitudes are important to a person because they
express values that are integral to that person’s self-concept. Therefore
consumers adopt certain attitudes to translate their values into
something more tangible and easily expressed. Our value-expressive
attitudes are closely related to our self-concept. One whose central
value is freedom, the individual may express a very positive attitudes
towards the decentralization of authority in the organization, flexible work
schedules, and relaxation of dress standards.
7.3.4 Knowledge Function

The knowledge function refers to our need which is consistent and

relatively stable. This allows us to predict what is likely to happen, and
so gives us a sense of control. Some attitudes are useful because they
help to make the world more understandable. They help people ascribe
causes to events and direct attention towards features of people or
situations that are likely to be useful in making sense of them.
Consequently, they help to make the world more understandable,
predictable, and knowable. Knowing a person’s attitude helps us predict
their behavior. For example- people who are not familiar with nuclear
energy may develop an attitude that is dangerous and should not be
used as an energy source. Stereotyping is another example. In the
absence of knowledge about a person, we may use a stereotyped
attitude for judging the person.

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7.4 ATTITUDE BEHAVIOUR LINK
There are two basic mechanisms operate through which attitude shapes
the behavior of the individual.

The first of these mechanisms seem to operate in the situations where

we give careful, deliberate thought to our attitude and then implication
for our behavior. Ajzen and Fishbein(1980), suggest that the best
predicator of how we will act in a given situation is the strength of our
intention with respect to that situation. The second fact relates to the
personal beliefs about how others will evaluate this behavior (which is
called as subjective norms). Together these factors influence intentions
and these in turn, are the best predictor of the individual.
Fishbein’s Behavioural Intentions Model
The new model offered by Fishbein, and contributed to by Ajzen, can be
presented in diagram form as shown in figure. Here, we see that a
person’s behavior is a function of his intention to behave in a certain
manner and the other intervening factors. This means that intention to
behave cannot be expected to be a perfect predictor of behavior.
Two factors are seen to influence the person’s intention to act in a
certain manner: (1) his attitude toward acting in-that manner and (2)
subjective norms which we said are the individual’s perceptions of how
others who are important to him will react to such behavior. The relative
influence of each of these factors will determine its exact nature.

Beliefs about
consequences of
behaviour

Attitude toward
the behavior

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 Evaluations of
Consequences

Behavioral
intention

Beliefs about
perceptions of
others

Subjective
norms about the
behavior

Behavior

Motivations to
comply

Other intervening
factors

Figure: The relationship of components in Fishbein’s behavior intentions

attitude model of the person’s behavioral intentions. The figure also
shows that the attitudes toward behavior are determined by beliefs and
the evaluations that the consumer holds about the consequences of
behavior. Subjective norms are determined by the consumer’s beliefs
about reactions of others regarding his intended behavior, and his
motivations to comply with their standards for behavior.

7.5 ATTITUDE CHANGE

Attitude change is a central feature of social life. People are under
constant feature of social life. People are under constant pressure to

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 change their attitude, and in turn they put pressure on others to change.
Attitude can be changed in a variety of ways. One of the approaches to
the change is from the behaviouristic orientation, and the other one is
through the cognitive orientation.

Behaviouristic orientation stresses on the individual’s obtained reward

areexperience and the other correlated factors. It solely depends on his
life the exposure across the developmental span and also the vicarious
learning experienced or observed. Whereas, the Cognitive orientation
emphasizes the pattern, that is through obtaining new information, which
may come from other people or through the media. Such new
information may produce change in the cognitive component of a
person’s attitude. As there are changes in the cognitive component, it
may affect the other components also. This is usually done by a
process a called persuasion.

7.5.1 Persuasion
In most of the cases, efforts of persuasion involve the following
elements: some source directs less some type of mage (the
communication) to those whose attitudes the source that wishes to
change (the audiences). Hence, it was identified that the characteristic
of communicator (source) communication (persuasive messages) and
audience all together influence persuasion. Persuasion will be effective
particularly, under the following instances.

The key characteristics

People are bombarded with many persuasive messages each day. The
research continues on each of these classes. Let us consider them in
turn.

1. The communicator: The personality, style, and other characteristics of

the person who makes the influence attempt.
2. The message: The content, style, and other characteristics of the
communication.
3. The channel: The medium, through which the communication is
presented for example, television, radio, or a pamphlet.
4. The audience: The feelings and personality of the individual or
individuals to whom the communication is addressed.

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5. The communication environment: The social and physical characteristics
of the communication setting that is, which is present and in what
environment.

7.5.2 Early approach

Persuasion or persuasion arts are an umbrella term of influence.
Persuasion can attempt to influence a person's beliefs, attitudes,
intentions, motivations, or behaviors In his seminal works on "rhetoric",
Aristotle proposed three approaches to changing another's mind:
Rhetoric was the ability to find the available means of persuasion in any
instance. The Greek philosopher Aristotle listed four reasons why one
should learn the art of persuasion:
1. truth and justice are perfect; thus if a case loses, it is the fault of the
speaker
2. it is an excellent tool for teaching

3. a good rhetorician needs to know how to argue both sides to understand

the whole problem and all the options, and
4. there is no better way to defend one's self.

Aristotle's rhetorical proofs:

1. ethos (credibility) : refers to the effort to convince your audience of your
credibility or character .
2. logos (reason) : refers to the effort to convince your audience by using
logic and reason .
3. pathos (emotion):[12] refers to the effort to persuade your audience by
making an appeal to their feelings.

7.5.3 Cognitive approach

Leon Festinger originally proposed the theory of cognitive dissonance in

1957. He theorized that human beings constantly strive for mental
consistency. Our cognition (thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes) can be in
agreement, unrelated, or in disagreement with each other. Our cognition
can also be in agreement or disagreement with our behaviors. When we
detect conflicting cognition, or dissonance, it gives us a sense of
incompleteness and discomfort. For example, a person who is addicted
to smoking cigarettes but also suspects it could be detrimental to his
health suffers from cognitive dissonance.

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 Festinger suggests that we are motivated to reduce this dissonance until
our cognition is in harmony with itself. We strive for mental consistency.
There are four main ways we go about reducing or eliminating our
dissonance:
1. changing our minds about one of the facets of cognition
2. reducing the importance of a cognition

3. increasing the overlap between the two, and

4. re-evaluating the cost/reward ratio.
Consider the example of the smoker, he can either quit smoking, reduce
the importance of his health, convince him he is not at risk, or that the
reward of smoking is worth the cost of his health.
Cognitive dissonance is powerful when it relates to competition and self-
concept. The most famous example of how cognitive dissonance can be
used for persuasion comes from Festinger and Carlsmith's 1959
experiment in which participants were asked to complete a very dull task
for an hour. Some were paid $20, while others were paid $1, and
afterwards they were instructed to tell the next waiting participants that
the experiment was fun and exciting. Those who were paid $1 were
much more likely to convince the next participants that the experiment
really was enjoyable than those who received $20. This is because $20
is enough reason to participate in a dull task for an hour, so there is no
dissonance. Those who received $1 experienced great dissonance, so
they had to truly convince themselves that, the task actually was
enjoyable to avoid the feeling taken advantage of, and therefore reduce
their dissonance.
7.5.4 Communicator
Experts are more persuasive than non-experts. Regardless of the merit
of the message, research indicated that the reaction to the message
often depends on the characteristics of the person doing the persuading.
Three characteristics that have interested social psychologists are the
credibility, physical attractiveness. And perceive intentions of the
communicator.
a)Communicator credibility and the sleeper effect

An important question people ask themselves when receiving a

persuasive message is whether the communicator is credible that is,
whether he or she is a trustworthy, informed, and unbiased source of
information. If the source is credible, the listener may be moved by a

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message that otherwise would leave him. For example, the television
commercials often show that laboratory is coated “experts”.
How long do credibility effects last, and do they persist longer when the
source has high rather than low credibility. The impact of the high
credibility message deceased over the period, while the effects of the
low credibility message increased and were more powerful after four
weeks than they had been immediately after the message was heard.
The sleeper effect is a term used to describe the delayed effect that a
low credibility source has on attitudes, an effect that is muted at the
outset but increases in the impact over time. This effect is often, but not
always, found in attitude change research.
b) Communicator attractiveness
In present day America, movie stars, astronauts, preachers, and the like
persons with no specialized training in government often gain political
office. This source is more effective in changing attitude than un-
attractive ones. That is why the models are shown in many
advertisements as they are highly attractive.
Herbert Kelman (1968) has argued personal attractiveness may affect
the listener, because the listener wishes to be like or identifies with the
communicator. An attractive communicator may engage the listener’s
attention more easily than an unattractive communicator will, since
looking at and listening to him or her is enjoyable. The listener also may
have the fantasy that the attractive communicator would like a person
who agrees with his or her position.
7.5.5 The Message
Messages can change lives. The question for the psychologist, of
course, is what makes a message powerful? First, the message must be
understandable. If people don’t comprehend a message, then little
attitude change can occur. In fact, if a message confuses an audience,
it even can cause an active resentment. Once comprehension has
taken place, additional factors may be important. Let us consider two of
them: one-sidedness versus two-sidedness and fear arousal.

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The wags of fear
A large number of studies illustrate that the more fear-inducing the
message, the more potent it is in changing both attitudes and behavior.
Fear-arousing messages have altered people’s attitudes about smoking
and have reduced their actual consumption of cigarettes. Fear also has
motivated people to get vaccinated, take better care of their teeth, use
seat belts, helmets and change their attitudes toward Communist China,
fallout shelters, atom-bomb testing, and capital punishment.
7.5.6 Channel

When media are chosen well, changes can be produced in people’s

attitudes, voting preferences, consumer behaviors or purchases. Poor
media choices can result in no change attitudes or action. Broad
generalizations about the best medium to use in any situation are
extremely difficult to make. Choice of medium must be tailored to time
and circumstances. For example newspapers and television advertising,
generally reach different audiences, and these audiences may shift
significantly over the years. Researchers suggest that the more closely
a medium resembles face-to face interaction, the more persuasive is its
message. Communicators in-person thus may be more persuasive than
those on television, television may be more effective than radio and
radio may be powerful than newspapers. In face-to face relations the
audience’s opportunities, for turning out by walking away or changing
channels are diminished and norms of courtesy from showing strong
disagreement.
At times this will be disadvantageous, if the contents of the messages
are complex people may not understand what is being presented in the
face to face situation. When the material is available in written form, as
well as it may be studied more carefully and its contents can be
digested.

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7.5.7 Audience
Whether a message was effective depends on the characteristics of the
listener. Individual who are relatively low in their self-esteem are get
easily persuaded than those with high self esteem. One characteristic of
special importance was the listener’s education.
When an audience hold attitudes contrary o those of a would-be
persuade, it is often more effective for the communication to adopt a two
sided approach, which both sides of the argument are presented, than a
one-sided approach. Among the more educated, the two sided
communication proved to be more effective. For the less educated, the
one-sided message was more influential. Perhaps education increases
sensitivity to a well-rounded message. People with less education may
be less likely than people with more education to question what they
hear-they may fail to raise questions about what is left out.
7.5.8 Environment

Communication takes place in various social and physical environments,

and these surroundings can have a marked impact on whether attitudes
are changed. Although many factors in the environment can influence
the success o failure of persuasive appeals, two have been of interest to
searchers are distracteddue to associations.
Distraction
When noise disrupts a conversation or when the television picture does
flip-fops, people usually stop paying attention to the communicator.
Although such distraction can reduce the effectiveness of the
communication, it does not always to so. In particular, a minor
distraction sometimes can have a strengthening effect. For example,
distraction may cause people to increase their efforts at listening to a
speaker. Further, as efforts to comprehend are increased, the time
spent thinking of counterarguments may decrease and the
persuasiveness of the communicator may thus be increased just when
it’s least wanted.
Further, feelings about the place may come to be associated with
feelings about the person including his or her message. Thus
responsiveness to a communication may depend on where is
encountered.
7.5.9 Resistance to Persuasion

Though we are exposed to persuasive messages, at times we are also

resistant to them. If we were not, our attitudes on a wide range of issues

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would be in a constant state of change. Let us now discuss some
factors those which play a crucial role.
(I)Reactance: Protecting ‘Our personal Freedom

Reactance is a negative reaction to threats to one’s personal freedom.

Reactance often increases resistance to persuasion.If someone exerts
mounting pressure on you to get you to change your attitudes. As they
do, you experience growing levels of annoyance and resentment. The
final outcome: Not only do you resist; you may actually lean over
backwards to adopt views opposite to those of the persuader wants you
to adopt. Such behavior is an example of what social psychologists call
reactance-a negative reaction to efforts by others to reduce our freedom
by getting us to do what they want us to do. Research findings indicate
that in such situations, we often really do change our attitudes (or
behavior) in a direction exactly opposite to that being urged on us-an
effect known as negative attitude change.

The existence of reactance is one reason why hard-sell attempts at

persuasion often fail. When individuals perceive such appeals as direct
threats to their personal freedom (or their image of being an independent
person), they are strongly motivated to resist. Such resistance, in turn,
virtually assures that persuaders will fail.
(ii) Forewarning: Prior knowledge of Persuasive Intent
When we watch television, we expect commercials to interrupt most
programs (except on public television). We know full well that these
messages are designed to change our views-to get us to buy various
products. Similarly, we know, when we listen to a political speech, that
the person delivering it has an ulterior motive and that she or he wants
our vote.

Research on the effects of such advance knowledge-known as

forewarning-indicates that it does influence significantly. When we know
that a speech, taped message, or written appeal is designed to alter our
views we are often less likely to be affected by it than when we do not
possess such knowledge because forewarning influences several
cognitive processes that play a role in persuasion.

First, fore warning provides us with more opportunity to formulate

counter arguments that can lessen the message’s impact. In addition,
forewarning also provides us with more time in which to recall relevant
facts and information that may prove useful in refuting a persuasive
message.

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(iv) Selective Avoidance
Still another way in which we resist attempts at persuasion is through
selective avoidance, a tendency to direct our attention away from
information that challenges our existing attitudes.
A clear illustration of the effects of the selective avoidance is provided by
television viewing. People do not simply sit in front of the tube passively
absorbing whatever the media decides to dish out. Instead, they
channel surf, mute the commercials, or simply cognitively tune out when
confronted with information contrary to their views. The opposite effect
occurs as well. When we encounter information that supports our views,
we tend to give it our full attention. These tendencies to ignore or avoid
information that contradicts our attitudes while actively seeking
information consistent with them constitute two sides of what social
psychologists term selective exposure, and such selectivity in what we
make the focus of our attention helps ensure that our attitudes remain
largely intact for long periods of time.

7.6 COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

When individuals notice inconsistency between attitudes they hold or

between their attitudes and their behavior, they experience cognitive
dissonance. It is defined as an internal state that results when individual
notice inconsistency between two or more of their attitudes or between
their attitudes and behavior. This was discussed earlier in Unit- 1.
7.7 ATTITUDE MEASUREMENTS

Measurement of attitude is concerned with five important dimensions

namely: i) Direction, ii) Intensity, iii) Centrality iv) Saliency, and v)
Consistency.

Attitudes have direction. A positive or favourable attitude implies that

behavior is directed towards bringing the holder of the attitude closer to
the object of attitudes. In other words, a positive attitude involves
approach tendencies, while a negative attitude involves the avoidance
tendencies. Intensity refers to the strength of the attitude i.e., whether
one feels strongly about to target of the attitude, or his feelings are weak
or ambivalent.
Attitudes which are held strongly form the centre of a cluster of attitudes.
This is known as centrality of attitudes. For example, each one has
some basic conceptions about himself which may form the centre of his
attitudes. Another characteristic related to centrality of attitudes is

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salience. Salience refers to the importance assigned by an individual to
certain attitudes in relation to other attitudes. For some individual
attitude towards religion may be so prominent to dominate their
perceptions and actions. Attitudes are supposed to be consistent.
Consistency refers to the extent to which various attitudes in a cluster fit
together and are related. The attitude an individual has toward an
institution (e.g. Church) are ordinarily consistent with his attitudes toward
persons associated with the institution.
Attitudes cannot be directly observed, but must be inferred from
behavior, either from observation of an individual’s response or his
evaluative statements and other verbal expressions. It is difficult to
observe the actions of an individual in any direct, systematic way. It is
easier and efficient to judge from verbal statements through paper,
pencil, scales, and questionnaire and social Psychologists prefer this
method. These instruments measure one or more of the five dimensions
of attitudes, namely, direction, intensity, centrality, salience and
consistency.
7.7.1 Thurstone’s Method of Equal Appearing Intervals

This is the earliest technique of attitude measurement. This scale can

be used to measure attitude towards different objects like, the church,
capital punishment, Negro, birth control, censorship and so on. The
Turnstone method consisted of collecting several statements ranging
from very positive to very negative about a certain object, person or
institution. The statements were then given to a group of judges to
evaluate and arrange statements on an 11- point scale, in which 1
represents the most favourable and 11, the least favourable attitude. To
get a single value to represent the position of the statement on the 11-
point scale, the median of the positions assigned to the statement by all
the judges are determined. This was regarded as the scale value of the
statement. The statements which were placed in many different piles
were usually discarded on the ground that they were ambiguous. Thus
only those statements, on which there was considerable agreement
among judges concerning the position on the scale, were retained in the
final scale. The low values indicate a favourable attitude towards the
object, while the high values indicate an unfavourable attitude.
A sample of the items drawn from Thurstone’s Desegregation scale
which measures the attitude towards Negroes is given below.

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 ScaleValue Statement

10.4 The Negro will remain ignorant and

superstitious despite equal educational
Opportunities.

8.9 Negroes living in white neighbourhoods lower

the standards of cleanliness.

2.1 I would not object to dance with a good Negro

dancer.

1.1 The best way to solve the race problem is to

encourage intermarriage so that there will
eventually be only one race.

One of the chief criticisms of this method is that the attitudes of the
judges themselves may influence their placement of judgments in the
various positions on the scale.

7.7.2 Likert’s Method of Summated Ratings

An entirely different approach for measuring attitude was developed by
LIKERT.
The procedure may be summarized as follows:
1. Collection of a large number of statements towards the object of the
attitude under investigation.
2. Presenting these statements to a group of subjects, and asking them to
rate them in five categories – strongly agree, Agree, Undecided,
Disagree, Strongly disagree.
3. Determining the total score for each individual by summing up the
scores of his response to all the favourable items (Score for strongly
agree is 5 and strongly disagree is 1, with intermediate scores for the
remaining categories). The scores reversed for the unfavourable items
(strong agree-1,Agree-2, Undecided -3, Disagree -4 Strongly disagree-
5).
4. Next step involves item analysis of all the statements to select the most
discriminating items. This is done by inter correlating the scores on
each item with the total scores on all the items. Then the items with the
highest correlations are retained in the final scale. The use of item
analysis is the most salient feature of the Likert method.

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This method interprets the individual scores in terms of scores obtained
by a group of individuals.
7.7.3 Guttmann’s Cumulative Scale

Another method introduced by Guttman, ranks groups of statements in

such a way that an affirmative answer to any one of them assumes an
affirmative answer to all the others ranking below it on the scale.
Questions have to be meticulously phrased and carefully protested to
meet this criterion. This scale is highly reliable and consistent. Many
researchers prefer to use Likert scales in their research,asthey are
easier to construct than the Thurstone and Guttman scales.
7.7.4 Bogardus Social Distance Scales
Bogardus constructed a scale to measure social distance. It is well-
known fact that we maintain various degree of social or psychological
distance toward other people and groups, e.g., stranger, friends,
relatives, members of other class, caste, religion and so on. The
psychological distance felt for the members of other group is a good
indication of one’s attitude toward other people. For example we talk to
stranger for a few minutes keeping them outside the house we take our
close friends, into our room, and give them coffee and entertain them.
Most people never admit servants into the kitchen. Thus in various
degrees in our personal relationships with other individuals and social
relationship with members of other groups, we tend to maintain a certain
social distance.
Thus, prejudice is revealed in social distance. It is the distance at which
members of a prejudiced group hold another group and its members.
The concept of social distance was first used by the sociologist Park. In
1924, Bogardus developed a scale to measure social distance. It is
reliable scale for measuring attitude towardsthe people belonging to the
different religions, ethnic and national groups.
The scale is very simple. One has to indicate how close or how distant
one is from members of the other group. The statements in this scale
are indicative of the subject’s degree of acceptance or rejection of the
group. The statements are given in table below:

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 S.No Statement French German American Pakistanis Chines
e

1. To have
relationship by
marriage

2. To have club as a
personal friend.

3. To my street as a
neighbour

4. To employment in
my occupation.

5 As a citizen of my
country.

6. As a visitor to my
country.

7. Would exclude
from my country.

The subjects are then instructed to indicate their degree of acceptance

by placing a check mark against the appropriate statement. The
statements and instructions given to the subjects are meant to determine
the nationality by preferences of the people.

From the statements, it may be seen that the psychological distance is

progressively increased as we go from statement No.1 to statement
No.7, which is indicative of strong disapproval. The degree of an
individual’s attitude is taken to be the highest intimacy than he would
accept in relation to the object of the attitude.
One great advantage of this scale is that it can be used to compare
different people’s attitudes towards the same nationality, or compare a
single individual’s attitude towards different nationalities. It can be
adopted for investigation into the interpersonal likes and dislikes of any
kind.

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 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. The individuals acquire new forms of behavior merely through observing
the action of others is called______________
a) Modeling c) Persuasion
b) Comparison d) Attitude
2. ____________ messages can alter people’s attitudes.
a)Fear-arousing b)requesting
c)Forewarning d)informed
3. The personal beliefs about how others will evaluate this behavior are
called as ______________
a)Subjective norms b)Objective norms
c) Perception d) Values
4. _______________ refers to the importance assigned by an individual to
certain attitudes in relation to other attitudes.
a)Salience b) Centrality
c) Consistency d) Conformity
5. _______________ constructed a scale to measure social distance.
a) Likert b) Bogardus
c)Guttmann d) Oskamp
State whether the following statement are true or false
6. Reactance is a negative reaction to threats to one’s personal freedom.
7. We can reduce cognitive dissonance by acquiring a new information that
supports our attitudes or our behavior.
8. The channel refers to the medium, through which the communication is
presented for example, television, radio, or a pamphlet.
9. Distraction can reduce the effectiveness of the communication.
10. Dissonance motivates persons experiencing it to attempt for reducing it.

LET US SUM UP
Altitudes give some consistency to our thinking about the social objects
as well as our feeling toward them. Many a times, they act as a
guideline for the future cognition or activity. Attitudes can be formed
over anything, through the learning approaches. Attitudes usually do not
change, as they are usually stable, can be changed through persuasion.
The persuasion is an effective method when its components are takes
care of scrupulously. At times, it may not be always successful. Many
times attitudes influence our behavior. If there is any inconsistency
prevailed then we may undergo a state called, cognitive dissonance. It
may automatically reduced by the natural mechanism, as well by other

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 approaches. Attitudes can be measured quantitatively in the scientific
manner.

Glossary
Attitude- An attitude is an evaluation of an attitude object, ranging from
extremely negative to extremely positive.

Cognitive Dissonance - The mental discomfort those results from

holding two conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes.
Persuasion- Persuasion, the process by which a person's attitudes or
behaviour are, without coercion, influenced by communications from
other people.
Selective Avoidance- A tendency to direct our attention away from
information that challenges our existing attitudes.
Sleeper Effect -the phenomenon whereby the impact of a persuasive
message increases with the passage of time.

Social distance - Social distance describes the distance between

individuals or groups in society, including dimensions such as social
class, race/ethnicity, gender or sexuality.

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Modeling 2. Fear-arousing
3. Subjective norms 4. Salience
5. Bogardus 6. True
7. True 8. True

9. True 10. True

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Define Attitude
2. How attitudes are formed?
3. What is persuasion?
4. Explain the role of persuasion in the changing attitude.
5. How cognitive dissonance can be reduced?
6. Explain the role attitude on behavior.
7. List out the various tools for the attitude measurement.

SUGGESTED READINGS

128
1. Branscombe, N.R., Baron, R.A., &Kapur, P. (2017). Social Psychology
(14th Ed.). Chennai, India: Pearson India Education Services Private
Limited.

2. Myers, D.G., & Twenge, J.M. (2017). Social Psychology. (12th Ed.). New
York, NY: McGraw – Hill Education.
3. Feldman, R. S. (2001). Social Psychology (3rd Ed.) New Delhi, India:
Pearson India Education Services Private Limited.
4. Schultz, W., &Oskamp, S. (2000). Social Psychology: An Applied
Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

5. Schneider, F.W., Gruman, J.A., & Coutts, L.M. (2005) Applied Social
Psychology- understanding and addressing social and practical
problems. New York, NY: Sage publications.

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 UNIT – 8

PREJUDICE – ORIGINS AND METHODS OF REDUCING

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Discrimination
8.3 The origins of prejudice

8.4 Prejudice against women

8.4.1 Hostile and Benevolent Sexism
8.4.2 The Role of Expectations
8.5 Method to reduce prejudice
Let us sum up
Check your progress

Glossary
Answers to check your progress
Model questions

Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

This unit gives an introduction to the nature, definition and the

destructive aspect of prejudice. Prejudice is an assumption or an
opinion about someone that is simply based on that person's
membership to a particular group. The discrimination behavior and its
relation to prejudice are discussed. Some important origins of prejudice
are given. Finally, the various methods to reduce the prejudice are
described.
OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you will be able to,
• explain the nature and destructive aspects of prejudice

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• define attitude
• trace the origins of prejudice
• discuss the various methods of reducing prejudice

8.1 INTRODUCTION
Love and friendship bind people together. Prejudice, which is marked by
suspicion, fear or hatred, has an opposite effect and can be one of the
most destructive aspects of human social behavior, often producing
chilling acts of violence. Over 6 million Jews were murdered by the
Nazis in the 1940s, Racial prejudice against African Americans has been
perhaps the most severe and tenacious social problem. When Africans
were brought to America as slaves, they were treated as property, and
as sub human. Even after emancipation they continued to have
considerably less income and education than white, and were separated
from whites in restaurants, movie houses and buses. Black men were
often lynched without a trial if they “stepped out of line”. Another
example for this prejudice is the tragic attacks of hate-filled extremists on
the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001. Prejudice may also
focus on age, geographic origin, occupation or even simply being
overweight. Regardless of its form or focus, however, prejudice is both
real and damaging and in fact every racial group has been the victim of
prejudice at one time or another. In this unit first we will examine the
nature of “prejudice” and discrimination – two words that are often used
as synonyms but that, in fact, refer to very different concepts. Second,
we will analyse the origins of prejudice and discrimination. Third, we will
explore various methods of reducing prejudice and discrimination.
Prejudice: The Face of Intolerance
Prejudice is exhibited when members of one group (called the in –
group) display a special type of attitude-generally a negative one
towards members of another group (called the out-group). It can be
defined as the negative attitude towards the members of a group, based
solely on their membership in that group. In other words, a person who
is prejudiced toward some social group tends to evaluate its members in
a negative manner merely because they belong to that group. Their
individual traits or behaviours play little role; they are disliked simply
because they belong to a specific group.
When prejudice is defined as a special type of attitude, two important
implications follow. First, attitudes often function as schemas – cognitive
frame works for organizing, interpreting and recalling information. Thus
individuals who are prejudiced toward particular groups tend to process
information about these groups differently from the way they process

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information about other groups. Information consistent with their
prejudiced views often receives more attention. That into is rehearsed
more frequently, and as a result, tends to be remembered more
accurately than the information that is not consistent with these views.
Second, if prejudice is a special kind of attitude, then it may involve more
than negative evaluation of the groups. Prejudice may also involve
beliefs and expectations about members of the groups-specifically
stereotypes suggesting that all members of the group demonstrate
certain characteristics and behave in certain ways. Stereotypes are
oversimplified images of people who belong to a particular social,
national or ethnic group. For example we have stereotyped image of
Americans as hardworking Germans as scientific and blacks as
superstitious. We also have stereotyped images of politicians,
housewives, employed women, teenagers, particular caste or religion
and rich men. In general, the top three categories on which most
stereotypes are based are gender, age, and race, religion or caste.
Racial stereotypes are common in sports. For example many people
actually believe that “white” men cannot jump. This stereotype implies
that the black basketball payers are naturally superior in athletic ability.
8.2 DISCRIMINAION: PREJUDICE IN ACTION
Prejudice refers to negative attitude towards the members of some
social groups. In contrast discrimination refers to negative actions
towards those individuals. Discrimination is deeply woven into the
society and it leads to unequal or cruel treatment of towards people who
should have the same tights as others.
Prejudice as an attitude is not always reflected in overt actions. In many
cases, persons holding negative attitudes (prejudice) towards the
members of various groups cannot express these views directly and
behaviourally because of laws, social pressure and fear of retaliation. In
the absence of the above, the negative beliefs and behaviours may be
expressed in overt actions. Such discriminatory behaviours can take
many forms.
Forms of discriminatory behaviour

A) Avoidance: At mild levels, it involves simple avoidance-

prejudiced persons simply avoid or minimize their contacts. The actions
include restricting members of various groups to certain seats on buses
or in theatres or in public restaurants
B) Hate crimes: At stronger levels, discrimination can produce
exclusion from jobs, educational opportunities or neighbourhood Finally,

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in the most extreme cases, prejudice leads to overt forms of aggression
called hate crimes which includes assault, torture and even murder. The
most dramatic recent example of crime motivated by racial or religious
hatred is the magic attacks by terrorists on the World Trade centre. The
persons who carried out these crimes were so filled with hatred toward
the citizens of USA that they gladly sacrificed their own lives in order to
kill thousands of innocent victims and persons, they had never met and
who had never done them any director, personal harm.
C) Subtle form of discrimination:

Sometimes the individual wants to harm the target of his prejudice

without any cost to him and it is achieved through subtle forms
discrimination where the ones that permit the user to conceal the
prejudice. Several of these subtle forms exist, ranging from reaping
excessive praise on even minimal accomplishments which implies that
good performance by the members of the group is surprising, to
displaying unfriendlynon verbalbehavior, like standing slightly too far
away, failing to make appropriate eye contact. But the most common
forms are tokenism and reverse discrimination.

i) Tokenism
Imagine that a person is hired for a job that he wanted at a higher
starting salary, at first he is happy and one day he learns that he got the
job mainly because he belongs to a specific group where one members
the company must hire in order to avoid the legal actions by the
government with the task of eliminating discrimination in the work place.
How he will react? In all probabilities he will be upset and it can be
damaging to the self-esteem and confidence. He has become the victim
of tokenism: that the person is hired solely as a token member of a racial
or religious group.
ii) Reverse discrimination
This discrimination occurs in situations in which persons having
prejudice towards the members of a social group learn over backwards,
to treat those group members more favourably than they would have.
8.3 THE ORIGINS OF PREJUDICE

It is obvious that many people have prejudice. But precisely how does
prejudice emerge? In short, what are the origins of prejudice and the
social conditions from which it derives? Research findings provide much
insight into this important question.

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1) Direct inter group conflict: Competition as a source of
prejudice
It is sad but true that things people want and value most good jobs, nice
homes, high status – are always in short supply. This fact serves as the
foundation for the oldest explanation of prejudice realistic conflict theory.
According to this theory, prejudice stems from competition among social
groups over valued commodities or opportunities. In short, prejudice
develops out of the struggle over jobs, adequate housing, good
education and other desirable outcomes. The theory further suggests
that as such competition continues, the members of the groups involved
come to view each other in increasingly negative terms. They label each
as ‘view their own group as morally superior, and draw he boundaries
between themselves and their opponents more and more firmly. The
result is that what starts out as simple competition relatively free from
hatred gradually develops into full scale, prejudice.Many studies have
proved that increased competition between groups during periods of
economic decline may indeed be one of the factors contributing to
prejudice and resulting violence.

2) The role of social learning

A second perspective on the origins of prejudice begins with the fact that
such attitudes are learned: we learn them from the people around us
through the process of social learning. Prejudice emerges out of
countless experiences in which children hear or observe their parents,
friends, teachers and others expressing prejudiced views. Because
children want to be like these persons, and are often rewarded for
expressing the ‘right’ views, those held by adults they quickly adopt such
attitudes themselves. Direct experience with persons belonging to other
groups also shapes prejudice.
3) Mass media
While persons with whom children interact play a key role in the
development of prejudice, the mass media also plays an impotent role.
Children in our culture typically are exposed to television, children’s
books, magazines and the like. Children may spend many hours
watching television. By the age of twelve most children may spent more
hours in front of the television than in the school. Content analysis
shows that unplanned and inadvertent messages often contribute to
patterns of prejudice and discrimination. Many psychologists believe
that these sources of information have strong formative influences on
children’s ideas and behavior. For example members of racial or
religious minorities when shown frequently in movies or on television in

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low-status or comic roles, May children come to believe that the
members of these groups must be inferior.
4) Social categorization: The “us” versus “them” effect.

A third perspective on the origins of prejudice begins with a basic fact:

People generally divide the social world around them into two distinct
categories us and them. In short, they view other persons as belonging
to either their own group (the in-group) or another group (the out-group).
Such distinctions are based on dimensions like race, religion, caste, sex,
age, occupation and income.

Sharply contrasting feelings and beliefs are usually attached to members

of one’sIn - group and members of various out groups. Persons in the
‘us’ category are viewed in favourable terms, while those in the ‘them’
category are perceived more negatively. Out members are assumed to
possess more undesirable traits than members of the in-group, and are
often strongly dislike. The in group-out group distinction also effects
attribution in the ways in which we explain the action of persons
belonging to these two categories. We tend to attribute desirable
behaviours by members of our in the groups to stable, internal causes
such as their admirable traits, but to attribute desirable behaviours by
members of out groups to temporary factors or to external ones such as
luck. This tendency to make more favourable attributions about
members of one’s own group than about members of other groups is
sometimes referred to as the ultimate attribution error.
5) Stereotypes: Cognitive component of prejudice
A fourth source of prejudice is the formation of stereotype. What you
think of when someone says, ‘She is Chinese”, or “Woman driver”? If
you are like most people, you will probably automatically jump to some
sort of impression of what that individual is like. Such views represent
stereotypes, beliefs and expectations about members of groups help
simply on the basis of their membership in those groups.

Stereotypes can lead to prejudice, the negative (or positive) evaluation

or judgments of members of a group that are based primarily on
membership in the group rather than on the behavior of a particular
individual. For instance, racial prejudice occurs when a member of a
racial group is evaluated in terms of race and not because of his or her
own characteristics or abilities. The most common stereotypes and
forms of prejudice have to do with racial, religious and ethnic
categorization. Over the years, the various groups have been called’’

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lazy” or “shrewd” or cruel” with varying degrees of regularity by non
group members.
6) Psychodynamic approach

Psychodynamic theory treats prejudice as displace aggression.

Displacement occurs when a source of frustration or annoyance cannot
be attacked because of hear or simple unavailability. For example,
people who lose their jobs during an economic depression may feel
angry and aggressive, but no obvious person is at fault. Under these
circumstances, people look for a scapegoat-someone whom they can
blame for their difficulties and whom they can attack. One study showed
that lynching of African Americans before the World War II increased in
bad economic times. Poor whites could not aggress against the real
source of their frustration-large economic forces-so they aggressed
against a more convenient and probably safer local African Americans.
Thus the theory suggests that prejudice is a form of scapegoating-
blaming a person or a group for the actions of others or for conditions
not of their making.
7) The prejudiced personality

Researchers suggest that prejudice can also be a general personality

characteristic. Therefore, Adorno and his associates carefully probed
the authoritarian personality. The authoritarian personality is marked by
rigidity, inhibition, prejudice and oversimplification. Authoritarians also
tend to be very ethnocentric. Ethnocentrism refers to placing one’s own
group ‘at the centre’, usually by rejecting all the other groups. To put
more simply, authoritarians consider their own ethnic or racial group
superior to others.
8.4 PREJUDICS BASED ON GENDER: ITS NATURE AND EFFECTS

More than half of the world’s population is female. Yet, despite this fact,
many cultures still treat women as a minority group. They have been
excluded from economic and political power; they have been the subject
of strong negative stereotypes; and they have faced overt discrimination
in many areas of life-work settings, higher education, and government.
This situation is changing in at least some countries and to some
degree. Overt discriminatory practices have been banned by the laws in
many nations, and there has been at least some weakening of the
negative gender-based stereotypes.

Despite such changes, though, sexism-prejudice base on gender-

continues to exert harmful effects upon females in many countries.
Because prejudice based on gender affects more individuals than any

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other single kind (more than half the human race), it is certainly worthy
of our careful attention.
8.4.1 Hostile and Benevolent Sexism: The Two Faces of prejudice
Based on Gender
The term prejudice seems to imply hostility or aversion-when we say, in
everyday speech, that someone is prejudiced against persons belonging
to a specific group, this seems to imply that they hold very negative
views of that group. But, in fact, prejudice can have another, sharply
contrasting side.

The same is true with respect to sexism, which also shows two different
faces. One is known as hostile sexism-the view that women, if not
inferior to men, have many negative traits e.g., they seek special
favours, are overly sensitive, or seek to seize power from men that they
special favours, are overly sensitive, or seek to seize power from men
that they don’t deserve and should not have. The other is what Glick
and his colleagues describe as benevolent sexism-views suggesting that
women deserve protection, are superior to men in various ways e.g.,
they are more pure, have better taste, and are truly necessary for men’s
happiness e.g., no man is truly fulfilled unless he has a woman he
adores in his life. According to Glick and his colleagues, both forms of
sexism reflect the fact that men have long held a dominant position in
most human societies. As result of this power, they have come to see
the women as inferior in various ways. At the same time, however, men
are dependent on women for the domestic roles they play and for the
intimacy and love they provide. These facts in turn, have contributed to
the development of benevolent sexism.

Discrimination against Females: Subtle but often deadly

At present, overt discrimination on the basis of gender is illegal in many
countries. As a result, businesses, schools, and social organizations no
longer reject applicants for jobs or admission simply because they are
women (or men). Despite this fact, women continue to occupy a
relatively disadvantaged position in many societies in certain respects.
They are concentrated in low-paying, low-status jobs (Fisher,1992), and
their average salary remains lower than that for males, even in the same
occupations.

8.4.2 The Role of Expectations

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One factor impeding the progress of females involves their own
expectations. In general, women seem to hold lower expectations about
their careers than do men. They expect to receive lower starting and
peak salaries. And they view lower salaries for females are being
somehow fair. Why do females hold these lower expectations? Study
findings indicate that several factors play a role.

First, females expect to take more time out from work e.g., spend with
their children and this tends to lower their expectations for peak career
salaries. Second, women realize that females do generally earn less
than males. Thus, their lower expectations may simply reflect their
recognition of current reality and its likely impact on their own salaries.
Third, as we noted earlier, women tend to perceive relatively low levels
of pay as more fair than males do. Finally, and perhaps most important,
women earn less than men in many instances, this leads them to
conclude that they aren’t doing too badly after all whatever the specific
basis for women’s lower salary expectations, it is a fact of life that, In
general, people tend to get what they expect or what they request.
Thus, women’s lower expectations with respect to such outcomes may
be one important factor operating against them in many contexts.
8.5 METHOD TO REDUCE PREJUDICE
Prejudice appears to be a common aspect of life in most societies.
Social psychologists have found that prejudice and the repulsive effects
it produces can be reduce. The following are the techniques for
reducing prejudice.
1) Breaking the Cycle of Prejudice
It has been found that children learn prejudice and related reactions from
their parents, other adults and their peers. Given this fact, one useful
technique for reducing prejudice follows logically: Somehow we must
discourage parents and other adults who serve as models for children
from providing training in bigotry and must encourage them instead to,
help the children develop more positive views about others.
How can we induce parents who are themselves highly prejudiced to
encourage unbiased views among their children? One possibility
involves calling parents attention to their own prejudiced views.
Few persons are willing to describe themselves as prejudices; instead,
they view their own negative attitudes towards various groups as entirely
justified. Therefore, a key initial step is somehow convincing parents
that the problem exists. Once they come face to face with their own
prejudices, many do seem willing to modify their words and their

138
behavior. True, some extreme fanatics actually want to turn their
children into hate-filled copies of themselves. Most people, however,
recognize that we live in a world of increasing ethnic and racial diversity,
and realize that this environment requires a higher degree of tolerance
than ever before.
2) Recategorisation

Imagine that your school’s basketball team is playing an important game

against a rival school. In this case, you would certainly view your own
school as “us” and other school as “them”. But, now imagine that the
other school’s team wins and goes onto play against a team from
another state. Now you will view the other schools team as “us”
because if represents your state.
Situations like this are known as “recategoristaion” in which we shift the
boundaries between “us” and “them” and can be used to reduce
prejudice. When individual belonging to initially distinct groups work
together towards shared goals, they come to perceive themselves as a
single group and this reduces the prejudice.
3. Direct inter Group Contact

Prejudice can be reduced by increasing the degree of contact between

different groups and this idea is known as contact hypothesis. First,
increase contact between persons from different groups can lead to a
growing recognition of similarities between them. Second, although
stereotypes are resistant to change, they can be altered when
individuals meet a sufficient number of exceptions to their stereotypes.
Third, increased contact may help counter the illusion that out-group
members are alike and help to realize the fact that each and every
individual is unique.

We cannot conclude that simply putting people together will reduce

prejudice. Several additional factors must be taken into account.
Common goals: For contact to have beneficial effects individuals may
need to share common goals-they should feel they are working together
toward similar ends.
Equality of status: The long history of contact between males and
females has had no apparent effects o the rights of women throughout
the world. In part the failure of contact in reducing prejudice may be
Participation in decision making: Prejudice is more likely to be
reduced when all members of a group are given a chance to express
their opinions rather than when only a few persons have a say.

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 Success: When a work group or an athletic team performs successfully,
prejudices break down and frequently strong friendships develop
4. Cognitive Intervention

Stereotypes play an important role in prejudice and several techniques

can be used to say “no” to stereotypes. First, the impact of stereotypes
can be reduced by motivating others to be non prejudiced-for example,
by making them aware of egalitarian norms and standards requiring that
all receive fair treatment. Similarly, dependence on the stereotypes can
be reduced by encouraging individuals to think carefully about others-to
pay attention to their unique characteristics rather than their membership
in various groups.

5. Social influence as a means of reducing prejudice

Individuals acquire their racial and ethnic attitudes through the process
of social learning. In other words, prejudice and stereotypes arise from
social factors and experiences. If this is so, techniques of social
influence can be used to reduce prejudice. For instance, if the
individuals learn that their own views are more prejudice than, those of
other persons they like, and they might well be motivated to change their
views.
LET US SUM UP
Prejudice is the most destructive aspect of human social behavior. It
refers to negative attitude towards the members of social group. In
contrast discrimination refers to negative actions and behaviours toward
those individuals.Prejudice originate from (1) direct inter group conflict
(2) Social learning, (3) Mass media (4) social categorization
(5)stereotype (6)displaced aggression - psychodynamic approach and
(7)prejudiced personality.
Social psychologists have found that prejudice and the repulsive effects
it produces, can be reduced by using the following techniques: (1)
breaking the cycle of prejudice (2) recategorisation (3) direct inter group
contact (4) cognitive intervention and (5)social influence.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Choose the most appropriate answer
1. Prejudice is exhibited when members of one group display
____________ attitude towards members of another group.

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a. a. Neutral b. Negative
b. c. No d. Ambiguous

2. Discrimination refers to ________ action towards the members of some

Social group.
a. Negative b. Different
b. Neutral d. Positive

3. According to ___________theory, prejudice stems from the competition

among social groups over valued commodities or opportunities.
a. Realistic conflict b. Social learning
c. Social categorization d. Stereotype

4. Beliefs and expectations about members of group held simply on the

basis
of their membership in those groups is known as _______
a. Attitude b. Prejudice
c. Stereotype d. Opinion

5. When a source of frustration cannot be attacked because of fear

________
occurs.
a. Displacement b. Prejudiced
c. Authoritarian d. Disagreement

6. The _______ personality is marked by rigidity prejudice and over

Simplification.
a. Aggressive b. Prejudiced

c. Authoritarian d. Antisocial

State whether the following statements are true or false

7. In prejudice the members of another group are disliked because they

Belong to specific group.
8. In tokenism the individual is selected because of his merit and ability.
9. Prejudice is learned attitudes.

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 10. In ultimate attribution error the individual makeunfavourable
attributions about members of his own group.
11. Authoritarian personality is very much related to prejudice
12. In scapegoating we blame a person for the actions of others.

GLOSSARY:
Prejudice : Stereotype
Discrimination : Displaced aggression
Attribution : Authoritarian personality

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Negative
2. Negative
3. Realistic conflict
4. Stereotype
5. Displacement
6. Authoritarian personality
7. True
8. False
9. True
10. False
11. True
12. True
MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Define prejudice and discuss its origin
2. Give an account of discrimination behavior.
3. Describe the various methods of reducing prejudice.
4. Describe the methods of preventing and controlling aggression

SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Branscombe, N.R., Baron, R.A., &Kapur, P. (2017). Social Psychology
(14th Ed.). Chennai, India: Pearson India Education Services Private
Limited.
2. Myers, D.G., & Twenge, J.M. (2017). Social Psychology. (12th Ed.). New
York, NY: McGraw – Hill Education.

3. Feldman, R. S. (2001). Social Psychology (3rd Ed.) New Delhi, India:

Pearson India Education Services Private Limited.

142
4. Schultz, W., &Oskamp, S. (2000). Social Psychology: An Applied
Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
5. Schneider, F.W., Gruman, J.A., & Coutts, L.M. (2005) Applied Social
Psychology- understanding and addressing social and practical
problems. New York, NY: Sage publications.

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UNIT - 9

INTERPERSONAL ATTRACTION

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
9.1 Creation of Attraction
9.2 Effects of Proximity
9.2.1 Effects of Accessibility
9.2.2 Effects of Accessibility
9.2.3 Effects of Familiarity
9.3 Physical Appearance
9.3.1 Social effects of beauty
9.3.2 Beauty re-examined
9.4 Similarity
9.4.1 Joys of Similarity
9.4.2 Similarity versus Complementarity
9.5 Positive regard and information
9.5.1 Positive regard

9.5.2 Information
9.6 Sociometry and Sociogram
Let us sum up

Check your progress

Glossary
Answers to check your progress

Model questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
In our lives every one of us are definitely attracted towards someone.
This attraction has an immensely powerful effect on the people’ lives,
and understanding as to what draws people together has become a

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major challenge to social psychologists. Hence, in this unit, we will
discuss five factors that can play an important role in developing
relationships like physical proximity, physical appearance: its positive
and negative effects, interpersonal similarity: in attitudes, views and
actions as well as the Complementarily. Then role of positive regard
and information was also reviewed. Finally, a close observation was
also made regarding the measurement of social attraction.
OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you will be able to:

• define Interpersonal attraction

• explain the effects of proximity in attraction
• discuss the effect of beauty
• describe how similarity creates attraction
• explain the role of positive regard and information
9.1 THE CREATION OF ATTRACTION

Answering the question of what creates attraction is no simple mater.

One person may like another person for a multitude of reasons. Also,
relationships with friends seem very different from relationships with
family members of lovers. Do all such feelings spring from the same
sources? To help understand these questions, ask yourself first what the
people who you like respect or love has in common. At the most general
level your answer may be that, love is common. At the most general
level your answer may be that,they reward you in some way; they make
you feel good, happy, satisfied or even ecstatic. Of course, relationships
usually are more complicated, offering various combinations of good and
bad experiences. Love often causes pain.
The theorist, George Humans (1974) has proposed that people view
their feelings for others in terms of profit-that is, in terms of the amount
of reward obtained from the relationship minus the cost. The greater the
reward and lesser the cost, the grater the attraction.’

And, by implication, what produces attraction may change with time and
circumstance. If you are feeling bad about yourself, you may be
attracted to a person who is complimentary and supportive to you. If you
are feeling bored with daily events, you may be attracted to someone
who promises change and excitement. Attraction has no single cause.
If attraction depends on the value placed on another person’s behavior
and if this value can change from one situation to another, then the
same behavior may sometimes create attraction and at other times

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create dislike you may, for example, appreciate someone who is openly
expressive. Such a person helps you to be open and helps to reduce
your loneliness. But sometimes you may want to be alone and think
things through for yourself. Suddenly, the other person’s open
expressiveness seems to be intrusive and irritating. What produced
attraction now produces irritation? In the same way, gentleness,
relational, predictability, perseverance, and passion all have the capacity
to produce attraction or a dislike depending on the situation. Because
may reward is potentially a cost, most relationships exist in a precarious
balance. What once attracting may also to be alienating. With these
thoughts in mind, let us turn our attention to sources of attraction. First,
we will consider two sources that are usually most powerful at the more
superficial level of first acquaintanceship: physical proximity and
personal appearance. We then move to two sources of attraction that
seem to be more important as a relationship progresses: personal
similarity and positive regard. Finally, we look at the special case of
information and attraction. As will be shown, each of these five sources
of attraction also can produce dislike.

9.2 EFFECTS OF PROXIMITY

9.2.1 The Effects of Accessibility
In one of the first attempts to study the effects of physical proximity on
attraction, researchers investigated friendship patterns within a
residential housing area Although a person’s general location within a
city or state may restrict friendship choices, whether the distance
between apartments in the same housing complex should make a
difference is not clear. After all, it’s easy to walk a lock or two or take an
elevator to see a friend. Yet, the investigators found that even within the
same housing complex the effects of physical proximity were strong.
The closer any two families lived, the greater the likelihood of their being
friends. And families were more likely to become friends with the people
next only one door removed. Further, people who lived next to
staircases, had more friends than did the the people who lived at the
ends of the hall ways.

9.2.2 The Effects of Familiarity

In addition to allowing for accessibility physical proximity also increases
people’s opportunities to get used to one another. Consider the
following situation; during the first few days of a new class, you, as
students, often may experiences an anxiety similar to ours, as teachers.

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Somehow all those strange faces are unsettling. However, as the
semester progresses the tension usually disappears; However, as the
semester progresses the tension usually disappears; you feel more
comfortable with classmates whom you have seen day after day.
Zajonc argues that mere exposure to a person, or to any stimulus, is in
itself sufficient to increase attraction. Seeing people results in liking
them more or disliking them less Even animals show an increased
acceptance of the familiar.
The more frequently people see a stimulus; the more likely they are to
feel positively about it, even if they are unaware that the stimulus is
familiar. Thus, you might become better friends with your next-door
neighbour without knowing that the only reason for the increase in
friendship is greater frequency of contact. People come to like other
people without knowing why they do so. The reasons for the attraction
are developed afterward. One possible explanation is that the continued
appearance of the other person operates as a drive reducer.
Specifically, an encounter with a stranger alerts and arouses the
physical system. This state of arousal is unpleasant. The individual
must deal with fear and uncertainty and is too tense to feel attraction.
However, over time the other person begins to seem safe and
predictable. Arousal is lessened, and as feelings of relief become
associated with the presence of the other person, the attraction grows.
In other words, just as people come to like foods that satisfy their hunger
or a job that satisfies their needs for growth, they learn to appreciate the
arousal.
People do not always welcome the reappearance of the same stimulus.
They go to different movies and they buy different things to eat.
Repetition can produce boredom.
9.2.3 Effect of Rules of Distance
We have seen that living near someone or seeing someone frequently
can encourage attraction by increasing accessibility and reducing
anxiety. However, physical distance itself the critical factor. One can be
close at hand without being accessible or reducing anxiety. Can
distance itself have effects on attractions? One intriguing answer to this
question has been proposed by Edward Hall. As Hall argues people
seem to carry with them proxemics rules that are rules that specify (1)
the amount of physical distances that is appropriate in daily relationships
and (2) the kinds of situations in which closeness or distance is proper.
According to Hall, the rules governing physical distance vary with the
nature of a relationship. Intimate friends are allowed to make closer

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approaches than are acquaintances. A good friend may be allowed to
walk with his or her arm around your shoulder. If he or she chose to
walk at a distance of four feet, you might become irritated. You probably
expect strangers to maintain a greater distance, and you may be
resentful if a stranger comes too close. Specifically, Hall believes,
thatpeople distinguish among four zones:

1.The zone of intimacy ranges from actual body contact to a distance of

about eighteen inches from the body. This zone is primarily for an
individual’s most intimate acquaintances. If strangers enter this zone,
suspicion or irritability is a typical response.
2.Personal distance extends from approximately one-and –a half to four
feet. This zone is allotted for close friends, trusted acquaintances, and
persons who share special interests.
3.Social distance includes an area approximately four to twelve feet from
the body. This space is appropriate for impersonal relationships, work
settings, or casual greetings.
4.The public zone consists of all the space beyond twelve feet. This
zone is appropriate for formal meetings, passing strangers meetings with
high ranking persons.
In summary, we find that physical proximity increases the likelihood of
contact. People often seem to select as friends those persons who may
be visited with the least amount of effort. Moreover, physical proximity
also can increase exposure, and the resulting familiarity seems to create
attraction. Commonly shared rules govern the amount of distance that is
considered to be proper in various relationships. Obeying these rules
may be very important in generating friendship.
9.3 PHYSICAL APPERACE

i) Beauty
Although people may long for a partner who is beautiful, they also take
into account their own prospects for attainment. People who doubt their
own self-worth may not anticipate success in courting a beautiful person.
Afraid of the competition, expecting rejection, lacking in self-confidence,
the doubting individual may think. Such thinking apparently leads
people to avoid the most beautiful person they can find and instead
leads them to select someone who matches their own estimate of
themselves.

Consistent with this finding is the report that physically attractive men
have a higher expectation of acceptance by an attractive female than do

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less attractive men. However, if it is clear that a woman will accept
them, men generally select a physically attractive woman regardless of
their own level of physical beauty.

The sexes are not equally swayed by physical beauty, however. In

general, men seem to be more responsive to beauty than woman seem
to be. For example, males generally seem to prefer an attractive woman
for purposes of working, dating, or marriage. In contrast, females
generally consider similarity of interests to be equal to or more, females
generally consider similarity of interests o be equal to or more important
than physical appearance (stroche et al., 1971). Physically attractive
women have significantly more frequent dates than do women who are
less attractive.
We have seen that cultures develop various standards of beauty, but
these standards change across time and within various segments of the
culture. Thus, there can be broad disagreement as to who is beautiful,
and a great many factors can influence judgments of a particular
person’s beauty. In addition, the same person may seem to be
physically attractive at one moment and unattractive the next. For
example, if you are engaged in a heated discussion, you probably will
see a person who agrees with you as being more physically attractive
than someone who disagrees with you. In fact, the person who
disagrees with you suddenly loses his or her physical appeal.
9.3.1 Social Effects of Beauty
The social effects of physical attractiveness have been found to affect
the lives of children as young as elementary school age Adults who were
asked to rate the academic achievement of children and the seriousness
of their misbehaviour was far more inclined to reward achievement and
forgive the misbehaviour if the child was physically attractive. Children
also are attuned to physical beauty. Physically attractive elementary
school children are generally more popular with their peers than are less
attractive children The special treatment received by physically attractive
persons may also affect their personal traits or the styles. The physically
attractive person may acquire such valued traits as friendliness and self-
confidence.
9.3.2 Beauty Re-examined
In spite of the benefits of being physically attractive, beauty also can
have negative consequences. The attractive person may be desirable,
but his or her appearance may cause envy and resentment.
Attractiveness also can interfere with popularity. In a study of university

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freshmen, researchers found that the most attractive students were often
the least like students. Students who were attractive but were not the
most attractive were the most popular .Similarly, research suggests that
physically attractive males may be avoided by other males and that
moderately attractive females are more likely to be satisfied with their
social relationships than are their less or more attractive peer. In other
words, the moderate amounts of physical beauty may increase one’s
social position, but great physical beauty may kindle resentment and
hostility.

In summary, then, we can say that physical beauty may attract and
repel.Good looks may make life more pleasant and successful for the
attractive person. At the dame, however , beauty also may generate
suffering and hidden resentment. The beautiful person walks a special
tight rope.
9.4 SIMILARITY

Once proximity and beauty have brought people together, what

happens? What sources of attractive are likely to sustain a relationship
or bring it to an end? One very important factor is interpersonal
similarity-the sharing of opinions, likes and dislikes, styles of relating,
energy levels, and so forth. Clearly, if no similarity exists, continuing a
relationship will be difficult. However, similarity doesn’t always generate
liking. Sometime people look for comparisons that complement their
own strength and the weaknesses, Let us consider first the positive
aspects of similarity.
9.4.1 The Joys of Similarity
The most extensive investigations of the effects of similarity on attractive
have been undertaken by Donn Byrne and his colleagues. In this
research, college students typically learn about the opinions of fellow
student. The opinions vary in the extent to which they match those of the
subject. In some cases a student may find that there is agreement on
such topics as politics, religion, and university life and in other cases the
student may find few areas of agreement.In all of their studies, Byrne
and his colleagues have found that increasing similarity of opinion has a
strong positive effect on attraction. The greater the number of areas in
which the other person’s attitudes are similar to the subject’s the greater
was the attraction.

Attraction also has been found to be generated by similarities in abilities,

emotional states, conceptual systems, social or economic status and
preferred activities. In addition, married couples who share similar

150
attitudes toward pornography are likely to be happier with each other
than are couples whose attitudes toward pornography are dissimilar.
And adolescents who use drugs are likely to seek other drug users,
rather than abstainers, as friends.
Why are people attracted to others like themselves? First , similarity
may boost people’s self-esteem by making them feel that their opinions
or lifestyle are well chosen When a person has feelings of self doubt,
someone whose opinions are similar to his or hers is especially likely to
become a friend. A second reason for attraction is that people anticipate
a more positive relationship with someone similar to themselves. The
similarity suggests that good things will come of the relationship and that
the other person will be helpful and friendly. Third, similarity of opinion,
often seems to imply that, the other person has likable traits.
9.4.2 Similarity versus Complementarity
Despite the considerable amount of evidence indicating that people like
those people who are similar, many investigators have not been content
with the assumption that similarity always breeds attraction. Like other
sources of attraction, similarity may be two-edged, sometimes producing
attraction and at other times producing dislike. For example, people
often desire to see themselves as being unique, unlike other people.
Under such circumstances; other people who are highly similar may be
disliked.
In a similar fashion people who want to be taken care of may get along
best with people who like to give nurturance, and an incessant talker
may be most compatible with someone who likes to listen. In each case
the difference, rather than the similarity, creates the positive relationship.
The classic statement of this position is Robert Winch’s (1959) theory of
complementarily in mate selection. Winch was particularity interested in
finding the ingredients that go into making happy marriages. As he and
his colleagues found that, happy marriages often were based on the
abilities of each personso as tofullfill the need o the other. Thus, if one
partner liked being dominant, he or she was happiest when the mate
was submissive. If one partner was a leader, the other was best as a
follower. The effects of Complementarity are not limited to heterosexual
relationships. Camp counselors of the same sex form the strongest
friendships when one partner is nurturing and the other needs
nurturance, or when one is exhibitionistic and the other more deferent, or
when one is aggressive and the other self-punishing. Complementarity
may be especially important as a relationship grows deeper. People
may initially be attracted by similarity of opinion, but Complementarity

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may become more powerful as people’s styles of relating become more
obvious.
9.5 POSITIVE REGARD AND INFORMATION

The concepts that we have previously discussed do play an important

role in the formation of attraction but the sustainability of the same after
the formation largely depends upon two factors namely, the positive
regard and information.
9.5.1 Positive Regard
No one disputes the power or a warm smile, an embrace, or words of
support in generating feelings of attraction. Most people would agree
that such behaviours are important because in one way another, they
express positive regard. Many psychologists believe that positive regard
is one of the most significant sources of attraction in human affairs.
Numerous experiments have shown that, attraction towards another
person can be increased by the expression of an even minimal positive
regard.
According the Carl Rogers, people learn to expect other people’s regard
and these expectations develop early in life. As child comes to see that
rewards and punishments are associated with parental regard and
disfavour, the positive regards are gaining importance. So in the later
age, many people feel insecure without others regard. Some people
may begin to feel shy and un-interested if they were ignored for a few
minutes. Other people’s regard makes people feel happy and secure
and thus more attracted to the giver.

People whose needs for regard are especially high great often may be
most receptive to another person’s liking. For e.g. If you have failed in
an exam, you may be very much attracted to someone who puts a
friendly arm around you, and consoles you. At time, these positive
regards shown may also be false or deceptive. Simply to gain
something or to gain the favour of a powerful person, same people may
also employ some strategy, that is he or she may engage in activity that
is designed to create attraction. In some people even may change their
opinions frequently agree with persons from whom they need favours.
At times we may suspect the others motives also. An individual may be
pleased by another person’s praise that his decisions or activities are
good ones. However if an ulterior motive (inner motive) is suspected,
the reaction may be negative. Hence, the person who is in a powerful
position may feel extremely cautious about accepting friendship or

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praise from persons who have less power. As a result, the persons in
high positions may be usually very much lonely.
9.5.2 Information

Exchange of information may affect the attraction. Particularly, in the

high- fear condition, many expressed a desire to be with others. People
learn at an early age to seek the company of others when they are
fearful. Other persons can be reassuring and can defend the individual
against danger. I other words, waiting with others may reduce fear.
According to Schachter, some people when they are anxious, they may
need the presence of other people. Through his study on parents, found
that, with the first-born children, parents may be relatively casual and
like to leave the child to comfort him or herself. The first-born and only
children are more likely to affiliate with other people when anxious. It
can be inferred that reduction of hear is only one reason that people are
attracted or seek the company of others when they are anxious.

In this line two conditions seem to favor the development of attraction.

First, the need for information must be great, and secondly, the
information-receiver must trust and value the information-giver. A critical
but honest evaluator may be especially well liked even if he or she is in a
position to gain through flattery. The evaluator gains extra credit by
telling the truth when truthfulness might be costly. Good information can
build attraction. Accurate feedback at times can be too painful to build
attraction. An accurate appraisal after a the dismal performance simply
adds to one’s misery, which is flattery, may be appreciated more than
the truth.
9.6 SOCIOMETRY AND SOCIOGRAM
Sociometry is a method of studying social structures based on affection
or attraction. The attraction towards each other makes the basic aspect
of social interaction.
Moreno, in 1034 developed the sociometric technique used to measure
the interpersonal relationship. The interpersonal association can be
measured using Sociometry test Sociometry test is a means of obtaining
data regarding the preference of members. In a group, a person may
prefer to associate more with a particular person and ignore others.
This preference can be measured by asking each person in the group;
whom he prefers to be with and associate with. Jaguiri in1952
developed a method of relational analysis. According to this method,
the subject is asked to choose a person whom he likes the group and
also make a guess as to who likes him in the group.

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The pattern of choice depends upon the specific activity like studying,
playing etc. The choice also indicates a person’s desire for association.
The results are drawn up in a Sociogram. Sociogram is a diagram which
contains dots.
Denoted by a circle which are joined by arrows and lines. Each dot
represents a person.The person who is most popular in the group is
called a star. The person, with whom no one associates with, is called
an isolate. A small group of people in the group, whose members like
each other, forms a clique or sub-group Hence, Sociogram gives a
structure of the group as given in the following Figure.
S=Group star c=Cleque
I= Isolate
The important feature of sociometric analysis is that it describes the
feelings of the members of the group towards each other. It gives a
detail about who is a star, an isolate and a member of a clique. It is
found that isolates have unfavourable personality characteristics while
the stars have attractive personality. The choice of a star or an isolate
also depends upon the time an individual is able to spend with the
group.
Persons, who are similar to each other and have same characteristics,
associate more with each other. Newcomb 1961 conducted a study on
a group of strangers. He found that the strangers with similar traits have
greater interpersonal attraction. It was found that interpersonal
attraction also depends upon the similarity of socio-economic status.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Fill in the blanks

1. _________ proposed the proxemics rules.

2. __________ ___________ is the area which covers four to
twelve feet.

(Social distance).
3. ______________ developed the Sociometry technique.
4. The continued appearance of the other person operates as a
_________ reducer.
State whether the following statement are true of false
5. Attraction has no single cause.

154
6. Commonly shared rules govern the amount of a distance that is
considered to be proper
7. In general, men seem to be more responsive to beauty than
woman seem to be.
8. The attractive person may be desirable, but his or her
appearance may cause envy and resentment.

9. In the relational analysis method, the subject is asked to choose

a person whom he like the group.
LET US SUM UP

Attraction is generated when another person furnishes rewards, and it

decreases as one is punished. People will become attracted to each
other increase as the geographic distance between them decreases.
Physical proximity also means that there is continued exposure to
another person, and the resulting familiarity may increase attraction and
the rules, often called as theproxemics rules. Typically there regulate the
amount of physical distance maintained between people. Physical
beauty often is a powerful factor in producing heterosexual attraction.
The beautiful person may be assigned with both positive and negative
traits. People are frequently attracted to others, whose opinions, values,
social background, and other characteristics are similar to their own.
However, people also seek others whose traits and capacities
complement their own and enable them to increase their reward
together.
GLOSSARY

Complementarity - The quality of a relationship between two people,

objects, or situations such that the qualities of one supplement or
enhance the different qualities of the others.

Intimate zone – Maintaining a smaller distances between each other

which ranges from physical contact to 18 inches.
Personal Zone- Personal space is usually between 1 and 4 feet. This is
the best distance to create rapport and build relationships.
Proxemics - Proxemics is the amount of space people prefer to have
when engaging in conversation with others

Proximity - The quality or state of being proximate (closeness)

Social Zone – Maintaining a physical distance anywhere from 4 to 12
feet during formal business and social events.

155
Sociogram - Diagrammatic representation of structure of
relationships between people in a group
Sociometry - Measurement technique in social Psychology that
assesses the attractions (or repulsions) within a given group.

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1.Hull 2.Social distance 3. Moreno

4. Drive 5. True 6. True

7.True 8. True 9.True

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 MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Define interpersonal attraction.
2. What are proxemics rules?

3. What are relational rules?

4. “Attractiveness may also cause resentment”, Justify.
5. What are the social effects of beauty?

6. Explain the role of nearness in creating the interpersonal

attraction.
7. Describe the role of similarity and Complementarity in attraction.
8. Explain the process of Sociometry analysis.

SUGGESTED READINGS

1. Branscombe, N.R., Baron, R.A., &Kapur, P. (2017). Social Psychology

(14th Ed.). Chennai, India: Pearson India Education Services Private
Limited.

2. Myers, D.G., & Twenge, J.M. (2017). Social Psychology. (12th Ed.). New
York, NY: McGraw – Hill Education.
3. Feldman, R. S. (2001). Social Psychology (3rd Ed.) New Delhi, India:
Pearson India Education Services Private Limited.
4. Schultz, W., &Oskamp, S. (2000). Social Psychology: An Applied
Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

5. Schneider, F.W., Gruman, J.A., & Coutts, L.M. (2005) Applied Social
Psychology- understanding and addressing social and practical
problems. New York, NY: Sage publications.

157
 BLOCK IV
LEADERSHIP AND HELPING BEHAVIOUR

UNIT – 10: LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE

UNIT – 11: PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR

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UNIT – 10

LEADERSHIPSTRUCTURE

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
10.1 Leadership – Meaning
10.2 Leadership styles
10.3.1Bureaucratic
10.3.2 Autocratic

10.3.3 Transaction
10.3.4 Transformation
10.3.5 Democratic
10.3 Functions of leader
10.4 Theories of Leadership
10.4.1 Great Man Theories

10.4.2 Trait Theories

10.4.3 Contingency Theories
10.4.4 Situational Theories

10.4.5 Behavioral Theories

10.4.6 Participative Theories
10.4.7 Management Theories

10.4.8 Relationship Theories

10.5 Qualities of a good leader
10.6 Nature and Impact in group

10.7Leader effectiveness
10.8 Other Types of Leadership
Let us sum up

Check your progress

Glossary
Answers to check your progress

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Model questions
Suggested Readings
10.1 LEADERSHIP -MEANING

Leadership is a word that conjures up the images of heroic figures

leading their followers toward something better. Victory, prosperity, or
social justice are the goals. But what, precisely, is leadership?
Researchers in several different fields have considered this question for
decades, and the result is that at present, there is general agreement
that leadership involves influence and influencing others in a group by
establishing a direction for collective effort and then encouraging the
activities needed to move in that direction. Consistent with that definition,
being a leader involves exerting influence and changing the behavior
and thoughts of other members of the group so that they work together
to attain the group’s common goals.
Research on leadership has been part of social psychology for many
years (Haslam, Reicher, &Platow, 2010). Here, we consider three key
aspects of the findings of research on this topic in terms of (1) why some
individuals, but not others, become leaders; (2) when non-traditional
leaders are most likely to emerge; and (3) how leaders influence group
members’ satisfaction with their performance. Why do some people
become leaders, but not others? Are some people simply born to lead?
Indeed, some famous leaders were born to the job (e.g., Queen
Elizabeth I). Others clearly were not: Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela,
Adolf Hitler, Bill Gates, and Barack Obama, to name a few— all of
whom, frankly, came from rather ordinary circumstances.
People have long been interested in leadership throughout human
history, but it has only been relatively recently that a number of formal
leadership theories have emerged. Interest in leadership increased
during the early part of the twentieth century. Early leadership theories
focused on what qualities distinguished between leaders and followers,
while subsequent theories looked at other variables such as situational
factors and skill levels. While many different leadership theories have
emerged, most can be classified as one of eight major types.

10.2LEADERSHIP STYLES
Leadership styles can be defined as a person’s way of governing,
directing, and motivating followers. Over the last 50 or so years,
researchers have proposed a number of different leadership styles
characterized by those in business, politics, technology, and other major
fields. Psychologists have found that leadership styles can have an

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important impact on how well groups function. Leaders also help
determine how successful the group is at achieving its goals and how
motivated and committed followers are to the group and its goals. Some
of the major leadership styles that have been identified by different
researchers are as follows:
10.3.2 Autocratic

The autocratic leaderIs given the power to make decisions alone,

having total authority. This leadership style is good for employees that
need close supervision to perform certain tasks.

10.3.5 Democratic
The democratic leader The democratic leadership, or participative
leadership, was another one Lewin’s three styles of leadership.
This leadership style is characterized by:
• Shared decision-making responsibilities
• Social equality

• Creativity
• High engagement from group members
This style involves the leader including one or more employees in the
decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it).
However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using
this style is not a sign of weakness, rather it is a sign of strength that
your employees will respect.
This is normally used when you have part of the information, and your
employees have other parts. Note that a leader is not expected to know
everything and this is why you employ knowledgeable and skillful
employees. Using this style is of mutual benefit where by it allows them
to become part of the team and allows you to make better decisions.

Leaders who exhibit this style are often described as honest, fair,
creative, intelligent, and competent. This style of leadership can lead to
a great deal of commitment from group members because they typically
feel more input in the group’s success and failure. It is important to
remember that while democratic leaders accept and encourage team
members to offer their ideas and contributions, the leader does retain
the final say over all decisions.
This style of leadership is often identified as one of the “best”
approaches to leading groups, but it is not necessarily appropriate for
every situation. Some situations where the democratic style may be

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inappropriate include those where the group members are untrained or
where decisions must be made on a tight deadline.

The laissez-faire In this style, the leader allows the employees to make
the decisions. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions
that are made. This is used when employees are able toanalyze the
situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You
cannot do everything! You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks.
This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when things go
wrong, rather this is a style to be used when you fully trust and
confidence in the people below you. The laissez-faire style was another
of the three styles observed and described by Lewin and his colleagues.
This style is characterized by:
• Little direction from the leader
• Lots of freedom for group members

• Team members are responsible for making all decisions

• Great deal of autonomy
Laissez-faire leaders are sometimes referred to as delegative leaders.
Rather than attempt to direct and control the group, they instead hand
over the responsibility of leading the group to the team members
themselves.
The laissez-faire style can have both advantages and disadvantages,
depending upon the characteristics of the situation and the group. When
the members of the group are highly skilled and knowledgeable, letting
them guide themselves can be a great strategy. In such cases, the
leader can still offer support and advice when needed, but followers are
mostly able to make their own choices. This leadership style can be a
poor choice in situations that require quick decision-making or where
members of the group lack the skills to succeed. In such cases, team
members may be left feeling unsure of what they should do. Such
situations also lead to a lack of accountability, missed deadlines, and
low commitment to the group.

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10.3 FUNCTIONS OF LEADER
Following are the important functions of a leader:
1. Setting Goals:

A leader is expected to perform the creative function of laying out the

goals and policies to persuade the subordinates to work with zeal and
confidence.

2. Organizing:
The second function of a leader is to create and shape the organization
on scientific lines by assigning roles appropriate to individual abilities
with the view to make its various components to operate sensitively
towards the achievement of enterprise goals.
3. Initiating Action:
The next function of a leader is to take the initiative in all matters of
interest to the group. He should not depend upon others for decision and
judgment. He should float new ideas and his decisions should reflect
original thinking.
4. Co-Ordination:
A leader has to reconcile the interests of the individual members of the
group with that of the organization. He has to ensure a voluntary co-
operation from the group in realizing the common objectives.
5. Direction and Motivation:
It is the primary function of a leader to guide and direct his group and
motivate people to do their best in the achievement of desired goals, he
should build up confidence and zeal in the work group.

6. Link between Management and Workers:

A leader works as a necessary link between the management and the
workers. He interprets the policies and programmes of the management
to his subordinates and represents the subordinates’ interests before the
management. He can prove effective only when he can act as the true
guardian of the interests of his subordinates.

10.4THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP
A leader is crucial to the success of every team. Take an orchestra, for
instance, one that consists of all the best musicians in the world but
lacks a conductor. Even though every member of the orchestra can play

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perfectly by themselves, they will only produce an incompatible melody
in the absence of a conductor. The same concept applies to
communities, companies, and countries. Without a leader, nothing will
ever run smoothly.
As interest in the psychology of leadership has increased over the last
100 years, a number of different leadership theories have been
introduced to explain exactly how and why certain people become great
leaders. What exactly makes a great leader? Do certain personality traits
make people better suited to leadership roles, or do characteristics of
the situation make it more likely that certain people will take charge?
When we look at the leaders around us and be it our employer or the
President, and we might find ourselves wondering exactly why these
individuals excel in such positions. People have long been interested in
leadership throughout human history, but it has only been relatively
recently that a number of formal leadership theories have emerged.
Leadership theories are the explanations of how and why certain people
become leaders. They focus on the traits and behaviors that people can
adopt to increase their leadership capabilities.

10.4.1 Great Man Theories

The great man theory is a 19th-century idea according to which history
can be largely explained by the impact of great men, or heroes; highly
influential and unique individuals who, due to their natural attributes,
such as superior intellect, heroic courage, extraordinary leadership
abilities or divine inspiration. According to this theory, great leaders are
simply born with the necessary internal characteristics such as
charisma, confidence, intelligence, and social skills that make them
natural-born leaders.

Great man theories assume that the capacity for leadership is inherent
that great leaders are born, not made. These theories often portray great
leaders as heroic, mythic, and destined to rise to leadership when
needed. The term "Great Man" was used because, at the time,
leadership was thought of primarily as a male quality, especially in terms
of military leadership.

Such theories suggest that people cannot really learn how to become
strong leaders. It's either something you are born with or born without. It
is very much a nature approach to explaining leadership. Examples are
drawn from such great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Mao Tse Tung,
Kamal Ataturk, Abraham Lincoln, General de Gaulle and others. They

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 were born natural leaders with built-in qualities of leadership and
attained greatness by divine design
10.4.2 Trait Theories

Similar in some ways to Great Man theories, trait theories assume that
people inherit certain qualities and traits that make them better suited to
leadership. Trait theories often identify a particular personality or
behavioral characteristics shared by leaders. For example, traits like
extroversion, self-confidence, and courage are all traits that could
potentially be linked to great leaders.

If particular traits are key features of leadership, then how do we explain

people who possess those qualities but are not leaders? This question is
one of the difficulties in using trait theories to explain leadership.
There are plenty of people who possess the personality traits that are
associated with leadership, yet many of these people never seek out
positions of leadership. There are also people who lack some of the key
traits often associated with effective leadership yet still excel at leading
groups. For example, the late Steve Jobs was known for his charisma.
His ability to passionately articulate his visions made people want to
follow his lead. Through many researchers conducted in the last three
decades of the 20th century, a set of core traits of successful leaders
have been identified. These traits are not responsible solely to identify
whether a person will be a successful leader or not, but they are
essentially seen as preconditions that endow people with leadership
potential.
Among the core traits identified are:
• Achievement drive: High level of effort, high levels of ambition, energy
and initiative

• Leadership motivation: an intense desire to lead others to reach shared

goals
• Honesty and integrity: trustworthy, reliable, and open

• Self-confidence: Belief in one’s self, ideas, and ability

• Cognitive ability: Capable of exercising good judgment, strong analytical
abilities, and conceptually skilled

• Knowledge of business: Knowledge of industry and other technical

matters
• Emotional Maturity: well adjusted, does not suffer from severe
psychological disorders.

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• Others: charisma, creativity and flexibility

10.4.3 Contingency Theories

Throughout history, multiple schools of thought have argued about the

most effective leadership style. Popular among them is the Contingency
Theory of Leadership. The contingency theory of leadership was
proposed by the Austrian psychologist Fred Edward Fiedler in his
landmark 1964 article, "A Contingency Model of Leadership
Effectiveness." It states that a leader’s effectiveness doesn’t depend on
their abilities. External factors like environment, culture and social
relationships influence the leadership process. Contingency theorists
suggest that no matter how talented leaders are, they’ll likely struggle to
meet demands at some level. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic
has forced some of the most successful leaders to shut down their
business ventures.

The contingency approach, closely related to Situational approach is

based upon the premise that all management is essentially situational in
nature. All decisions by managers will be affectedif not controlled by the
contingencies of a given situation.
Contingency theories of leadership focus on particular variables related
to the environment that might determine which particular style of
leadership is best suited for the situation. According to this theory, no
leadership style is best in all situations. Leadership researchers White
and Hodgson suggest that truly effective leadership is not just about the
qualities of the leader, it is about striking the right balance between
behaviours, needs, and context.

Good leaders are able to assess the needs of their followers, take stock
of the situation, and then adjust their behaviours accordingly. Success
depends on a number of variables including the leadership style,
qualities of the followers, and aspects of the situation. Contingency
theory also proposes the structural changes or designs, leadership
styles, and control systems in an organization that allow it to react to
environmental contingencies.

To lead their team well, managers and supervisors may need to either
adapt their leadership style to the current situation or delegate some of
their leadership responsibilities to a co-worker. For example: Consider a

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project manager named Dinesh. He finds it much easier to communicate
in writing rather than in person, so he usually encourages his team by
sending them thoughtful emails at the end of every week. However,
there is a new employee in the office who is not very responsive to
written communication. To connect with this employee, Dinesh will need
to either make an effort to change his method and encourage this
employee in person or he will have to assign this task to the assistant
manager. In this example, Dinesh is not an ineffective leader. He is a
good leader who is facing an unexpected challenge. If he accepts the
fact that he will need to adapt to his situation instead of trying to force his
usual methods, he can still be a highly-productive leader who
encourages his team effectively.
10.4.4 Situational Theories
Situational theories propose that leaders choose the best course of
action based upon situational variables. Different styles of leadership
may be more appropriate for certain types of decision-making. For
example, in a situation where the leader is the most knowledgeable and
experienced member of a group, an authoritarian style might be most
appropriate. In other instances where group members are skilled
experts, a democratic style would be more effective.
10.4.5 Behavioral Theories

Behavioural theories of leadership are based upon the belief that great
leaders are made, not born. Consider it the flip-side of the Great Man
theories. Rooted in behaviourism, this leadership theory focuses on the
actions of leaders, not on mental qualities or internal states. According to
this theory, people can learn to become leaders through teaching and
observation. Behavioral Theory of Leadership is a leadership theory that
considers the observable actions and the reactions ofthe leaders and
followers in a given situation. Behavioural theories focus on how leaders
behave and assume that leaders can be made, rather than born, and
successful leadership is based on definable, learnable behaviour.
Behavioural theories of leadership are classified as such because they
focus on the study of specific behaviours of a leader. For behavioural
theorists, leader behaviour is the best predictor of his leadership
influences and as a result, is the best determinant of his or her
leadership success. Behavioral theory promotes the value of leadership
styles with an emphasis on concern for people and collaboration. It
promotes participative decision making and team development by
supporting individual needs and aligning individual and group objectives.

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It helps managers evaluate and understand how their behavioral style as
a manager affects their relationship with the team and promotes
commitment and contribution towards organizational goals.Behavioural
leadership theory is highly relevant in several fields. Every project
manager, CEO, activities coordinator or any other kind of professional
leader can all be evaluated according to the criteria developed by the
behavioural leadership theory. This theory promotes the idea that all
leaders are capable of learning and developing through adopting
beneficial behaviours and performing them in their workplace.
Behavioural leadership theory also encourages the leaders to be self-
aware of their behaviour and to recognize how it affects the productivity
and morale of their team.

10.4.6 Participative Theories

Participatory leadership used to be considered a difficult and
controversial way to lead the troops. The traditional view of leadership
supported a hierarchal style and the idea of democratizing leadership
was not popular. But overtime, especially with the problems within the
corporate world and after consumers’ trust had waned in these
organizations, participatory or democratic leadership has continued to
become an increasingly popular option for leaders. The methodology
behind being a participative leader is simple. Rather than employing a
top-down approach to managing a team, everyone works together for
the decision-making process and Address Company issues, sometimes
employing an internal vote to address problems or challenges.
Participative leadership theories suggest that the ideal leadership style,
is one that takes the input of the others into account. These leaders
encourage participation and contributions from group members and help
group members feel more relevant and committed to the decision-
making process. In participative theories, however, the leader retains the
right to allow the input of others. Examples of participative leaders
include facilitators, social workers, arbitrators and group therapists.
10.4.7 Management Theories

Management theories, also known as transactional theories, focus on

the role of supervision, organization, and group performance. The
transactional style of leadership was first described by Max Weber in
1947 and then by Bernard Bass in 1981. This style is most often used by
the managers. It focuses on the basic management process of
controlling, organizing, and short-term planning. The famous examples
of leaders who have used transactional technique include McCarthy and

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de Gaulle. These theories base leadership on a system of rewards and
punishments. Managerial theories are often used in business; when
employees are successful, they are rewarded and when they fail, they
are reprimanded or punished. Transactional leadership theory is based
on the idea that managers give employees something they want in
exchange for getting something they want. It posits that workers are not
self-motivated and require a structure, instruction and theymonitoring in
order to complete tasks correctly and on time.
Assumptions of Transactional Theory are as follows

• Employees are motivated by reward and punishment.

• The subordinates have to obey the orders of the superior.
• The subordinates are not self-motivated. They have to be closely
monitored and controlled to get the work done from them.
10.4.8 Relationship Theories
Relationship theories, also known as transformational theories, focus
upon the connections formed between leaders and followers.
Transformational leaders motivate and inspire people by helping group
members see the importance and higher good of the task.

These leaders are focused on the performance of group members, but

also want every person to fullfill their potential. Leaders with this style
often have high ethical and moral standards. The transactional leaders
overemphasize detailed and short-term goals, and standard rules and
procedures. They do not make an effort to enhance followers’ creativity
and generation of new ideas. This kind of a leadership style may work
well where the organizational problems are simple and clearly defined.
Such leaders tend to not reward or ignore ideas that do not fit with
existing plans and goals.

The transactional leaders are found to be quite effective in guiding

efficiency decisions which are aimed at cutting costs and improving
productivity. The transactional leaders tend to be highly directive and
action oriented and their relationship with the followers tends to be
transitory and not based on emotional bonds. The theory assumes that
subordinates can be motivated by simple rewards. The only ‘transaction’
between the leader and the followers is the money which the followers
receive for their compliance and effort.

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10.5 QUALITIES OF A GOOD LEADER
A successful leader secures desired behaviour from his followers. It
depends upon the quality of leadership he is able to provide. A leader to
be effective must possess certain basic qualities. A number of authors
have mentioned different qualities which a person should possess to be
a good leader.

Some of the qualities of a good leader are as follows:

1. Good personality.
2. Emotional stability.

3. Sound education and professional competence.

4. Initiatives and creative thinking.
5. Sense of purpose and responsibility.
6. Ability to guide and teach.
7. Good understanding and sound judgment.
8. Communicating skill.

9. Sociable.
10. Objective and flexible approach.
11. Honesty and integrity of character.
12. Self confidence, diligence and industry.
13. Courage to accept responsibility
10.6 NATURE AND IMPACT IN GROUP

A group is collection of individuals who work together so as to contribute

towards a common aim or goal under the direction of a leader. Groups
share common characteristics and have a social structure as in religious
groups, caste groups, community groups of business men, sportsmen
and so on. The characteristics of a group are as follows:
• Members define themselves as the group members and have a strong
‘we feeling’ a psychological feeling of belonging to each other. It helps
you to know how the group is moving ahead in its goal. Further, group
members share common norms and mutual interests and values. They
depend upon each other and rely for fulfillment of their needs and the
survival of the group

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Leadership and Group Dynamics
In the last section we looked at conflict management first and foremost
from the perspective of an individual conflict or area of conflict. In other
words, we examined conflict as an event and analyzed how it is possible
to react to this conflict under certain circumstances. From a leadership
perspective, however, it is also interesting to look at the conflict
management, from the standpoint of group dynamics. Group dynamics
describes the process that a group uses to find and structure itself and
to gradually become effective as a group. When a group is successfully
created, it means that the integration of the different members of the
group has also been successful. In a successful group, the different
members of the group have been integrated successfully.
The individual members of the group have found their role, hierarchy,
task, status, and relationship network in the group. As long as this
process is still being negotiated, the group is not usually working to its
full capacity. Interestingly, the process of group integration takes place
through an increasing distinction between the individual group members.
By observing the other group members as increasingly distinct from one
another, we can see more clearly which space they require or intuitively
assume in the group in order to really contribute to the group
performance. Group integration takes place through the increasing
distinction between the individual group members." Successful group
integration takes place through the distinction of the group members.
This process of distinction goes through various phases that are
described in many instances in management literature as the phases of
group dynamics or team development.
The characteristics of these four phases of group development are
described as follows:
1. Forming. In the first phase of group development, the group
members meet, get to know one another, and form relationships.

2. Storming. The storming phase is the more conflictual part of group

dynamics. The increasing differentiation of the relationships means that
latent areas of conflict suddenly become apparent and are perhaps even
activated and the different role understandings that predominate among
the team members lead to conflicts and a need for regulation.
3. Norming. The norming phase is where the group members find their
rulebook and their roles. Culture is created and the structures are
established.

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4. Performing. The performing phase corresponds to what we
described as efficiency in the previous chapter on structure. The roles in
the team have been clarified, the relationships established, the
processes negotiated, and the group can dedicate itself efficiently to
common goals.For each of these four different phases of group
development there are four more different tips for useful, goal-oriented
leadership action. In each phase of group development, something
different is required of the leader.

1. Recommendations for leadership action in the forming phase.

When a team is just becoming established, as the leader you will choose
an integrative and bonding approach. In this phase, relationships need
to be formed, the meaning and purpose of group activities explained,
and you need to position yourself as the integration figure for the team.
This phase of group dynamics is the phase of extending a friendly
welcome to everyone in the team, taking in new group members, and
strengthening the relationships. In sum, Forming requires integration and
strengthening of relationships.

2. Recommendations for leadership action in the storming phase.

In the storming phase, you will notice a stronger need for the leadership.
You will require moderating, carefully balanced authority. In this phase
you need a certain authority to enable matters such as dominance
disputes in the group to be settled satisfactorily and the group hierarchy
to be stabilized as you wish it to be. Yet you will need to use your
authority in different ways and with the requisite sensitivity.
Unnecessarily a strict authority in this phase generates winners and
losers, and causes areas of conflict in the future. You will need to handle
the identified areas of conflict with decisive authority, but still mediate. A
leader who turns into an arbitrator too early on in this phase and simply
makes decisions exacerbates not only the current areas of conflict but
also becomes party to this dispute and sows the seed for further areas
of conflict in the future. In Sum Storming requires authority with
sensitivity.

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Fig. 7.2 The four phases of group dynamics according to Bruce
Wayne Tuckman

3.

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Recommendations for leadership action in the norming phase.
In the norming phase, a leader needs to hammer out the rules and
processes for the group and transfer them to a long-term structure. The
wrangling and dominance disputes of the storming phase are finished
and you can turn your attention to the practical matters of group work.
However, the group is still busy with itself, as this is the phase in which
the structures are created that enable the group to become efficient and
productive in the fourth and final phase. In Sum Norming requires rules,
processes, and structure.

4. Recommendations for leadership action in the performing phase.

In this last phase of group development the team reaches its full
capacity. The leader’s job in this phase is to take care of the group’s
contact with the outside world.Whatever type of groups you lead, you
never usually lead them for your own sake. Almost every group pursues
goals in the outside world and has interfaces to this outside world. And it
is generally the leader who sets up, maintains, develops, or strengthens
these interfaces. With a structured group behind you, you can play this
role in an efficient and productive way. In Sum Performing enables the
leader to take care of contacts with the outside world.
10.7 LEADER EFFECTIVENESS
Leadership Effectiveness is the key analyst of Organisational success or
failure while examining the factors that lead to organisational success.
Leadership Effectiveness also refers to the capabilities of an effective
leader.The chief essential to leadership is always to be able to focus the
attention of a group of people upon a common object of interest to them
or to attach their interest, by a process of conditioning, to something
which previously did not appeal to them. Sometimes the task is to make
them realize or believe that they have this interest with regard to some
form of behavior or object of attention and at other times it is the problem
of getting them to respond effectively to that interest as a stimulus. Or it
may be both. This focusing of the attention of individuals upon a single
common object of interest may thus involve the creation of a new group,
or it may merely call for the concentration of the behavior of an existing
group upon some common interest in the most economical manner
possible to produce the most favourable results in the light of the end set
up.

Qualities and Equipment of the Leader In Face-To-Face Groups:

Leaders are likely to be found in all groups, even in deliberative
assemblies, but the leaders in groups concerned primarily with

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intellectual analysis and discussion serve more as foci of attention than
the directors of thought. In classes and audiences the leader becomes
more dominant and he may even by the use of well directed verbal
stimuli dictate the collective behavior which obtains in the group,
although such dictation is not essential to the successful functioning of
the groups. In the case of the rally or demonstration, however, the leader
or leaders must direct the collective behavior of the group.
Perhaps the simplest and most elementary item of equipment of the
personal leader is the possession of a striking physical personality. Size,
good looks, the appearance of strength of body and of character are
invaluable assets for the leader who must come iii personal contact with
people who are moved more by emotional stimuli to the senses than by
rational considerations. But even among people of intellectual trends the
striking physical personality may exert a powerful influence.
Fromchildhood one is conditioned by his experiences to respect size and
the evidences of physical prowess. To have these and other
advantageous personal qualities gives the possessor a feeling of self-
confidence which is of great values in personal leadership among the
crowds. Add to these physical qualities the power of ready speech and
the oratorical gift of emotional appeal, and a certain readiness in
repartee which enables the leader to extricate himself from otherwise
embarrassing logical situations, and his equipment for direct contact
leadership has a very powerful foundation.
In Indirect Contact Groups: These personal qualities are not of so
much importance for leadership in indirect contact groups. Size, good
looks, the self-confident manner, readiness of speech and repartee, the
poses of the practiced orator, are not so easily conveyed to the
members of the public who dwell at a distance from the speaker or
writer. Most of his contacts will be made through written language, which
does not reveal the concrete personality of the writer directly to the
senses of the reader, or through the radio, which has the important
advantage of revealing the concrete appeal of the voice in whatever
degree it exists. However, the voice is primarily an asset in personal
appeal in the degree to which it is made to function in connection with
appeals to the visual sense and to the extent the responses of both
senses can be integrated in a unitary response. Aside from the vocal
content of the stimuli presented by the leader, the appeal which he
makes to the visual sense, and through it to the kinaesthetic senses, is
more important than his appeal to the auditory sense. Something of the
visual appeal can be accomplished even through indirect contact media
by means of pictures. Movies, especially news reels, newspaper

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illustrations and illustrated supplements, magazines, and picture posters
carry pictorial representations of importance as agents of concrete
sensory appeal at a distance. These are rendered all the more important
when supplemented and reinforced by anecdotes and descriptive
material in print which serve to illustrate the concrete personal
characteristics of the leader.

The Importance of Sympathy in Leaders:Another important, perhaps

the most indispensable, quality for success in personal leadership is an
attitude of sympathy and understanding on the part of the leader. This is
important also in indirect contact leadership, but it is not so easy to make
it manifest through the more abstract agencies of communication as
through those of direct contact. However, the properly worded printed
speech, supplemented by anecdote and perhaps life history, and
especially the more direct contact of the radio, or pictures of the leader
in sympathetic and friendly poses, are valuable means of making people
understand that the leader possesses this quality of sympathy and good
fellowship. Political leaders especially are likely to be extensive "joiners,"
partly because they fear to deny their favours to the solicitors and partly
because they know the value of having many contacts of good
fellowship. In the more personal types of leadership in direct contact
groups the chief cause of the popularity of the leader is his readiness of
sympathetic response to human need or appeal. Some of the most
corrupt of the politicians have had very strong and genuine sympathies
as well as were kind and helpful to their relatively ignorant constituents
that they were retained in office in spite of their notorious records for
public incompetency and graft.
Justice and Humanitarianism in Leaders: A strong sense of justice,
especially if seasoned by sympathy, is also a strong asset in successful
leadership. The more personal the practice of justice is the greater will
be its appeal. Abstract justice has its value, even before the scattered
public which makes its contacts indirectly, but most people like the
justice of their leaders to be warm blooded, and by no means wholly
blind. Closely allied to the sense of justice in the leader is the
humanitarian attitude. It also should be warm and direct. Abstract
benevolence never has appealed to a great many people. The
philanthropist who bestows alms is much more acceptable as a leader
than the philanthropist andreformers who merely establish public welfare
organizations, organize reform associations, or make gifts for scientific
social research.

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Honesty and Good Faith in Leaders: The crowd or the public must
also believe the leader to be honest or faithful and devoted to their
cause if he is to secure their support. As between general honesty and
identification with their cause personally, if a choice must be made, the
group will nearly always choose the latter attitude in a leader. Few
people are capable of. objectifying their judgments to the degree that
they can prefer a good quality in its abstract application to society as a
whole to its concrete application to themselves in particular.
When we say a leader must be honest to be successful, we mean that
he must keep faith with those who follow him, or they will repudiate him.
He must not even acknowledge a higher good or an allegiance to a
greater cause than their own. Such "traitors" have been persecuted in all
ages. But, the difficulty here is not so much, that people are inherently
dishonest or selfish, but that they find it very difficult to see truth and
duty in the abstract or in any way except from the personal view-point.
The leader must be loyal to the things to which his group is loyal, but by
skillful manipulation he may be able, at least in some degree, to change
their loyalties.'

The Leader Must Have Insight: The leader must know human nature in
general and he must know his people in particular. The naive person
who does not readily sense attitudes and changes of emotion in his
crowd or public, or who has an absolutistic faith in human nature which
renders him impervious to the worst of which people are capable
collectively and individually and which makes him a simpering
sentimental optimist, about the human beings and human institutions,
cannot achieve and maintain successful leadership under complex and
changing conditions. Yet neither can the chronic pessimist or the cynic
be successful as a leader. The leader must know that anything can
happen, no matter how lead or how good, when collective conditions are
ripe for it. It is his business to understand conditions of all sorts, to detect
theta and impending changes before others are aware of them, and to
estimate the ways in which the people he leads will probably respond to
these conditions. The leader, if lie is to secure the best results, therefore,
must be a good judge of character, be without prejudices regarding the
limits or forms of collective and individual behavior in crucial situations,
be an intelligent student of social organization and tendencies, and be
possessed of astuteness, resourcefulness, and the patience in dealing
with the people and situations. Some of these qualities are perhaps
more difficult to exercise successfully amid the rapid changes of attitude

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of direct contact groups than in the more leisurely movements of
distributed public opinion.
Courage and Persistence in Leaders: Courage and persistence are
always essential to successful leadership. Opposition will at times
become very strenuous and upon occasion even violent. Under such
circumstances the man who lacks the courage of his convictions has no
business in the role of leadership. Failure under such circumstances is
the most irretrievable type of failure. Here also independence of
judgment is necessary. A weak personality will become convinced that
he is wrong or that his cause is unworthy or that his chances of success
are poor, in the face of opposition. In most men such intellectual and
emotional responses are conditioned to strenuous opposition. The
leader of independent judgment will make up his mind for himself and
will discount all suggestions to the contrary. Good natural ability,
originality, initiative, good intellectual training, soundness of judgment,
mental flexibility, forethought, etc., are associated qualities, all of which
are essential to the highest form of leadership. They perhaps count for
most in leadership in indirect contact groups, where the problem of
successfully initiating and guiding collective behavior is usually greatest.
Often leaders, who themselves lack either the natural ability or the
training to initiate successful programs, do very well in the subordinate
positions. Originality in leadership is the quality of uniqueness of
character and thought which enables one to plan something which
appeals to others or to use methods of execution which will attract
attention. But originality may be a detriment instead of an asset
unlessone is able to temper it with good judgment and inspirit it with
initiative. Self-confidence should also be coupled with originality and
initiative to enable the independent leader to take the full measure of
responsibility for his ideas or program.
Mental flexibility is another trait which is very important for the leader in a
dominant position. He needs to be able to change his plans or tactics
without hesitation the moment that he sees the old methods are not
working well. To hesitate, to fumble, to be doubtful, may easily be fatal in
critical situations. The effective leader should be clear-headed and self-
confident, sure of himself but always ready to learn and sensitive to the
least need of change and on the lookout for the best new methods. Yet
he should seek to avoid the necessity for an undue amount of change by
painstaking forethought which will enable him to plan far ahead into the
future. When once his plan is decided upon he should administer it with
concentrated effort and energy. Great energy of body and of mind and

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high power of concentration are requisite to leadership of the very
highest class.
Other Moral Qualities of leaders: Certain moral or moral-social and
moral-psychic qualities are also essential to be a successful leader. The
best type of leader should have both intellectual and moral vision. He
should know society and the possibilities and limitations of programs for
its betterment. He should be able to foresee opportunities for progress
before they are generally apparent. He should also have positive
idealism. The purely selfish, scheming sort of personality who seeks
always to better his own condition at the expense of others, instead of
along with the improvement of others, is likely sooner or later to fail.
Some men do succeed at the expense of almost everybody else, but,
such men occupy more nearly the role of social buccaneers than that of
leaders. They and a chosen crew take advantage of a disorganized or of
an as yet incompletely organized condition of society to carry outtheir
schemes regardless of either the wishes or the interests of others.
The highest type of moral leadership is of course that in which the leader
is willing to sacrifice himself for the success of a principle or a cause,
and to find his own greater self-realization in the triumph of the cause
with which the lie has identified himself, or to go down with it in defeat.
There have not been a great many truly great leaders of this type in the
history of the world, but mankind is not likely to forget those it has once
recognized and understood. The next highest type of leader is the one
who is willing to sacrifice self and others for a great and worthy cause.
Other moral qualities essential to a high degree of success in leadership,
are the power of inhibition and of self-discipline. Headstrongness and
strong convictions are often necessary to success in leadership, but
these qualities must not he unrestrained. Unchecked they produce in the
end bigots and social wreckers rather than effective leaders. Even the
leader, perhaps the leader more than most men should develop a power
of sane and just self-examination and should be able to say to his
impulses and enthusiasms, however strong, "no," or, "with moderation."

Other Qualities of Leaders: If the leader possesses all of the qualities

here claimed for him he should yet display a cheerful and even temper
and be able to take success and temporary setbacks, or even failure,
with poise and to renew his attack undaunted. The leader who becomes
irritable or sour or loses his nerve has already lost much, perhaps most,
of the battle. He should also have had experience which gives a
sureness of touch and fineness of technique which are indispensable in

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 delicate causes. These, together with self-confidence, inspire the
confidence of others and bring to him a reputation for achieving success.
If in addition to these qualities he also possesses organizing and
executive ability and knowledge of human nature and of society, and is
free from unreasonable restraints imposed by custom or prejudice or
superstition or an arbitrary power, success will be definitely achieved.

The Art of Being Led: Thisis a factor among the conditions of success
in leadership which is sometimes overlooked. Yet it is scarcely second in
importance to the qualities themselves which are necessary to
successful leadership. Every sincere arid idealistic leader has sooner or
later reached the limits to which he could carry his. Hescheme, could no
longer count on the knowledge, idealism, courage, concentration, and
singleness of purpose of a sufficient number of his followers to make
further advance possible. A more nearly universal education in the
principles and data of science, especially of the social sciences, training
in respect for proved facts and in the factual discrediting of superstition,
magic, and merely mystical daydreaming and escape-from-reality
philosophies, and filially training in loyalty to the best social order and
types of personality which scientific method can project, will set free a
vast volume of the energies of men now unused or inhibited, to be
applied to constructive purposes through intelligent social and personal
leadership.

10.8 OTHER TYPES OF LEADERSHIP STYLES

10. Transactional Leader
The transactional leader is also known as managerial leadership is all
about managing others using rewards and punishments. It gives the
opportunity to the manager to lead the group and the group agrees to
follow his lead to accomplish a predetermined goal in exchange for
something else. Power is given to the leader to evaluate, correct and
train subordinates when productivity is not up to the desired level and
reward effectiveness when expected outcome is reached. Transactional
leadership, People with this leadership style tend to prefer a great deal
of structure with clearly defined roles and expectations.
The transactional leadership style is characterized by:
• Lots of instruction

• Clear expectations
• Clear goals

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• Inflexibility
• Efficiency
• Focused on following rules

Transactional leaders usually lay out their rules and expectations. Each
member of the group is given clear directions about what they should be
doing, how they should be doing it, and when it should be done. The
focus of this style is on making sure that things are completed correctly,
on time, and according to the rules.
Because it is centred on productivity, efficiency, and safety, this can be
an effective style when used within an organizational structure. It can be
stifling in settings where workers feel micro-managed. Because this style
is so focused on extrinsic motivations, with rewards and bonuses offered
for meeting or exceeding goals, followers may not develop much intrinsic
motivation for their work.

10.3.4 Transformation Leader

The transformation leader motivates its team to be effective and
efficient. Communication is the base for goal achievement focusing the
group on the final desired outcome or goal attainment. This leader is
highly visible and uses chain of command to get the job done.
Transformational leaders focus on the big picture, needing to be
surrounded by people who take care of the details. The leader is always
looking for ideas that move the organization to reach the company’s
vision.

Transformational leadership is characterized by high levels of

motivation, inspiration, and commitment. People with this leadership
style take charge of the group by presenting a clear vision of the
outcome, display a great deal of passion for the work, and help group
members feel inspired and committed to the goals.
People who have this leadership style are often described as:

• Energetic
• Passionate
• Enthusiastic

• Trustworthy
• Creative
• Intelligent

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Transformational leaders are not only highly creative; they also inspire
creativity in others. They offer support and guidance in order to help
each member of the team achieve their full potential. Team members
look to the leader as a role model. Because of this, followers tend to
internalize the ideals of the leader and strive to emulate these qualities.
The bureaucratic leader is very structured and follows the procedures
as they have been established. This type of leadership has no space to
explore new ways to solve problems and is usually slow paced to ensure
adherence to the ladders stated by the company. Leaders ensure that all
the steps have been followed prior to sending it to the next level of
authority. Universities, hospitals, banks and government usually require
this type of leader in their organizations to ensure quality, increase
security and decrease corruption. Leaders that try to speed up the
process will experience frustration and anxiety.
The charismatic leader leads by infusing energy and eagerness into
their team members. This type of leader has to be committed to the
organization for the long run. If the success of the division or project is
attributed to the leader and not the team, charismatic leaders may
become a risk for the company by deciding to resign for advanced
opportunities. It takes the company time and hard work to gain the
employees' confidence back with other type of leadership after they have
committed themselves to the magnetism of a charismatic leader.
The people-oriented leader is the one who, in order to comply with
effectiveness and efficiency, supports, trains and develops his
personnel, increasing job satisfaction and genuine interest to do a good
job.
The task-oriented leader focuses on the job, and concentrates on the
specific tasks assigned to each employee to reach goal
accomplishment. This leadership style suffers the same motivation
issues as autocratic leadership, showing no involvement in the teams
needs. It requires close supervision and control to achieve expected
results. Another name for this is deal maker and is linked to a first
phase in managing Change, enhance, according to the Organize with
Chaos approach.
The servant leader facilitates goal accomplishment by giving its team
members what they need in order to be productive. This leader is an
instrument employees use to reach the goal rather than a commanding
voice that moves to change. This leadership style, in a manner similar
todemocratic leadership, tends to achieve the results in a slower time
frame than other styles, although employee engagement is higher.

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The environment leader is the one who nurtures group or
organizational environment to affect the emotional and psychological
perception of an individual’s place in that group or organization. An
understanding and application of group psychology and dynamics is
essential for this style to be effective. The leader uses organizational
culture to inspire individuals and develop leaders at all levels. This
leadership style relies on creating an education matrix where groups
interactively learn the fundamental psychology of group dynamics and
culture from each other. The leader uses this psychology, and
complementary language, to influence direction through the members of
the inspired group to do what is required for the benefit of all.

LET US SUM UP
Leadership is an inevitable part of our lives. Leadership success is
measured by how well you motivate other people to follow you.
Leadership contains a social hierarchy. Leading means succeeding in
getting other people not to use their own potential degrees of freedom,
but to follow the will of the leader. Early leadership theories focused on
what qualities distinguished between leaders and followers, while the
subsequent theories looked at other variables such as situational factors
and skill levels. Psychologists have found that leadership styles can
have an important impact on how well groups function. Leaders also
help determine how successful the group is at achieving its goals and
how motivated and committed followers are to the group and its goals.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. According to -----------great leaders are simply born with the necessary
internal characteristics such as charisma, confidence, intelligence, and
social skills that make them natural-born leaders.
a) Great man theory b) Contingency Theories c) Situational Theories d)
Participative Theories

2. In the first phase of group development, the group members meet, get
to know one another, and form relationships.
a) Norming b)Forming c) Performing d) Storming

3. In the ----------, a leader needs to hammer out the rules and processes
for the group and transfer them to a long-term structure.
a) Norming b)Forming c) Performing d) Storming

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4. The ------------ leads by infusing energy and eagerness into their team
members
a) transformational b)transactionalc) autocratic d) charismatic leader

5. The ------------- is the one who nurtures group or organizational

environment to affect the emotional and psychological perception of an
individual’s place in that group or organization

a) transactionalb)environment leader c) autocratic d) laissez-faire

6. According to trait theory, people can learn to become leaders through
teaching and observation.

7.Relationship theories, also known as transactional theories, focus

upon the connections formed between leaders and followers.
8. The transactional leader is also known as managerial leadership, is all
about managing others using rewards and punishments.
9. Transformational leaders are not only highly creative; they also inspire
creativity in others.

10. Storming is the last phase of group development the team reaches
its full capacity. The leader’s job in this phase is to take care of the
group’s contact with the outside world.

11. Democratic style involves the leader including one or more

employees in the decision making process
GLOSSARY
The transactional leader: Known as managerial leadership, is all about
managing others using rewards and punishments.
The transformation leader: One who motivates its team to be effective
and efficient with the Communication as the base for goal achievement.
Charismatic leader - Leads by infusing energy and eagerness into their
team members.

Forming. In the first phase of group development, the group members

meet, get to know one another, and form relationships.
Norming. The norming phase is where the group members find their
rulebook and their roles
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. a) Great man theory 2. b) Forming 3.a) Norming 4. d) Charismatic
leader 5. b)Environment leader 6.False 7. True 8.True 9. True 10.False
11. True

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 MODEL QUESTIONS
1. What do you understand from great man theory?

2. What is the difference between democratic leader and autocratic

leader?
3. Describe in detail about the different leadership styles.

4. What are the steps involved in group formation?

5. Explain the role of leader in the four phases of group development
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Branscombe, N.R., Baron, R.A., &Kapur, P. (2017). Social Psychology
(14th Ed.). Chennai, India: Pearson India Education Services Private
Limited.
2. Myers, D.G., & Twenge, J.M. (2017). Social Psychology. (12th Ed.). New
York, NY: McGraw – Hill Education.
3. Feldman, R. S. (2001). Social Psychology (3rd Ed.) New Delhi, India:
Pearson India Education Services Private Limited.
4. Schultz, W., &Oskamp, S. (2000). Social Psychology: An Applied
Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

5. Schneider, F.W., Gruman, J.A., & Coutts, L.M. (2005) Applied Social
Psychology- understanding and addressing social and practical
problems. New York, NY: Sage publications.

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UNIT - 11

PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Prosocial Response in Emergency
11.2.1 Diffusion of Responsibility
11.2.2 Situation factor that enhance or inhibit helping
11.2.3 Motivation and Morality
11.2.4 Motivation and Moral Behaviour
11.3 Explaining Prosocial Behavior
11.3.1 Empathy- Altruism Hypothesis
11.3.2 Negative State relief model
11.3.3 Emphatic joy Hypothesis
11.3.4 Genetical Deterministic Model
11.4 The Helper and those receive help
11.4.1 Helping as a function of the Bystander’s Emotional State
11.5 Dispositional difference in Prosocial Behaviour
11.5.1 Empathy
11.5.2 People differ in Empathy
11.6 Personality factors associated with Prosocial Behaviour
11.6.1 Altruistic Personality

OVERVIEW
Social psychological researchers have attempted to determine why THE
people sometimes provide help to strangers and sometimes stand back
and do nothing. In this unit, we will first describe the basic factors that
influence the likelihood that a given individual will or will not respond to
an emergency with a Prosocial act. Next, we will examine some of the
dispositional and emotional characteristics of those who help others and
those who are helped, both in emergencies and in long-lasting
situations. The third major topic is a presentation of the major
theoretical explanations of the Prosocial motivation, ranging from
theories based on self-centered versus unselfish motivation to the
proposition that the helping process is based on genetic determinates
Finally , the disposition differences in helping behavior and the role of
personality in helping behavior is discussed.

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 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
• Define prosocial behavior
• Highlight the helping behavior in the emergency
• Explain the various models of prosocial behavior
• Explain the role of dispositional factors on pro-social behavior
• Describe the role of personality factors.
• Discuss about the altruistic personality.
• Explain by–stander effect.

11.1 INTRODUCTION
Prosocial actions always seem to involve a mixture of making at least
some mild personal sacrifice in order to provide AN assistance and, at
the same time, obtaining some degree of personal satisfaction from
having done so. This mixture of sacrifice a satisfaction holds true
whether the act something relatively simply and safe, such as
dangerous, such as saving a stranger who is drowning.
With respect to such behavior, the goal of social psychologists is to
understand and predict prosocial behavior-any act that benefits others.
Generally, the term is applied to acts that do not provide any direct
benefit to the person who performs the act, and, may even involve some
degree of risk. The term altruism is sometimes used interchangeably
with the prosocial behavior, but true altruism is an unselfish concern for
the welfare of others.

11.2 PROSOCIAL RESPONSE IN EMERGENCY

In the early morning hours of March 13, 1964, a woman was murdered
in New York City. Catherine (Kitty) Genovese was returning home from
her job as manager of a bar. As she crossed the street from her car to
the apartment building where she lived, a man armed with a knife
approached her. She ran away from him, but then he chased Ms.
Genovese, caught up with her, and then stabbed her. She screamed for
help, and lights went on in many of the apartments overlooking the street
as people looked out to see what was going on. The attacker started to
leave, but when he saw that no one was coming to help his victim, he
returned to kill her. She screamed again, but he stabbed her repeatedly
until she lay dead. It was later determined that this horrifying forty-five-
minute attack was seen and heard by thirty-eight witnesses, but one
took any direct action or bothered call the police.

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The failure of the bystanders to provide help that led many in the media
to attempt to answer the question “Why didn’t they help?”
The first hypothesis to be tested was that bystanders fail to respond to
an emergency if there is diffusion of responsibility. In other words, the
more bystanders there are the less responsibility any one of them
accepts in dealing with the emergency. If this idea is correct, it follows
that in a situation with only one bystander, help is very likely to be given.
In the incident involving the mother and her frightened son in the Texas
airport, I was the only bystander; any responsibility for helping was mine
alone, and I did help. With multiple bystanders, as in the attach on Kitty
Genovese, any one of thirty-eight people looking out of their windows
could have acted, but each head only one thirty- eighth of the total
responsibility for helping was mine alone, and I did help. With multiple
bystanders, as in the attach on Kitty Genovese, any one of thirty-eight
people looking out of their windows could have acted, but each had only
one thirty-eight of the total responsibility, and that was apparently not
enough to motivate any one of them, do something. The general
prediction at this point was a simple but very important one. As the
number of bystanders to an emergency increases, the likelihood of a
prosocial response decreases. An experiment was designed to test the
prediction of what became known as the bystander effect.

11.2.1 Diffusion of responsibility

The proposal that, the amount of responsibility assumed by bystanders
to an emergency is shared among them, that, are if there is only one
bystanders, he or she has total responsibility. If there are two
bystanders, each has 50 percent of the responsibility. If there are one
hundred bystanders, each has only one percent of the responsibility.
The more bystanders, the less any one of them feels responsible to act.
When you are actually face to face with such emergencies, however, the
situation is not that simple. Beyond diffusion of responsibility, there are
numerous factors that influence how people respond.
Bystander effect
This refers to the fact that the likelihood of a prosocial response to an
emergency is affected by the number of bystanders who are present. As
the number of bystanders increases, the probability that any one
bystander will help decreases and the amount of time that passes before
help being received increases.
The groundbreaking experiment devised by Darley and Latane (1968)
involved the creation of what appeared to be an emergency in their

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research h laboratory. They arranged for different numbers of
bystanders to be present and then assessed whether or not the number
of bystanders had the expected effect on prosocial responsiveness.
Male students took part in what was supposedly a study of campus life.
Each one sat alone and talked to other students by means of an
intercom about the problems encountered in adjusting to college. After
this bogus study was underway, the participants were suddenly
confronted by an emergency-what seemed to be a severe medical
problem experienced by a fellow student. This student said that he
sometimes has and seizures when confronted by stress, and soon after
that began choking, had difficulty speaking, and said he was going to die
and needed help, after which he made no further sound.
This stranger in need was actually only a tape recording that was played
for each participant-one aspect of the deception necessary to create the
needed conditions. The second deception involved varying the number
of bystanders. Participants were assigned to one of three groups. In one
group, each participant was led to believe that he was one of two
students, so he was the only one aware of the emergency. In the
second group, each participant believed that he was in a three-person
experiment, so he was one of two bystanders, in the third group, each
was supposedly one of five bystanders. Not only was the “victim” a tape
recording, so were the fellow bystander.
The experimental design was meant to create a situation analogous to
that experienced by the neighbours of Kitty Genovese: a stranger is
having a serious problem and the bystander is faced with a decision.
Because the experimenters had supposedly left for another location, the
only way to help was for the student to leave the experimental cubicle
and search the nearby rooms in an effort to locate the person having a
seizure. Helpfulness was measured in terms of (1) the percentage of
the participants in each experimental group who attempted to help and
(2) among those who helped, the time they waited before acting. Would
you have helped?
As you might have guessed, the prediction was correct: the bystander
effect was shown to occur, and the findings were consistent with the
concept of diffusion of responsibility. The more the bystanders, the
lower the percentage of students who responded and the longer they
waited before responding.
Step1: Noticing The Emergency: By definition, emergencies don’t
happen on schedule, so there is no way to anticipate when or where an
unexpected problem will arise. As a result, we usually are doing

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something else and thinking about quite different matters when suddenly
we encounter a stranded motorist, an accident on the highway, screams
in the night, or a fellow research participant having a seizure. In many
instances, people simply do not notice, as a result, for them, the problem
does not exist. In our everyday lives, we ignore or screen out many
sights and whelmed by an overload of information. It could be concluded
that a person who is too busy to pay attention to his or her surroundings
fails to notice even an obvious emergency. No help is given because
there is no awareness that the emergency exists.

Step: 2 Interpreting an Emergency as An Emergency:

Even when we do pay attention to what is going on around us, we have
only limited and incomplete information about what strangers might be
doing. The inclination to perceive such events as a non-emergency
inhibits any tendency to make a prosocial response. With
theambiguous information as to whether one is witnessing a serious
problem or something inconsequential, most people are inclined to
accept a comforting and non-stressful interpretation that indicated no
need to do anything. All of this suggests that multiple witnesses may
inhibit helping not only because of the diffusion of responsibility, but also
because it would be embarrassing to misinterpret the situation and act
inappropriately. Making such a serious mistake in front of several
strangers might lead them to label your behavior as stupid or as a silly
over reaction.
Pluralistic lgnorance: The tendency of bystanders in an emergency to
rely on what other bystanders do and say, even though none of them is
sure about what is happening or what to do about it. Very often all of the
bystanders hold back and behave as if there is no problem, and use this
“information” to justify their failure to act.
The tendency for those in a group of strangers to hesitate and do
nothing is based on what is known as the pluralistic ignorance. That is,
because none of the bystanders’ knows for sure what is happening,
each depends on the others to provide cues, as a result, no one
responds.

Step: 3 Assuming That it is Your Responsibility To Help:

Once an individual pays attention to some external event and interprets
it as an emergency, a prosocial act will follow only if the person takes
responsibility for providing help. In many instances, the responsibility is
clear.

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In many instances, the responsibility is clear. Fire-fighters are the ones
to do something about a burning house; police officers are the ones to
do something about a crime; medical personnel deal with injuries and
illnesses. When responsibility is not as clear as in those examples,
people tend to assume that anyone in a leadership role must be
responsible. For example, professors are responsible for dealing with
classroom emergencies and bus drivers for emergencies involving their
vehicles. When there is one adult and several children, the adult is
expected to take charge.

One of the reasons that a lone bystander is more likely to act than a
bystander in a group is that there is no one else present who could take
responsibility.With a group that has no obvious leader, there is diffusion
of responsibility, as was hypothesized in the original experiment
discussed earlier.
Step 4: Knowing What to Do:

Even if a bystander reaches step 3 and assumes responsibility, nothing

useful can be done unless that person knows how to be helpful. Some
emergencies are sufficiently simple that almost everyone has the
necessary skills.Some emergencies require a special knowledge and
skills that are not possessed by most bystanders. For example, you can
help someone who is drowning only if you know how to swim and how to
guide a floundering s to safety.
Step 5: Making The Decision To Help: Even if bystander’s response at
each of the first four steps is yes, help will not occur unless he or she
makes the final decision to act. Helping at this final point can be
inhibited by fears and often the realistic ones about potential negative
consequence. Even police are wary when they have been called to deal
with an angry domestic scene. Intervention in family violence can be
more dangerous than interference in a hostile interaction between two
strangers.

For some very good reasons, then, bystander may decide to hold back
and avoid the risks that can be associated with performing prosocial
acts.

11.2.2 Situational factors that enhance or Inhibit Helping

Beyond the five decision-making steps that influence prosocial
behaviour, additional factors also have an effect on whether or not a
bystander is likely to provide help. The most important of these are (i)
the extent to which a bystander evaluates the victim positively
(attraction), (ii) the attributions made by the bystander as to the victim’s

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responsibility for his or her plight, and (ii) the bystander’s exposure to
prosocial models either in the present situation or in the past.
(i)Appearance

A physically attractive victim receives more help than an unattractive

one. Bystanders are more likely to help a victim who is similar to
themselves than one who is dissimilar.

(ii) Attributions Concerning Victim Responsibility

You would be less motivated to help if you made the attribution that the
man was personally responsible for his situation that if he seemed to be
the innocent victim of an accident. Help is not given as freely if a
bystander assumes that “the victim is to blame”, especially if the
potential helper tends to assume that most misfortunes are controllable.
If so, the problems are perceived as the victim’s victim’s fault. Even very
religious individual may refrain from helping if they attribute responsibility
to the victim. If the victim is perceived as one who violated your religious
values for example, drinking alcohol, you are less likely to help.
(iii) Prosocial Models
If you are shopping and notice someone collecting money for the
homeless or for needy children, do you react by making a contribution?
That is, assuming that you responded to the earlier decision steps with a
yes, do you then decide to help? An important factor at this final step is
whether you observe someone else make a donation. If others give
money, you are more likely to do so (Macauley, 1970), Even the
presence of coins and bills that were apparently contributed earlier in the
day encourages you to make a charitable response.
If others give money, you are more likely to do. Even the presence of
coins and bills that were apparently contributed earlier in the day
encourages you to make a charitable response. Those who watched the
prosocial behavior on TV ten engaged in prosocial behavior in real life.
Additional experiments have confirmed the influence of positive TV
models on children. For example preschool children who watch
prosocial programs are much more apt to respond in a prosocial way
than are children who do not watch such shows. Thus a prosocial model
encourages prosocial behavior, and video violence inhibits it.
11.2.3 Motivation and Morality
Batson and Thompson (2001) suggest that motivational issues must
also be considered. They indicate that three major motives are relevant
when a person is faced with a moral dilemma: Self-interest and

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sometimes called egoism, moral integrity, and moral hypocrisy. People
can be roughly categorized with respect to which motive is primary for
them. What is meant by these motives, and how do they affect
behavior?
What is meant by these motives, and how do they affect behavior? Most
of us are motivated, at least in part, by self-interest, and much of our
behavior is based on seeking whatever provides us with the most
satisfaction.
Egoism: An exclusive concern with one’s own personal needs and
welfare rather than with the needs and welfare of others.
Self-interest: The motivation to engage in whatever behavior provides
the greatest satisfaction.
Moral integrity: The motivation to be moral and actually to engage in
moral behavior.
11.2.4 Moral hypocrisy: Motivation and Moral Behavior

People differ in their motivations when faced with a moral decision.

Some are motivated primarily by self-interest and do what is moral for
them. Some are motivated primarily by moral integrity and do what is
moral and fair. Moral integrity often conflicts with self-interests, and the
outcome of the conflict depends on a variety of factors. Some are
motivated primarily by moral hypocrisy and behave so as to appear
moral but actually meet their own personal needs.
11.3 EXPLAINIG PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR: WHY DO PEOPLE HELP?
What motivates a prosocial act? Many theories have been formulated,
but most rest on the familiar assumption that people attempt to maximize
rewards and minimize punishments.
Existing theories tend to stress either relatively selfish or relatively
unselfish motivates for behaving in a prosocial manner. As you might
guess, people tend to attribute their own helpful behavior to unselfish
motivates for behaving in a prosocial manner. As you might guess, the
people tend to attribute their own helpful behavior to certain unselfish
motives, usually suggesting basic moral values- “It was the right to do “
or “That was the way my parents raised me “ or “ The Lord put me there
for a reason.”
When, however, the help is provided by someone else, an observer is
equally likely to attribute either unselfish motives-“She was heroic” –or
selfish ones- “She was just hoping for a reward.” Even those who spend
their lives trying to deal with massive problems such as global warming

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or a cure for cancer are often viewed as acting in terms of their own self
– interest. The ultimate example of such attributions is to say thatthe
person who does good deeds is doing so only because of the prospect
of being rewarded by spending all eternity in heaven.

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11.3.1 Empathy-Altruism: It feels Good to Help Those in Need

Perhaps the least selfish explanation of prosocial behavior is that

empathetic people help others because “it feels good to do well.” On
this underlying assumption, Batson and his colleagues in proposed the
empathy-altruism hypothesis.They suggest that at least some prosocial
acts are motivated solely by the unselfish desire to help someone in
need. This motivation to help can be sufficiently strong that the
individual who provides help is willing to engage in unpleasant,
dangerous, and even life-threatening activity. The feelings of
compassion can be sufficiently strong that they outweigh all other
considerations. The powerful feeling of empathy provides validating
evidence of the individual that he or she must truly value the other
person’s welfare.

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 Selective Altruism: Helping one and ignoring the Common
Good?
For any group of individuals in need, an equal distribution of needed
resources would be best for the common good. Very often, however
people are more willing to help on the basis of selective altruism; that is,
they will assist one member of the group who engages them
emotionally. You might try to answer this question: Is fair to help one
and ignore the rest?
11.3.2 Negative – State Relief: Helping Can Reduce Your Negative
Affect
Another theory suggests that people sometimes help because they are
in a bad mood and want to make themselves feel better. This
explanation of prosocial behavior is known as the negative-state relief
model. Negative-state relief model is the proposal, that prosocial
behavior is motivated by the bystander’s desire to reduce his or her own
uncomfortable and negative emotions. In other words, prosocial
behavior can act as a self-help undertaking to reduce one’s negative
affect. You may engage in a prosocial act primarily in order to improve
your own mood.
11.3.3 Empathic Joy
Empathic joy hypothesis is the proposal that prosocial behavior is
motivated by the positive emotion a helper anticipates experiencing as a
result of having a beneficial impact on the life of someone in need.
Helping can be explained on the basis of the empathic joy hypothesis.
From this perspective, a helper responds to the needs of a victim
because he or she wants to feel about accomplishing something. In
each of the three theoretical models that have just been described (1)
empathy altruism hypothesis (2) negative state relief model, and (3)
empathic joy hypothesis affective state is a crucial element. That is,
prosocial behavior occurs because such actions increase the positive
affect or decrease negative affect. All three formulations rest on the
assumption that people engage in helpful behavior either because it
feels good or because it makes one feel less bad. The emotion that is
elicited by performing a prosocial act is sometimes labeled helper’s high-
a feeling of calmness, self-worth, and Warmth. Depending on specific
circumstance, each of the models can make accurate predictions about
how people will respond.
11.3.4 Genetic determinism model

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The genetic determinism model is based on a general theory of human
behavior (pinker, 1998). Evolutionary psychologists stress that we are
not conscious of responding to genetic influences-we simply do so
because we are built that way. In effect, humans are programmed to
help just as they are programmed with respect to the prejudice,
attraction, mate selection, aggression, and other behaviors.

The individuals’ only “goal” is the unconscious need to ensure that his or
her genes are passed on to the next generation. Evolutionary theorists
assume that prosocial behavior results from the “selfish gene”.

The proposal that behavior is driven by genetic attributes that evolved

because they enhanced the probability of transmitting one’s genes to
subsequent generations.
In a review of the altruism literature, Buck and Gindberg (1991)
concluded that there is no evidence of a gene that determines prosocial
behavior. Among humans, however, and among other animals as well
as there are genetically based abilities to communicate the emotions
and to form the social bonds. It may be these inherited capacities that
increase the odds that one person will help another when problems
arise. In effect, humans are inherently sociable and capable of empathy.
When people interact with each other in social relationships, “they are
always prosocial usually helpful and often altruistic”

11.4 THE HELPERS AND THOSE WHO RECEIVE HELP

Some people under some circumstances are much more likely to help
than are others, and we will first examine the way in which affect and
personality influence helping behavior. First, we will describe how
variations in emotional state (mood and the affective changes that
accompany good and bad events) have somewhat complex effects on
the prosocial responding. Then, we will indicate how the tendency to act
in a prosocial manner is influence dispositional differences (traits or
personality characteristics.

11.4.1 Helping as a Function of the Bystander’s Emotional State

Offhand, it might seem that being in a good mood would increase the
probability of helping others, while a bad mood would interfere with
helping. There is a good deal of evidence that supports such
assumptions For potential helper, the effect of emotional state is
complicated by several additional factors that must be taken into
account.
a) Positive Emotions and Prosocial Behavior

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When the problem is not clear and one is feeling happy, most people
tend to assume that no real emergency exists. By not interpreting what
you see as an emergency, you can pass on by and remain in a good
mood. Even if the emergency is unmistakable, a good mood can inhibit
a prosocial act that requires you to do something difficult and
unpleasant.

b)Negative Emotions and Prosocial Behavior

Again, a common belief is that someone in a negative mood is less likely
to be helpful. When you are in a bad mood and you are focusing
attention on yourself and your own problems, you are less likely to help
someone in need.
11.5 DISPOSITIONAL DIFFERENCES IN PROSOCIAL RESPONDING
In addition to all of the factors discussed so far as influences, on the
prosocial behavior, it seems clear that some individuals are more likely
to help than are others. Whether dispositions differ on the basis of
genetics, learning experiences, or a combination of the two, the result is
differences in prosocial behavior.
11.5.1 Empathy: A Basic Requirement

Much of the interest in individual differences in helpfulness has

concentrated on altruistic motives based on empathy. Empathy involves
both affective and cognitive components. Affectively, an empathetic
person feels what another person is feeling. Cognitively, an empathetic
person understands what another person is feeling and why. Thus,
empathy means not only “I understand your pain”. Empathy is a
complex affective and cognitive response to another person’s emotional
state, feeling sympathetic and is attempting to solve the problem, and
taking the perspective of the other person, one can be empathetic
toward fictional characters as well as toward real-life victims.
Helping others and being helped by the others clearly enhance the
chances of the person in need being able to survive and reproduce. The
affective component of empathy also includes feeling sympathetic-not
only feeling another’s pain but also expressing, concern and attempting
to do something to relieve the pain. For example, individuals high in
empathy. are more highly motivated to help a friend than are those low
in empathy. The cognitive component of empathy seems to be a
uniquely human quality that develops only as we progress beyond
infancy.
11.5.2 People Differ in Empathy

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Despite the biological roots of empathy, humans differ greatly in how
they respond to the emotional distress of others, The range extends
from highly empathetic individuals who consistently feel distress
whenever someone is suffering to sociopath individuals who are
emotionally indifferent to anyone else’ emotional state.
Genetic differences in empathy were investigated by Davis, Luce, and
Kraus in 994, They examined more than 800 sets of identical and non-
identical twins and found that inherited factors underlie the two affective
aspects of empathy and personal distress as well as sympathetic
concern, but not cognitive empathy. Genetic factors account for about a
third of the variations among people in affective empathy.
What kinds of specific experiences might enhance or inhibit the
development of empathy? One answer is the role of school in
developing character education programs. Psychiatrist Robert Coles
(1997) emphasizes the importance of mothers and fathers in shaping
such behavior in his book, the Moral Intelligence of Children. Coles
suggests that the key is to teach children to be “good” or “kind” and to
think about other people rather than just themselves. Good children who
are not self-centered are more likely to respond to the needs of others.
This kind of moral intelligence is not based on memorizing rules and
regulations or on learning abstract definitions. Instead, children learn by
observing what their parents do and say in their everyday lives. Such
experiences are important at any age. Without appropriate models and
appropriate experiences, children can easily grow into selfish and rude
adolescents and then into equally unpleasant adults.
11.6 PERSONALITY FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH PROSOCIAL
BEHAVIOR

Empathy and altruistic motivation are associated with other positive

characteristics, such as a sense of well-being, achievement motivation,
sociability, and a positive emotional state, but negatively related to
aggressiveness. Among other dispositional factors that he characteristic
of those who are most likely to help others is need for approval.
Individuals high in this need respond best to rewards such as praise and
similar signs of appreciation. When they are rewarded in this way for
prosocial acts, helpfulness increases on subsequent occasions.
Bierhoff, Klein, and Kramp (1991) selected several personality variables
that had previously been found to predict prosocial behavior and then
tested their predictive power by comparing the people who helped in the
real-life emergencies with people who failed to help.

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11.6.1 Altruistic personality
A combination of dispositional variables associated with prosocial
behavior. Among the many components is empathy, belief in a just
world, acceptance of social responsibility, and having an internal locus of
control. These dispositional factors that make up the altruistic
personality are as follows.

1. Empathy: As you might expect, those who helped were found to

be higher in empathy than those who did not. The most altruistic
participants described themselves as responsible, socialized,
conforming, tolerant, self-controlled, and motivated to make a good
impression.
2. Belief in a jus word: Helpful people perceive the world as a fair
and predictable place in which good behavior is rewarded and bad
behavior is punished. This belief leads o the conclusion that helping
those in need is the right thing to do and to the expectation that the
person who helps will actually benefit from doing a good deed.
3. Social responsibility: Those who are most helpful express the
belief that each person is responsible for doing his or her best to help
those tin needs.
4. Internal locus of control: This is an individual’s belief that he or
she can choose to behave in ways that maximize thethe good outcomes
and minimize bad ones. Those who help are high on this dimension.
Those who don’t help, in contrast, tend to have an external locus of
control and believe that what they do is irrelevant, because what
happens is controlled by luck, fate, powerful people, and other
uncontrollable factors.
5. Low egocentrism: Those who help do not tend to be
egocentric,self absorbed, and competitive
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. The phenomenon that the more bystanders there are the less
responsibility in dealing with the emergency is called as ____________
a)Slackness b)Diffusion of responsibility
c) Altruism d) Prosocial behavior

2. The tendency of bystanders in an emergency to rely on what other

Bystanders do and say is called as ____________
a) By stander effect b) Diffusion of responsibility

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c) Altruism d) Pluralistic ignorance.
3. The proposal that behavior is driven by genetic attributes that evolved
because of transmitting one’s genes too subsequent generations is
called_____________
a) natural b) genetical determinism
c) Altruism d) empathy

4. Children learn by observing what their parents do and say in their

everyday lives
which are termed as_______________

a)Empathy b)Moral Intelligence

c) Altruism d) pluralistic ignorance.
State whether the following statements are true or false
5. Generally, the term prosocial is applied to the act that do not provide
any
direct benefit to the person who performs the act.

6.A physically attractive victim receives more help than an unattractive

one.
7.A prosocial model encourages prosocial behavior, and video violence
inhibits it.
8.Prosocial behavior is motivated by the bystander’s desire to reduce his
or her own uncomfortable negative emotions.

LET US SUM UP
Helping other people involve many important factors. Among them,
helping Response in Emergency, Explaining Prosocial Behavior, the
helper and those receive help, Dispositional difference in Prosocial
Behavior, Personality factors associated with Prosocial behavior occupy
from importance. Individual response in the emergency situations that
may follow a series of five essential steps which may either lead toward
helping or to do nothing which may be due to diffusion of responsibility
for his/her plight, and exposure to models. People can be differentiated
in terms of their primary motivation in situation involving a moral choice
like. Then it can be found that an emotional state can either increase or
decrease the likelihood of a prosocial response. The individual behavior
area based on empathy also. The empathic responses depend on both
genetics and learning experiences. The altruistic personality consists of

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empathy plus additional relevant variables. Finally, the role of
personality was emphasized.
GLOSSARY

Altruism: Disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others

Bystander effect: Phenomenon in which the greater the number of
people present, the less likely people are to help a person in distress.

Diffusion of responsibility: Refers to the fact that as the number of

bystanders increases, the personal responsibility that an individual
bystander feels decreases.

Empathy:The ability to sense other people's emotions

Moral hypocrisy - The motivation to appear moral, while, if possible,
avoiding the cost of being moral.
Moral Integrity - Moral integrity is doing the right thing when no one is
watching
Negative state relief:The hypothesis that helping behavior is used by
some people in stressful situations and periods of boredom and inactivity
to avoid or escape negative moods.
Pluralistic ignorance - Occurs when people erroneously infer that they
feel differently from their peers, even though they are behaving similarly.
Prosocial Behaviour–This is a social behavior that "benefit[s] other
people or society as a whole",
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. diffusion of responsibility 2. Pluralistic ignorance.
3. Genetical determinism 4. Moral Intelligence

5. True 6. True
7. True 8. True
MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Define Prosocial Behavior

2. What is meant by empathy?
3. What is altruism?

4. Explain the prosocial behavior with certain theoretical models

5. Discuss the role played by the genetics in helping behavior.
6. Describe the steps being observed while helping in Emergency.

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 7. Explain the role of personality in pro-social behavior.
8. What is the role of emotions in helping thebehavior?
9. Explain the role of situational factors in prosocial behavior.

SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Branscombe, N.R., Baron, R.A., &Kapur, P. (2017). Social Psychology
(14th Ed.). Chennai, India: Pearson India Education Services Private
Limited.
2. Myers, D.G., & Twenge, J.M. (2017). Social Psychology. (12th Ed.). New
York, NY: McGraw – Hill Education.

3. Feldman, R. S. (2001). Social Psychology (3rd Ed.) New Delhi, India:

Pearson India Education Services Private Limited.
4. Schultz, W., &Oskamp, S. (2000). Social Psychology: An Applied
Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
5. Schneider, F.W., Gruman, J.A., & Coutts, L.M. (2005) Applied Social
Psychology- understanding and addressing social and practical
problems. New York, NY: Sage publications.

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 BLOCK – V
APPLICATIONS OF SOCILA PSYHOLOGY

UNIT – 12: APPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL PSYHOLOGY

IN MEDIA, LEGAL
UNIT – 13: APPLICATIONS IN COMMUNITY AND
HEALTH
UNIT – 14: APPLICATION IN ENVIROUNMENT

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 UNIT – 12

APPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY IN MEDIA, LEGAL

SYSTEM, POLITICS AND WORK SETTINGS

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Daily Life

12.3 Media
12.4 Legal System
12.5 Politics
12.6 Work settings
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Glossary
Answers to check your progress
Model questions

Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
Social psychological theory and research can be applied to understand
and address the other aspects of daily life, media, politics, work settings,
the criminal justice system, including the police investigation, the
criminal trial, and the incarceration and the rehabilitation of criminal
offenders.
OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit you will able to

• Explain the applications of Social Psychology in work life,
• Explain the applications of Social Psychology in media,
• Explain the applications of Social Psychology in Criminal justice system
• Explain the applications of Social Psychology in every walk of life

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 12.1 INTRODUCTION
Social psychology allows us to gain a greater appreciation for how our
social perceptions affect our interactions with the other people. Social
psychology is an interdisciplinary domain that bridges the gap between
psychology and sociology. Social psychology examines human
behaviour in the company of other people, their attitudes, social
motivation, the behaviour of small social group, work teams, power,
social communication, conflict and cooperation among people and many
other topics. During the years immediately following World War II, there
was frequent collaboration between psychologists and sociologists.
However, the two disciplines have become increasingly specialized and
isolated from each other in recent years, with sociologists focusing on
"macro variables" e.g. social structure) to a much greater extent.
Nevertheless, sociological approaches to social psychology remain an
important counterpart to the psychological research in this area.
During the late 1960, it was pointed out that the mainstream social
psychology had emphasised predominantly individual cognitive
processes and had neglected the social context and that it had relied too
exclusively on experiments in laboratory settings. Modern Social
psychology has notable features such as that it has broadened its
repertoire of methods. It has become much more relevant to the
understanding of everyday life with research works focused on its
application in various areas. The application of social psychology is now
gaining momentum in the contemporary world.Many of the modern
social psychologists are currently working in hospitals, government
offices,business organizations and other semi-academic and non-
academic institutions to assess, control and predict human behaviour
under different settings and solve social problems. In view of the applied
bias attached to the social psychology today Rodin (1985) has defined
social psychology as the utilization of social psychological principles and
research methods in real world settings in the attempt to solve social
problems.
The social psychology has in a major way concentrated its attention on
the following areas. Role of social psychology in legal system,Health
psychology, Psychology in work setting i.e., organizational behaviour,
Consumer behaviour, Solution of social problems, Social psychology in
education, Social psychology in crime and delinquency, Social
psychology in community and national affairs, Social psychology in
military etc.

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The social phenomena are explained with respect to different social and
cultural settings. The cognitive approach to the explanations which was
more or less side lined by experimental and thebehavioral approach is
again gaining significance. New trends such as socio-biology and
evolutionary social psychology have broadened the realm of theoretical
tools of social psychology. Practical demands have always far
surpassed the theoretical knowledge is social psychology. The 1970 and
1980 were marked by the growing concerns with the application of social
knowledge. “Applied social psychology is the utilization of social
psychological principles and research methods in real word settings in
an effort to solve a variety of individual and societal problems” (Weyant
1986).
12.2 APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY IN OUR DAILY LIVES
Social psychologists agree that the research findings in the field can be
very helpful when they are applied to our own lives (Nelson A., 2017).
Social psychology can be used in different areas of our lives such as,
our way of thinking, relationships that are personal and professional,
physical and mental health etc. At the centre of all these, it’s human
social cognitive system interacting with everyday situations. We can use
social psychology to better our everyday livesto improve different areas
of our lives. Some of us have relationship issues, whether personal or
professional and we can always use findings from applied social
psychology research to improve the said relationships.
Social cognition means the process of thinking about ourselves and
other people. According to Allport (1985) social cognition is a major idea
in social psychology attempting to understand how our thoughts,
personal feelings and behavior of individuals are all influenced by the
actual, imagined and or implied presence of others. Our minds are
designed for hot action-oriented cognition rather than cold. What that
means is that, it’s better to think less and act quickly in an emergency
rather than analyzing the situation and risk the consequences of not
responding swiftly. The “hot and “cold” action-oriented cognition is
another example of a basic characteristic of human cognition that I
personally find very interesting. It has been proven that applied social
psychology can be used to better our relationships with the others.
Some of us have issues with our personal relationships, whether it is
with our significant others, siblings or our boss and associates at work.
Given how critical our personal relationships are to our happiness, how
we can improve the quality of all our relationships? Based on research
evidence five practices can be used to nurture our personal relationship

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with our significant others. According to research listening to our partner
we validate their importance to us and increasing the relationship bond
with him or her. Compliment is also very important in our relationships,
and it increases the closeness of our relationship with our partner. It is
very important to notice our spouse and telling her or him what we have
noticed shows our interest and can enhance our relationship bond. One
thing that we want to steer clear of is social comparison. Social
comparison can be very toxic to our happiness, so when we see
someone excelling at work for example, we would want to celebrate and
congratulate them on their achievements. Lastly, we need to unplug and
spend more time with our partner. According to research we spend
average of 53 hours a week plugged in to some sort of device.
According to social psychology jealousy is a major issue in our personal

relationships
and one thing
that causes
jealousy is attraction. While we have learned that opposites attract, that
is only true in short term relationships. In long term relationships, we
tend to look for a partner that is like ourselves. In social psychology that
is explained as similar-to-me-effect. An example of this effect can be
seen not only in our personal lives but it is evident that it also exists in
our workplace as well. The “Similar to Me” effect refers to a well-
researched tendency of interviewers and supervisors to favor those
individuals who are similar to them. Put simply, people are attracted to
candidates with similar senses of humour, similar conversational styles,
even similar physical appearances.
In conclusion, it is safe to say that applied social psychology is used in
our everyday lives. According to Social Cognition our thoughts,the
personal feelings and behaviour of the individuals are all influenced by
the actual, imagined and or implied presence of others. Moreover, we
tend to use social psychology to better our personal relationships in our
personal and professional lives. For example, the evidence of similar-to-
me-effect can be seen almost everywhere from workplaces to our

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personal individual lives. When people must think about how to
communicate with another person it becomes a cognitive drain or
overload that makes the relationship more work than it is possibly worth.
It is more common than not to see those with knowledge of applied
social psychology use what they’ve learned from research and studies to
better their personal and professional lives.

12.3 MEDIA
Social Psychology plays an important role in the success of social media
and influences how business owners use different social media channels
to promote their services and products. You need to tap into the
emotions if you want to attract customers. It is important for developing
long-term customer relationships.
Social media is an example of the social context. In social media, there
is both actual and implied presence of others since the users have
actual connections friends, followers etcand also aware of the presence
of other users. From different point of view, some of these connections
are also real in the actual life but some of them are just imaginary. First
of all, social media affects the level of dopamine level that brain
secretes. Dopamine is connected with the feeling of pleasure. It actually
gives rise to the feeling of want. It is shown that the desire of tweeting is
more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol. Using social media also
activates the reward centres in our brains. Therefore, we are inclined to
use social media more and more.
The reason why people use social media is to feel sense of belonging
more. Fitting into a group leads to the feeling of acceptance. That’s why,
when someone likes our post, the feeling of belonging increases. This is
also related to conformity. Conformity is the tendency to change our
perceptions, opinions, or behavior in the ways that are consistent with
the group norms. Social media increases conformity because people
have a disposition to conform to the group norms to feel more belonging
to the group.
However, as far as the superficial fads and fashions are concerned,
mass media have a profound influence. This is why the industrialists and
businessmen spend millions to advertise their products. Such
advertisements tend to bring about much uniformity in the society. The
mass production of goods inevitably requires the mass media to make
people purchase them in large quantities.

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Perceived social closeness
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. are updated daily
to include details of people's personal lives and what they are doing.
This in turn gives the perception of being close to people without actually
speaking with them. Individuals contribute to social media by ‘liking’
posts, commenting, the updating statuses, tweeting, posting photos,
videos and more.
Sixty Facebook users were recruited in a study by Neubaum and Kramer
in 2015 to take part in a series of questionnaires, spend ten minutes on
Facebook and then complete post-Facebook perceptions and emotional
status questionnaires. These individuals perceived more social
closeness on Facebook that lead to maintaining relationships.
Individuals with a higher need also relied on Facebook, but in more
private messages. This allowed these individuals to belong in a one-on-
one setting or in a more personal way with a group of members who are
more significant to them. Active Facebook users, individuals who posted
and contributed to their newsfeed, had a greater sense of social
closeness, whereas passive Facebook users, who only viewed posts
and did not contribute to the newsfeed, had a lesser sense of social
closeness. These findings indicate that the social closeness and
belonging on social media is dependent on the individual's own
interactions and usage style.
Conformity is associated with self-presentation. We generally present
the positive ways of ourselves rather than our real selves. So, we design
a better version of ourselves which is the way we want to be seen. The
underlying reason is the desire of approval.
One of the main reasons behind the social media use is to increase
bonding. We are human beings, thereby social creatures. Therefore, the
social psychology of a person relies on the relationships established. In
the real world, establishing relationships is complex. On the other hand,
it is way easier in social media. People tend to replicate their actual life
relationships in social media. It stems from the fact that people try to
strengthen their bonding in their relationships via social media. That’s
why, they strive to stay connected.
In addition, people want to establish new relationships in social media
which does not exist in real life. The person you start a new relationship
may be far away from you such that it is impossible to be friends in real
life. On the other hand, you can move this relationship to the real life.

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Maintaining relationships is as significant as establishing and
strengthening relationships. Social media is beneficial for this case. You
can maintain your relationship via likes, comments, direct messages and
so on. Along with these actions, the reciprocity effect comes about. The
reciprocity effect is defined as feeling indebted to people who has done
us a favour. In this case, likes, comments etc. are assumed as favours
by the human brain which results in liking and commenting in return.
12.4 LEGAL SYSTEM
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people’s thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or
implied presence of others.On the other hand, the criminal justice
system is the branch of the law that deals with controlling criminal
activities in society through imposing penalties on the offenders of the
specific laws. In specific, one needs to examine how the social
psychology influences the jury decision making.

In a society, there is enough scope for interaction and when people

interact their behavior and judgment etc. are affected by various factors
like attitudes, emotions, beliefs and cognitions. In the court room or in
the legal system, these attitudes and the beliefs affect the participants
like the judges, and jury,pleaders,attorney, dependants and witnesses in
a major way.Huge Munster berg started investing the accuracy in the
statements of eyewitnesses at the turn of the century.On the basis of his
observations, he pointed out that people have by and large a tendency
to reconstruct events in ways that do not match what actually
occurred.He opined that emotions strongly affect the memories of
witnesses as a result of which accounts of what occurred or happened
were very often greatly distorted or transformed by fear, anxiety, anger
etc. Recently there was an effort to increase the accuracy of the
testimonies of eyewitnesses.Munsterberg devises a physiological
instrument to detect lying and also investigated the application of the
technique of hypnosis as means to bring accuracy in the testimony of
the witnesses.Both lie detection and hypnosis is the centre of current
research efforts in this field.

Munsterberg further believed that not only witnesses but also judges and
juries were subject to the effects of suggestibility and persuasion. Thus
applied research on the legal system provides convincing evidence that
psychological factors influence witnesses, jurors and defendants,
attorneys and judges according to Baren and Byrnein 1988.
In 2016, there were numerous political changes across the globe,
contradicting assumptions about the political world that many people

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may have taken for granted. For example, in the United Kingdom, this
could be seen in the ‘Brexit’ vote and the referendum vote in favour of
Britain leaving the European Union) and, in the USA, in the unexpected
election of their President. These are not just changes to political worlds;
they also represent profound changes to psychological and social
worlds: to how people see themselves in relation to others. For instance,
the vote to leave the European Union not only caused political rifts in the
UK, but also redefined relationships between families and thata good
reminder of how the ‘personal’ is also ‘political’ and vice versa.

Social psychology attempts to understand such political events by

asking fundamental questions about how and why people engage with
political processes and structures. Why do people vote the way they do?
Why do some people become activists, while others do not get involved?
What is the appeal of the political ideologies to which some devote their
lives? How do people understand politics in an everyday sense?
The answers to these questions can be quite different depending on
what social psychological approach you take. For some social
psychologists, the answers lie within the individual, e.g. as part of their
personality. Others, however, look for answers at the group level, or their
social identity, e.g. in the ways in which identities are related to the
groups to which people feel they belong. And finally, some take a more
sociocultural perspective, looking at the ways in which politics relates to
broader cultures and discourses that construct social worlds and
determine the possibilities for political action. In the following three
sections you will examine examples from each of these different social
psychological approaches. i.e.Personality, social identity, and social
constructionist approaches and how they can be used to help better
understand the political.
Social psychology has a long history of examining the relationship
between the personal and the political. Much of this work has focused on
the concept of personality a highly familiar, and yet complex,
psychological concept. Traditionally, personality is viewed by
psychologists as the collection of traits, needs, values, self-beliefs, and
social attitudes that make a person unique. This approach also suggests
that each person exhibits consistent and stable patterns of behaviour
across situations and contexts. Researchers working with this approach
explore differences between people at the level of their personalities,
and how these individual differences have a meaningful and predictable
impact on political attitudes and behaviours.

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The earliest example of this approach is The Authoritarian Personality by
Adorno, Frenkl-Brunswick, Levinson and Sanford in 1950, who proposed
a specific set of personality characteristics (the ‘authoritarian
personality’) to explain why some of the people were drawn to
prejudiced and anti-democratic political beliefs, while others were not.
Although there have been serious criticisms of the work of Adorno et al.
there have also been some significant findings in this field of research.
For example, it is often the case that those who score highly on the right-
wing authoritarianism scale are more highly prejudiced towards out-
groups and minorities.
Since this early work, there has been an explosion of research on the
relationship between personality and politics including the people self-
identify as liberal or conservative, who people choose to vote for and
what political candidates people prefer. This research shows a relatively
consistent pattern of findings, for example, that those who identify with,
and vote for, left-wing political parties tend to describe themselves as
more open-minded and creative, while those who identify with, and vote
for, more right-wing political parties tend to describe themselves as more
orderly, conventional and organised. What this suggests is that people
who vote for different political parties are also different at the level of
their individual psychologies, and this can explain the differences in
voting patterns.
Social psychologists working in the field of “Social Construction” are
interested in discourses like this because the ways the social world is
constructed can have very real social consequences, such as justifying
the exclusion of some people from housing in the above example. They
also tell us something about how the social world works, e.g. what is
considered to be ‘common-sense’ and how these assumptions may
change or be contested in different contexts. In other words, this
approach helps to understand the politics of common sense, that is, the
ways that some constructions become dominant but also how they might
be challenged. Relevant research includes studies on how issues like
race, immigration, refugees, asylum seekers, terrorism, climate change
and war, are constructed in political debates and also how these issues
are understood by ‘lay’ people in everyday life.
Social identities and collective action

Politics almost always involves social groups. Think back to the 2016
USA election race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton and see if
you can list any social groups that you heard about in the coverage of
their campaigns. You could be thinking about the different ways in which

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women and women’s groups were discussed and represented, or about
how migrants and ethnic minorities were central to many debates. Or,
you may be thinking about what it means to be a Republican or a
Democrat, left or right wing, American and/or Mexican. These different
social categories are a key part of politics. However, they also forms an
important part of the people’s psychologies, contributing to their sense of
self. For this reason, many social psychologists have long argued that
the psychology of groups has much to offer in understanding political
processes.

12.6 Work settings

Social psychology, broadly speaking, deals with how an individual’s or a
group’s behavior influences, or is influenced by, the behavior of other
individuals or groups. While the setting (or environment) within which
those social interactions take place is an important contextual
determinant of social behavior, the field of social psychology as a whole
is not focused on any one particular setting. Industrial psychology, on
the other hand, is focused on the workplace. Industrial Organisational
Psychology: It is an application of social psychology which focuses on
understanding behaviours in work settings, especially within the field of
industries and organisations. Work related attitudes include employees’
evaluation of jobs (job satisfaction) and of their organisations. Research
has emphasised the determinants and the consequences of these
attitudes.
Work motivation is influenced by cognitive factors, the outcomes of
performance, and the perception of inequity. A common problem in
organisations is conflict, and psychologists have identified both
organisational causes competition over scarce resources, and the
interpersonal causes such as stereotypes, prejudices, grudges and
ineffective communication styles. Organisational conflicts can be
reduced or resolved by such techniques as bargaining, superordinate
goals and the induction of represses incompatible with anger and
conflict. Also, many of the theoretical models of behavior utilized by
industrial psychologists have their origin in social psychology.

Understanding what motivates an organization‘s employees is central to

the study of I–O psychology. Work motivation is a set of energetic forces
that originate both within and outside of individuals, to initiate work
relatedbehavior, and to determine its form, direction, intensity, and
duration. Motivation involves providing someone with an incentive to do
something; proper incentives should outweigh the cost of the actions
required to achieve them. Motivation can be intrinsic and consisting of

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 the internal factors within a person, such as the desire to succeed or
extrinsic that is consisting of the external factors, such as monetary
incentives. Motivation also involves three psychological processes:
arousal which initiated action, direction the path taken to accomplish
goals, and intensity the vigour and amount of energy employees put into
reaching the goal.Job satisfaction reflects employees’ overall
assessment of their job through emotions, behaviors, and attitudes
about their work experience. Satisfaction with one’s job has theoretical
and practical utility linked to important job outcomes, such as attitudinal
variables, absenteeism, employee turnover, and job performance.
There are many theories about what motivates employees to work.
Some are drawn from the larger field of psychology while others are
specific to the I–O psychology. Below are several theories.
i) Expectancy Theory
The expectancy theory of motivation proposes that people believe there
is a relationship between effort, performance, and outcome. The
outcome in expectancy theory is often a reward given for the desired
behavior. Under this theory, individuals place a value on the reward and
then put forth the effort they believe is worthy of such a reward. An
example of expectancy theory in the workplace would be a manager
offering a car as a bonus and the reward to the salesperson who makes
the year’s greatest number of sales and the effort.
ii) Social Exchange and Equity Theory
Social-exchange and equity theory examines the impact of exchange on
motivation. There are three types of exchange relationships that people
perceive they have with organizations: (1) a committed relationship held
together by moral obligation, (2) a relationship based on demands and
contributions, and (3) a relationship based on inequity, in which a person
thinks that they are receiving less than they are giving. A manager who
uses social-exchange theory might try to emphasize that the company is
more of a family than a workplace in order to achieve the first type of
relationship.
LET US SUM UP

The application of social psychology is now gaining momentum in the

contemporary world.Many of the modern social psychologists are
currently working in hospitals, government offices,business
organizations, other semi-academic and thenon-academic institutions to
assess, control and predictthe human behaviour under different settings
and solve social problems.Social psychology deals with immediate

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everyday social problems.Of course, it doesn’t directly offer solutions,
but in many ways it contributes useful guidance towards possible ways
of understanding andworking with these problems.Moreover the role of
Social Psychology in the success of social media and influences how
business owners use different social media channels to promote their
services and products could not be outlawed.The study of the
organizational behaviour, involves what people do in organizational
settings. In business, behaviour is influenced not only by economic
factors, but social psychologyas well.The social psychologists in
organizational setup plays a significant role in achieving job satisfaction
and assessing its effects, selecting the right employee, and solving the
industrial disputes etc. It alsoattempts to understand the political events
by asking fundamental questions about how and why the people engage
with political processes and structures. Moreover when people interact,
their behavior and judgment etc. are affected by various factors like
attitudes, emotions, beliefs and cognitions.Court room or in the legal
system, these attitudes and beliefs affect the participants like the judges,
and jury,pleaders,attorney, dependants and witnesses in a major way.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. -------------- is the utilization of social psychological principles and
research methods in real word settings in an effort to solve a variety of
individual and societal problems”
a) Organizational behavior b) Applied social psychology c) Clinical
Psychology d) educational Psychology
2. People are attracted to candidates with similar senses of humour,
similar conversational styles, even similar physical appearances are
known as----------.

a) “Similar to Me” effect b) By stander effect c) foot on the door d)

persuasion
3. Business owners use different ---------to promote their services and
products.
a) social media channels b) ideas c) workshops d) psychological
theories

4. Social media also activates the in our brains-------------

a) memory centres b) reward centres c) forgetting d) unconscious
5. Understanding what motivates an organization ‘s employees is central
to the study of ------

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a) Clinical Psychology b) Abnormal Psychology c) forgetting d)
Industrial Organisational Psychology
State whether the following statements are true or false

6. Social-exchange and equity theory examines the impact of exchange

on motivation.
7. The criminal justice system is the branch of the law that deals with
controlling criminal in society through imposing rewards on the offenders
of the specific laws
8. The reciprocity effect is defined as feeling indebted to the people who
has done us a favor.
9. The expectancy theory of motivation proposes that people believe
there is a relationship between effort, performance, and outcome
10. Conflict also involves three psychological processes: arousal (which
initiated action, direction and the path taken to accomplish goals, and
intensity isthe vigour and amount of energy employees put into reaching
the goal.
11. The main assumption of the Social Identity Approach(SIA) approach
is that every person has a distinct personal identity but also social
identities that connect them to other people.
12. Satisfaction with one’s job has theoretical and practical utility linked
to important job outcomes, such as attitudinal variables, absenteeism,
employee turnover, and job performance.
GLOSSARY
Authoritarian Personality - Refers to a person who has extreme
respect for authority and is more likely to be obedient to those who hold
power over them.
Motivation –Motivation is the process that initiates, guides, and
maintains goal-oriented behaviors.
Reciprocity Effect - Feeling indebted to people who has done us a
favor.

Similar to me effect - People are attracted to candidates with similar

senses of humour, similar conversational styles, even similar physical
appearances

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Applied social psychology 7. False

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2. “Similar to Me” effect 8. True
3. social media channels 9. True
4. reward centres 10.False

5. Industrial Organizational Psychology11. True

6. True 12. True

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Explain the application of social psychology in work setting
2. Describe the role of Social Psychology in Legal System
3. How is social psychology used in the media?
4. Explain the application of social psychology in daily life

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 UNIT - 13

APPLICATIONS IN COMMUNITY & HEALTH

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Community
13.3 Health
13.3.1 Mental health in older adults
Let us sum up

Check your progress

Glossary
Answers to check your progress
Model questions
OVERVIEW
People are social creatures, and social psychologists study the way that
our social interactions can influence us. Infectious disease pandemics,
including SARS and COVID-19, demand an intrapersonal behaviour
change and present highly complex challenges for public health. A
pandemic of an airborne infection, spread easily through social contact,
assails human relationships by drastically altering the ways through
which the humans interact. Social conformation, networking, interaction
and norms play an inevitable role in deciding the behavior of the people
during this pandemic. Understanding community as a whole and
individual as a part of it will help to address the challenges faced by the
humankind.

OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you will be to:
• able to understand impact of community in determining behaviour of
an individual
• Understand the applications of social psychology in physical
• Explain the applications of social psychology in mental health of an
individual

13.1 INTRODUCTION

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Communities impinge into people’s lives: they orient the social
construction of knowledge; they ground the negotiation of the common
identities; they marginalize and stigmatize certain social groups. They
provide the tools for empowerment and social inclusion. Community, as
a concept, is problematic in both everyday discourses and in academic
research. The social problems we live, witness and research, such as
conflict, social exclusion, poverty, unemployment, discrimination,
addiction, homelessness, crime, mental illness, all relate to various
aspects of community life. Applied psychologists and community
psychologists are aware of this, and yet, thesocial psychologists have
still to address the issue of community adequately.

13.2 COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY

Social psychology contributes to significant medical issues including
problems of etiology, prevention, management, and treatment of illness
and the delivery of health care services.In order to understand the
implications of social psychology in community let’s see what community
psychology is. It is the branch of psychology concerned with person
environment interactions and the ways society affects individual and
community functioning.Community psychology focuses on social issues,
social institutions, and other settings that influence individuals, groups,
and organizations. Community psychology as a science seeks to
understand the relationships between various environmental conditions
and the development of health and the wellbeing of all members of a
community.

The practice of community psychology is directed towards the design

and evaluation of ways to facilitate psychological competence and
empowerment, prevent disorder, and promote constructive social
change. The goal is to optimize the wellbeing of individuals and the
communities with innovative and alternative interventions designed in
collaboration with affected community members and with other related
disciplines inside and outside of psychology. They play an important role
in protecting the health and the wellness of the individuals and
communities. By working to design programs and implement
interventions, these professions help ensure that people are able to
access the resources they need in order to reach their full potential.
Many community theorists have indeed announced the ‘eclipse’ or ‘end’
of community. Urbanisation, migration, globalisation, new medias and
technologies have dissolved the significance of place in the late modern

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world, and so too threaten the physical geography of
community.Because of the supposed “territorial basis” of community
some theorists have suggested that community, too, is “lost” .Urban
areas are seen to be more modern, more ‘civilised’, and more complex.
Thus increased urbanisation has led many to assume that contemporary
society is less communal. However, Crow and Allan have pointed out
that “despite the repeated pronouncements of its inevitable decline in the
modern world, community life is still very much a part of our social
existence”. Communities today may be under threat, this is obvious. But
this gives them more, not less, significance in our understanding of
others, of our own societies, and, crucially, of our selves. Politicians from
both sides of the political spectrum hail “community” as a cure for all
perceived social ills from rising crime and single parenting to racist
attacks and social exclusion.
Theories of self-consciousness, identity language thought attributions
impressions, roles, attitudes, social representations, discourses and
ideologies allege that the culture is deeply constitutive of the individual.
Communities are united, at a bare minimum, by the shared experience
of being seen by others as a community. Members of a community
recognise the representations of the others in forming a relatively
coherent community identity. This is not to say that these
representations are accepted without challenge. The very process of
social representation allows that even the most hegemonic of
representations may be elaborated and transformed. Mobilising
community can involve contesting stigma and developing affirming social
representations, such as ‘Black is beautiful’ and ‘gay pride’. Hence, the
social representations of a community can empower the groups and the
individuals to oppose and reject ideological constructions that would
otherwise delimit their identities. In collaboration with others, stigmatising
representations can be reworked and developed to contest prejudice,
inequality and social exclusion. In this way, social constructions of
communities are a basis for empowerment.
Can social psychology help in solving societal problems? And if this is
the case, how can social psychology do so? Social psychology is a basic
science which tries to build knowledge primarily through experiments
and surveys Sometimes, the theories and findings from social
psychology may seem a bit remote from the problems in society.
However, many if not most societal problems have social psychological
aspects for example crime, racism, environmental pollution and

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therefore social psychology may not only help in clarifying such
problems, but also contribute to finding solutions.

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13.3 HEALTH
It refers to the social psychological aspects of health care. Gundola in
1985 viewed that some personality variables predispose a person
having certain illnesses. Increase in physical fitness leads to an
improvement in psychological characteristics such as creativity. Thus
according to Rogers health psychology studies the psychological
processes that affect the prevention and treatment of physical illness.
Prevention being always better than cure, preventing illness is always
desirable than treating illness. Kirscht (1983) holds that any health
programs must deal with individual differences in the willingness to
follow medical advice. Analysis of the problem led to the development of
health belief model. It means that an individual’s beliefs about health and
threat of illness are used to predict his health relatedbehaviour. Cassidy
described the way behaviour may positively or negatively affect the body
by stating that lifestyles, life-events, and bad behaviour are directly
related to health and illness; the way we think about events determines
our response to them in developing a healthy or an unhealthy
behaviours and changes in behaviour. Attitudes to health determine
whether we hear or listen to advice from health professionals, and a
person's personality may predispose the body to certain dysfunctions.
One of the important applications of social psychology is in the area of
mental health and psychotherapy. As a branch of behaviour sciences, it
attempts to apply basic psychological knowledge to both the prevention
and cure of individual behaviour disorders which threatens the security
of either the individual or the society in which he lives.
A familiar concept in health psychology is the importance of social
support-physical and psychological comfort from friends and family. The
general finding is that people who interact closely with family and friends
are better able to avoid illness than those who remain isolated from
others, if illness does occur, those who receive social support recover
more quickly. It is because there is someone with whom one can talk
about unpleasant life events rather than engaging in self-concealment.
When an illness does strike, the person has to make a series of critical
choices and decisions- noticing and interpreting the symptoms, deciding
to take action and copingup with the medical procedures. Thus, research
in health psychology focuses on individual lifestyles and their
perceptions and attitudes so that it can contribute to the better personal
health just by enthusing right kind of thinking.

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Around the globe, the percent of people who are obese who
substantially exceed their ideal, healthy weight is increasing. But you
don’t need statistics to demonstrate this fact: just go to any nearby
shopping mall or theatre and observe the crowd. You will soon have
your own evidence that Americans and people in many other countries,
too are truly becoming “supersized.” Since obesity is clearly harmful to
personal health it increases the risk of heart disease, bone disease, and
a host of other illnesses two key questions arise: What factors especially
social factors are responsible for this growing problem? What, if
anything, can be done to reverse the trend?
You are probably already familiar with genetic and environmental
variables that play a role in the growing problem of obesity. With respect
to genetic factors, it is clear that because of the conditions of feast-or-
famine faced by our ancestors, we all have a tendency to store excess
calories very effectively. This means that if we overeat,which is
something many people tend to do, we gain weight; our bodies simply
“turn on” our efficient calorie-storing systems. Environmental factors, too,
play an important role. In recent years, the size of portions of many
foods has increased dramatically Do you ever take food home from a
restaurant? In the past that was rare, but now it is very common, mainly
because portions are so much larger. In addition, many fast-food chains
have increased the size of the items they sell. Thirty years ago, a Coke
or Pepsi was eight ounces; now, one-litre bottles (about 32 ounces) are
being offered as a single serving. Similarly, McDonald’s hamburgers
were small and thin and contained 250 calories; now, most people
purchase double cheeseburgers or Big Macs containing 440 or 540
calories. Since people tend to eat their entire portion of food, no matter
how big it is, this, too, may be a factor in the rising rate of obesity.
In additionand most central to this discussion social factors play an
important role. First, people don’t walk as much as they did in the past.
In cities, fear of crime has stopped many people from walking to stores
and other locations. In addition, people simply take their cars
everywhere instead of walking, which reduces calories expended and, of
course, also contributes to growing air pollution. Similarly, shopping
malls have brought a large number of stores to one location, with
parking just outside the door. In the past, people had to walk many
blocks to visit as many different shopsand often rode public
transportation to reach them because parking was so difficult. Now, most
people do their shopping at malls or in shopping centres where the
stores are close together. And school buses tend to stop in front of every
house, thus assuring that even children have less opportunity to

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exercise than was true in the past. This means that people burn fewer
calories, while they are consuming ever-larger portions. It is not
surprising that the result is increasing waistlines! In addition, low-calorie,
healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables tend to be expensive
relative to the high-calorie foods served by fast-food outlets. This is one
reason why obesity is more common among poorer and disadvantaged
groups in society than among wealthier andbettere-ducated ones.
Another social factor involves ever more enticing media campaigns for
high-calorie meals and snacks. Who can resist the foods shown in
television commercials, on billboards, and in magazines? Fewer and
fewer people, it seems, so caloric intakeand weight gain—is increased
by this factor too
Patients who have a serious illness, such as cancer, often feel fearful
and uncertain about their future and worry that they are coping poorly or
losing their grip on reality. This type of stress may lead to a longer
recovery period and increase both the emotional as well as the financial
burden of the disease. Helping patients to cope optimally with their
disease is therefore an issue of great concern. Patients often cope with
their illness by comparing themselves with other patients, namely so-
called social comparisons (Festinger, 1954). Social comparisons may
contribute to adjustment through two functions. First, by comparing
themselves to others in the same situation, patients may learn to what
extent their reactions are reasonable and normal self-evaluation.
Second, serious illness can pose a great threat to patients’ self-esteem
since it often brings a great deal of changes that are critical to their
identity for instance, with regard to body image, occupation, valued
activities, and close relationships. By comparing themselves to other
patients, they may restore and enhance their self-esteem , ‘It could have
been much worse’; self-enhancement. To make accurate self-
evaluations patients may best compare themselves with similar others,
namely patients who are about equally ill, because these patients
provide the most useful information about how to cope. In contrast, when
individuals are motivated to enhance their self-esteem, they are best
served by comparisons with patients who are either worse downward
comparisons or better off upward comparisons.
The question that arises is whether patients benefit more from social
comparisons through self-evaluations or self-enhancement. In others
words, in adjusting to their illness, with whom do patients prefer to
compare themselves: with similar others, or with patients who are better
or worse off? To answer this question the American psychologists
Joanne Wood, Shelley Taylor and Rosemary Lichtman* interviewed 78

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breast cancer patients about their illness and the ways they coped,
including the type of social comparisons they made. These researchers
found that over 60 per cent of respondents said that another patient was
coping less well than she was; 80 per cent said that they adjusted at
least somewhat better than other women. In other words, the
researchers found a preponderance of downward comparison, indicating
that, among breast cancer patients, self enhancement is the most
dominant motive for social comparison. Findings like these are important
for interventions that aim to help patients adjust. Consistent with
patients’ preference for downward comparisons, they may, for instance,
point out what patients are still able to do (rather than what they cannot
do anymore).
COVID 19
With close to 900 000 cases confirmed worldwide and the scale of
contagion still rising in most affected countries, COVID-19 has been
causing a tremendous human suffering with serious and long-term
implications for people’s health, well-being and quality of life. Beyond the
very obvious risks to physical health and to the economy, the epidemic
has also affected people’s social connectedness, their trust in the people
and their institutions, their jobs and incomes, as well as imposing a huge
toll in terms of anxiety and worry.

Social networks
During the height of COVID-19 restrictions, face-to-face interactions
were often reduced to core network members, such as partners, family
members or, potentially, live-in roommates; some ‘weak’ ties were lost,
and interactions became more limited to those closest. Social networks
characterise the individuals and social connections that compose a
system such as a workplace, community or society. Social relationships
range from spouses and partners, to co-workers, friends and
acquaintances. They vary across many dimensions, including, for
example, frequency of contact and emotional closeness. Social networks
can be understood both in terms of the individuals and relationships that
compose the network, as well as the overall network structure, as to
e.g., how many of your friends know each other.
Social networks show a tendency towards homophily, or a phenomenon
of associating with individuals who are similar to self. This is particularly
true for ‘core’ network ties, while more distant, sometimes called ‘weak’
ties tend to show more diversity. COVID-19 likely resulted in networks
that were smaller and more homogenous. Such changes were not
inevitable nor necessarily enduring, since social networks are also

226
adaptive and responsive to change, in that a disruption to usual ways of
interacting can be replaced by new ways of engaging using Zoom. Yet,
important inequalities exist, wherein networks and individual
relationships within networks are not equally able to adapt to such
changes. For example, individuals with a large number of newly
established relationships may have struggled to transfer these
relationships online, resulting in lost contacts and a heightened risk of
social isolation. This is consistent with research suggesting that young
adults were the most likely to report a worsening of relationships during
COVID-19, whereas the older adults were the least likely to report a
change. Thus Covid 19 restrictions thus the impacted the personal social
networks and the structure of the larger networks within the society.
Social support
Social support, referring to the psychological and material resources
provided through social interaction, is a critical mechanism through
which social relationships benefit health. In fact, social support has been
shown to be one of the most important resilience factors in the aftermath
of stressful events. In the context of COVID-19, the usual ways in which
individuals interact and obtain social support have been severely
disrupted. One such disruption has been to the opportunities for the
spontaneous social interactions. For example, conversations with
colleagues in a break room offer an opportunity for socialising beyond
one’s core social network, and these peripheral conversations can
provide a form of social support.
While direct support-seeking behaviour is more effective at eliciting
support, it also requires significantly more effort and may be perceived
as forceful and burdensome. The shift to home working and closure of
community venues reduced the number of opportunities for these
spontaneous interactions to occur, and has, second, focused them
locally. Consequently, the individuals whose core networks are located
elsewhere, or to there who live in communities where spontaneous
interaction is less likely, have less opportunity to benefit from
spontaneous in-person supportive interactions.

Social Interaction Norms

Individuals in groups and societies apply meaning by ‘approving,
arranging and redefining’ symbols of interaction. A handshake, for
instance, is a powerful symbol of trust and equality. Depending on
context, not shaking hands may symbolise a failure to extend friendship,
or a failure to reach agreement. The norms governing these symbols
represent shared values and identity; and mutual understanding of these

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symbols enables individuals to achieve orderly interactions, establish
supportive relationship accountability and connect socially. Physical
distancing measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 radically altered
these norms of interaction, particularly those used to convey trust,
affinity, empathy and respect. As epidemic waves rose and fell, the
work to negotiate these norms required intense cognitive effort;
previously taken-for-granted interactions were re-examined, factoring in
current restriction levels, own and (assumed) others’ vulnerability and
tolerance of risk. This created awkwardness, and uncertainty, around
how to bring closure to an in-person interaction or convey warmth. The
instability in scripted ways of interacting created particular strain for
individuals who already struggled to encode and decode interactions
with others as to those who are deaf or have autism spectrum disorder
and these difficulties often intensified by mask wearing. Large social
gatherings for example, weddings, school assemblies, sporting events
also present key opportunities for affirming and assimilating interactional
norms, building cohesion and shared identity and facilitating cooperation
across social groups. Lack of social gatherings may result in weaker
interpersonal relationship among people.

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Lack of interpersonal relationship
Novel zoonosis COVID-19 first emerged in Wuhan, China, but rapidly
spread to the other regions in China and to other parts of the world . The
worldwide spread of the virus has led governments to implement laws
for physical distancing, and the national lockdowns, resulting in changes
to the behavioral patterns and day-to-day functioning of billions of
people. Such isolation measures have been associated with increased
depression, stress and emotional disturbance. However, major traumatic
events can amplify both positive and negative aspects of interpersonal
relations, leading to competing narratives of both harm and
enhancement. Quarantine can create family dependencies, threaten
livelihoods and lead to the stigmatisation of those infected. School
closures and disruption of family care seriously disrupt regular domestic
practices. Community relations may become strained as individuals fear
infection from others. Anxiety may quickly spread through the social
networks via a process of ‘emotional contagion’ in which people ‘catch’
the worry of others. At the same time, however, large-scale containment
may promote common solidarities.

The practice of physical and social distancing means staying home and
away from others as much as possible to help prevent spread of COVID-
19. Physical distancing is the practice of staying at least 6 feet away
from the others to avoid catching a disease such as COVID-19.
Whereas “social distancing” is a term that was used earlier in the
pandemic as many people stayed home to help prevent spread of the
virus. The practice of social distancing encourages the use of things
such as online video and phone communication instead of in-person
contact.

Effective communication has always been the key to all healthy

relationships. When COVID-19 became a pandemic, the way we
communicate changed seemingly overnight. COVID-19 provides an
important challenge for interpersonal relationships across societies. The
COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the nature of our social
interactions. During the mandatory quarantine, many individuals are
working from home with little to no face-to-face interactions, except with
their families. The practice of social distancing has also significantly
affected patterns of direct face-to-face communication among
individuals. This practice is critical to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,
but it also undoubtedly has consequences for the mental health and
well-being of individuals, especially of older adults who (a) experience
loneliness more acutely. With the governments recommending that

229
people stay at home, many older adults have been deprived of their
usual ways of connecting with their relatives and support networks, and
are spending increased amounts of time alone. This situation puts older
adults at increased risk of loneliness and social isolation. Social
distancing can also put additional stress on the mental health of
individuals, in addition to the stress of contracting COVID-19 itself. The
results of the recent studies suggest that social distancing has a
negative impact on emotional well-being, especially by causing
individuals to feel nervous, restless, and lonely while staying at home
during the pandemic
To help minimize the spread, many of us have altered the majority of our
interactions with other people. This includes shifting from in-person
conversations to online modes of communication such as video
conferencing, phone calls, texts, or email, and wearing masks while at
indoors or when social distancing is not possible. People have less
interaction overall with others, and spend more time on virtual media like
Zoom, Skype and other mediated platforms.
When we communicate via video, we lose the benefit of seeing certain
aspects of body language. When we wear masks, we lose the ability to
interpret critical facial expressions, plus, our own ability to convey
emotion through facial expression is limited.

Some researches have been made on the social negative

consequences of wearing a sanitary face mask. Indeed, the presence of
the sanitary mask may influence not only the recognition and
comprehension of others’ emotions, but given its current status as a
contextual cue of the pandemic, also the attribution of physical and
social distance. Another aspect to be considered is the role of virus-
linked fear and stress, as they can compromise psychological resources
(e.g., empathy) useful to deal with social interactions. When a person
has Health Anxiety and Personal Distress, he may experience a greater
sense of the fear towards COVID-19, thus suggesting that the fear of
the virus can be linked to uneasiness and nervousness during the social
interactions.

Mental health in older adults

An important topic that has not received much attention so far is how
changes in the frequencies of particular modes of social communication
are connected with mental health in older adults. Before the COVID-19
pandemic, people could communicate with each other in many different
ways and had a choice regarding the particular mode of social
communication. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a unique

230
situation, in which the digital communication has been strongly
recommended by governments and has become the new norm for social
interaction. This situation raises the question of how this emphasis on
digital interaction has affected the mental health of older adults, and
whether the association between social interaction and mental health
varies according to mode of social communication used during the
pandemic.
A recent study on a large sample of Chinese adults showed that since
the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationships of
respondents with their partners have improved, while those with friends,
local residents, and other people have worsened, as a result of the
mandatory social distancing. Despite this deterioration in relationships,
the more frequent online communication with people outside the family
does not have a negative effect on the mental health of older people.
Self-imposed and/or government-imposed social isolation, undertaken
as a preventive measure to limit the spread of COVID-19, can make
older adults feel isolated, anxious, and sad over the loss of their
independence and connections to friends and family. Social isolation has
also been associated with increased depression, stress, and emotional
disturbance. Older adults living alone reported more loneliness than
those living with others. The consequences of the pandemic on the
mental health of older people, their sense of loneliness, and the role of
social contacts are ambiguous since they become resilient and know the
ways and means of adapting to this new normal.
Maintaining Relationships during the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a major challenge to interpersonal
relationships across societies. Community relations have become
strained as individuals become afraid of being infected by others. As a
result of the pandemic, social life has been governed by a set of
externally imposed restrictions, which limit physical and emotional
contact with others. The closer geographic proximity offers more
frequent interaction opportunities, but the COVID-19 pandemic has
changed the way individuals communicate with those in direct
geographic closeness (beyond their households) to be almost
exclusively remote. Electronic technologies and apps have been useful
to older people, helping them remain in contact with relatives, while
limiting their need to leave their homes and risk exposure to COVID-19.
Before the pandemic, approximately 48% of social interactions by older
adults were digital to some degree. The use of digital communication
technologies is therefore not entirely foreign to older people, and

231
researchers suggest that these technologies have beneficial effects on
the everyday functioning of older adults. Studies suggest that use of
digital communication technologies, as well as the use of social media
networks, may potentially ease increased loneliness following a forced
social isolation. Older adults who use video call apps are estimated to
show a twofold decrease in depressive symptoms; however, depression
rates among older people using instant messaging and social media
networks were similar to those who did not use any communication
technology. Another study found that the positive effect of the use of the
information and communication technologies on social connectedness
and social support seems to last no longer than 6 months. Moreover
When they hang up or turn off the communication application, they are
left feeling alone again, this is especially noticeable among two oldest
age group.
Compared with older adults living with others, those who lived alone
during the COVID-19 pandemic reported less in-person contact but,
contrary to expectations, did not report more time on the phone or on
electronic communication channels. Moreover, it is essential to note that
almost 30% of older adults do not have internet access and depend on
the social contact in person or on the phone.
There is a difference between virtual and in-person contact. One study
found that among older adults, in-person contact was associated with
lower levels of depression, but this was not the case for phone or
electronic contact . Another study carried out during the COVID-19
pandemic reported that interactions by phone were not associated with
positive affect, with positive emotions only increasing after in-person
interactions. During the pandemic, the older adults who were living alone
experienced more of negative emotions such as loneliness, sadness and
stress when they talked to someone on the phone compared with older
adults who lived alone but did not talk with others on the phone. It is not
clear whether this effect was evident prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,
when digital contact was supplementary to rather than more common
than in-person contact. Given that digital communication is not a
complete substitute for face-to-face interactions, it is important to
investigate whether the frequency of using this mode of interpersonal
communication affects the mental health of older adults. For this reason,
it is essential that individuals in this age group have the possibility to
maintain in-person contact, within the COVID-19-related restrictions
specified by the government.

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LET US SUM UP
People are social creatures, and social psychologists study the way that
our social interactions can influence us. The social problems we live,
witness and research, such as conflict, social exclusion, poverty,
unemployment, discrimination, addiction, homelessness, crime, mental
illness, all relate to various aspects of community life. Community
psychologists play an important role in protecting the health and
wellness of individuals and communities. Social psychology has the
potential to make avaluable contributions to the significant medical
issues including the problems of etiology, prevention, management, and
treatment of illness and the delivery of health care services. Social
conformation, networking, interaction and norms play=s an inevitable
role in deciding the behavior of people during this pandemic.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1.The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a major challenge to ----------------

across societies.
a) interpersonal relationships) By stander effect c) food security d) self
esteem
2.-------------play an important role in protecting the health and wellness
of individuals and communities.
a) organizational psychologist b) Community psychologists c) school
psychologists d) careercounselors
3.People have less ------------, and spend more time on virtual media like
Zoom, Skype and other mediated platforms.
a) happinessb) societal pressure c) social interaction d) Social
conformation

4.Self-imposed and/or government-imposed social isolation, undertaken

as a preventive measure to limit the spread of COVID-19, can make
older adults feel ---------

a) excitedb) anxious c) discrimination d) stigmatized

5.-----------may become strained as individuals fear infection from others.
a) Community relations b) Intimate relationships c) body image d)
Emotions
State whether the following statements are true or false

233
6.Social psychology has the potential to make a valuable contribution to
the significant medical issues including problems of etiology, prevention,
management, and treatment of illness and the delivery of health care
services.
7.People who interact closely with family and friends are better able to
avoid illness than those who remain isolated from others

8.Counseling psychology has the potential to make valuable

contributions to significant medical issues including problems of etiology,
prevention, management, and treatment of illness and the delivery of
health care services.
9.Quarantine unites and enhances the movement of people who were
exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.
10.In spite of the repeated assertions that community life is declining in
the modern world, community life is still very much a part of our social
existence.

11. Use of digital communication technologies, as well as the use of

social media networks, may potentially increase loneliness following
forced social isolation

12.Social distancing negatively impacted the emotional well-being of an

individual, especially by causing them to feel nervous, restless, and
lonely while staying at home during the pandemic

GLOSSARY
Covid 19 - Corona virus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious respiratory
disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Globalisation -Globalization is the word used to describe the growing
interdependence of the world's economies, cultures, and the
populations, brought about by cross-border trade in goods and services,
technology, and flows of investment, people, and information.
Interpersonal relationship - An interpersonal relationship is an
association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to
enduring. This association may be based on inference, love, solidarity,
regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment.

Isolation- Isolation separates sick people with a contagious disease

from people who are not sick.
Physical distance - to cause oneself to maintain physical separation
(such as 6 feet) from other people or avoid any unnecessary contact

234
with others during the outbreak of a contagious disease in order to
minimize exposure and reduce the transmission of infection
Prejudice - an unfavourable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or
without knowledge, thought, or reason.
Quarantine - Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of
people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become
sick. These people may have been exposed to a disease and do not
know it, or they may have the disease but do not show symptoms.
Social Distance: Social distancing is a non-pharmaceutical infection
tothe prevention and control intervention implemented to avoid and to
decrease the contact between those who are infected with a disease
causing pathogen and those who are not, so as to stop or slow down the
rate and extent of disease transmission in a community.
Urbanisation - Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population
shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the
proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies
adapt to this change.

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Interpersonalrelationships 2.Community
psychologists
3. Social interaction 4.anxious
5. Community relations 6. True
7. True 8. False

9. False 10. True

11. False 12.True
MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Explain the role of social psychologist in the development of a

community
2. Describe the importance of social interaction in managing the
pandemic
3. Enunciate the importance of social psychology in understanding the
success of the treatment plans for cancer patients

SUGGESTED READINGS

235
1. Branscombe, N.R., Baron, R.A., &Kapur, P. (2017). Social Psychology
(14th Ed.). Chennai, India: Pearson India Education Services Private
Limited.

2. Myers, D.G., & Twenge, J.M. (2017). Social Psychology. (12th Ed.). New
York, NY: McGraw – Hill Education.
3. Feldman, R. S. (2001). Social Psychology (3rd Ed.) New Delhi, India:
Pearson India Education Services Private Limited.
4. Schultz, W., &Oskamp, S. (2000). Social Psychology: An Applied
Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

5. Schneider, F.W., Gruman, J.A., & Coutts, L.M. (2005) Applied Social
Psychology- understanding and addressing social and practical
problems. New York, NY: Sage publications.

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UNIT - 14

APPLICATIONS IN ENVIRONMENT

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
14.1 Introduction
14.2 The Urban Environment and Social Behaviour
14.3 Environmental Stress
14.4 The Hazards of a Noisy environment

14.4.1 Health and Noise

14.4.2 Social Effects
14.5 Temperature and Weather as Environmental Stressors
14.6 Temperature and Aggression
14.7 Air Pollution
14.8 Effects of negative ions ( notes to be added)
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Glossary

Answers to check your progress

Model questions

OVERVIEW
Psychologists have found that a variety of environmental factors like
temperature, noise, pollution and crowing influence our social behavior
and this field is known as the environmental psychology. The field
studies the relationship between environment and human behavior. This
Unit gives an introduction to environmental psychology. The positive
and the negative aspects of urban environment are described. This unit
also discusses the various environmental stresses like noise,
temperature and air pollution and their effect on social behavior. Finally
the effects of negative aspects are described.

237
 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you will be able to
• understand the nature of environmental psychology
• know the aspects of urban environment
• understand the environmental stress like noise, temperature and air
pollution
• know the effects of negative aspects on social behavior.

14.1 INTRODUCTION

Environmental psychology is the psychological study of humans and

their interactions with their environments. The types of environments
studied are limitless, ranging from homes, offices, classrooms, factories,
nature, and so on. However, across these different environments, there
are several common themes of study that emerge within each one.
Noise level and the ambient temperature are clearly present in all
environments and often subjects of discussion for of the environmental
psychologists. Crowding and stressors are a few other aspects of
environments studied by this sub-discipline of psychology. When
examining a particular environment, environmental psychology looks at
the goals and purposes of the people in the using the environment, and
tries to determine how well the environment is suiting the needs of the
people using it. For example, a quiet environment is necessary for a
classroom of students taking a test, but would not be needed or
expected on a farm full of animals. The concepts and the trends learned
through environmental psychology can be used when setting up or
rearranging spaces so that the space will best perform its intended
function. The top common, more well-known areas of psychology that
drive this applied field include: cognitive, perception, learning, and social
psychology.
Psychologists have found that a variety of the environmental factor like
temperature, noise, pollution, space and crowding influence our social
behavior and this falls into an area known as environmental psychology
– a specialty concerned with the relationship between environment,the
human behavior. Environmental psychology can be defined as the
branch of psychology that focuses on the interrelationship between the
physical environment and human behavior and their well-being.With a
growing recognition of problems such as increasing world population,
overcrowding and air pollution and noise in urban settings the interest in
environmental psychology intensified. Urban environments influence on

238
social behavior, physical cause of environmental stress such as noise,
air pollution and the weather are discussed here.

14.2 THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

People have conflicting opinions about cities. Many people have
negative views of city life because of traffic congestion, pollution, crime
and views of city life because of traffic congestion, pollution, crime and
impersonality. Others have positive views of city life because of
employment opportunity, availability of professional social services,
educational facilities and more contacts or social network. We have to
see why the urban setting sometimes has positive effects and at other
times has negative effects.
a)Adaptation to urban stimulation: The negative aspect of cites
Cites present an overload of information – sights, sounds, and the
presence of large numbers of people. Stimulus overload theory
proposes that urban people learn to screen out stimuli that are not
directly relevant to them in order to cope with the overload. One method
of adapting is to develop norms of non-involvement. Because of non-
involvement people become less helpful to others and less friendly
toward strangers
b) Cities are not always bad: The positive aspects of cities
City life has the positive side also. In fact, city life may provide more
opportunities for employment because of more informal contacts. In
cities the extent to which people help those they know seems to be
higher than in suburban areas. It was also found that when the families
experience unemployment and money problems, there was more
disruption in family relationships among rural than among urban families.
One reason for this may be that rural families limit their support networks
to a few propel, while the urban families have more social outlets that
can diffuse stress. Also urban areas are more likely than the suburban
and the rural ones to have the professional social service agencies that
take care of people who need help.
c) Stimulation in city

The concept of stimulus overload emphasizes the negative effects of

stimulation but many people enjoy environments that are highly
stimulation. Indeed, many individuals are attracted to city life for its wide
range of social and environmental activities.

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14.3 ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS
Pollution, noise, temperature and over stimulation are the major sources
of environmental stress. Stress occurs in any situation in which the
individual perceives and the external threat which generates fear,
anxiety, or anger. Some forms of environmental stress occur over long
periods of time and may be beyond the individuals control like polluted
air and hot humid weather. One source of stress, noise was the subject
of one of the first important experiments in environmental psychology.

14.4 THE HAZARDS OF A NOISY ENVIORNMENT

Everywhere we go there is noise, particularly if we live in cites. Consider
some of its many sources: traffic, air craft, construction, sirens, trains,
machinery and, of course, other people. In simplest and most common
definition of noise is “unwanted sound”. Loudness level of noise is
measured in the decibel scale (dB). For example the take off a jet
airplane produce the noise of 120 decibels. The most logical or
expected effect of exposure to noise is hearing loss. Although very loud
sounds (e.g.., 150Bb), can rupture the eardrum, damage to hearing from
excessive noise usually occurs at lower noise levels (90to120 Bb)
because of the damage to the hair cells of the inner ear.
14.4.1 Health and noise
In addition to hearing loss, exposure to high noise levels has been
associated with health problems and higher rates of admission to mental
hospitals. High levels of noise can lead to increase in stress, which in
turn lead to hypertension.High blood pressure and ulcers. Noise also
produces digestive problems. Ulcers in particular appear more likely
among workers exposed to a lot of occupational noise. Studies have
found an association between exposure of expectant mothers to aircraft
noise and infant mortality. Finally studies have found that a frequent
exposure to the noise is associated with the reports of acute and chronic
illness and sleep problem.
14.4.2 Social effects
Noise is stressful and it also influences our social behavior. People are
found to provide less help to a stranger in a noisy environment;
neighbours have fewer informal social interactions in noisy
neighbourhoods and people in noisy conditions are more likely to be
aggressive. Noisy environment make the people to focus their attention

240
on a constricted portion of their environment and this may lead to more
extreme and premature judgments, about the other people.
14.5 TEMPERATURE AND WEATHER AS ENVIRONMENTAL
STRESSORS
Environment psychologists study the relationships between weather,
climate and behavior. When it gets cold outdoors, we behave in ways
that minimize discomfort, such as putting on heavy coats. When we
travel from a cool country to a very hot one, we may restrict out outdoor
activity.

Ambient temperature is term used to describe the surroundings or

atmospheric temperature conditions. In the natural environment where
the humans experience a range from the arctic cold to a debilitating
tropical heat. Several laboratory studies have demonstrated that we like
strangers less when we are in hot humid room than when temperature is
comfortable.

According to the model of attraction developed by Byrne(1971) a

decrease in interpersonal attraction occurs when we are experiencing
the unpleasant effects of either debilitating heat or cold. Temperature
also affects helping behavior. Individuals exposed to very warm
conditions in the laboratory are less likely to help others even when
there are comfortable conditions where the help is needed. Similarly it
was found that pedestrians were more willing to be interviewed during
the winter months, but were less cooperative during the summer
months.
14.6 TEMPERATURE AND AGGRESSION
Studies of the relationship between heat and aggression found that
aggression increases as the temperature rises, but only up to a certain
point. Beyond this level aggression actively drops. The explanation was
that moderately hot temperatures cause annoyance and anger, while
very hot temperatures are so unpleasant that the individual is motivated
to escape and seek comfort rather than to aggress.’
Many research studies suggest that heat-wave conditions are
associated with the outbreak of riots. More recent research shows that
the calls to the police increase,as,the temperature rise, and violent
crimes, including sex-crimes, seem to increase with temperature.
14.7 AIR POLLUION

Over the past few decades, air pollution has become one of our
primaries. Environmental problems. We often walk around in air that is

241
filled with toxic particles generated by exhaust gases from automobiles,
factory discharges, gaseous and solid particles from industrial waste.
Even the smoke from cigarettes, forest fires, and fireplaces in the home
can have seriously adverse effects on health. Pollution also has
depleted the ozone layer of the atmosphere. Though studies link
pollution to physical and psychiatric health problems, people tend to
adapt to pollution psychologically. That is, over time they tend not to
notice polluted air or to identify it as a problem.
Research has shown that our pollution influences several types of social
behavior. First, recreation behaviorin particular and outdoor activity in
general, is restricted by pollution. It was also found that foul odours
made the individuals feel more unpleasant, reduced willingness to help,
increased anger, and increased flight behavior.
One form of personal pollution that has received attention recently is
cigarette smoke. The risk of lung cancer is well known to smokers.
However there is an additional problem for non-smokers that is, passive
smoking. It occurs when thenon-smoker breaths the air filled with the
smoke of theothers and it also become a serious health risk. For
example, non-smoking wives of heavy smokers have a higher rate of
lung cancer than non-smoking wives of non-smokers. Beyond the
health risks, non-smokers tend to dislike cigarette smoke and react
negatively when confronted by those who smoke. They will with draw
from such interactions or act in a hostile manner.
Studies also have examined the relationship between family
disturbances and ozone levels. Ozone is a form of a smog made up of
automobile emissions and industrial waste. The results indicated that
there were more family disturbances when ozone levels were high than
when they were low. Altogether, it appears that polluted air not only has
negative effects on health, but, also has the negative emotional and
behavioral effects.

LET US SUM UP
Environmental psychology is concerned with the relationship between
environmental factors like temperature, noise, pollution, crowding and
ions and human behavior. Urban environment has both positive and
negative effects. Noisy environment leads to many health problems,
behavioral and the social problems. Temperature reduces the helping
behavior and unto a point increases the aggression.

242
Air pollution affects our recreation behaviour,Finally it has been found
that negative ions improve our mood and interpersonal relationships.
Positive ions are associated worsening performance and mental outlook.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Choose the most appropriate answer

1.Environmental psychology concerned with the relationship between

_________ and human behavior.
a) Physical environment b) Psychological environment

c) Social environment d)Family environment

2. Noise can be defined as ____________
a)Loudness b)Sound
c) Unwanted sound d)High pitch
3. When an individual perceives external threat which generates fear,
anxiety or anger it becomes the __________

a)Stress b)Frustration
c) Danger d) Conflict
4. Cigarette smoking is a one form of _____________
a) Fume b) Personal pollution
c) Ion change d) Temperature pollution
5. Air molecules are often split into positively and negatively charged
particles called ___________
a)Atoms b)Protons
c)Ions d)Neutrons

State whether the following statements are True or False

6. City Life Has Positive aspects also.
7. High noise level has not been associated with health problem

8. Noise also influence our social behavior

9. Ambient temperature describes atmospheric temperature condition.
10. Upton a certain point temperature increases aggression.

11. Air pollution does not affect our recreation behavior.

12. Negative ions entrance our positive mood.

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244
 GLOSSARY
Air pollution: Air pollution refers to the release of pollutants into the air
pollutants which are detrimental to human health and the planet as a
whole.
Ambient temperature :Ambient temperature is term used to describe
the surroundings or atmospheric temperature conditions.

Environmental psychology: Environmental psychology is a

branch of psychology that explores the relationship between the humans
and the external world.

Environmental stress: Environmental stress can be defined as the

cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses to an environmental
stimulus or stressor
Personal pollution: Contamination of our own body and lifestyle due
tothe hazardous actions such as drinking or smoking is referred to as
personal pollution.

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Physical environment 7. False

2. Unwanted sound 8. True

3. Stress 9. True
4. Personal pollution 10.True
5. Ions 11. False
6. True 12. True

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Define environmental psychology and discuss the aspects of urban
environment.

2. Describe the hazards of a noisy environment.

3. Discuss the effects of temperature and air pollution.
4. Explain the relationship between air pollution and mental health .

245
 SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Branscombe, N.R., Baron, R.A., &Kapur, P. (2017). Social Psychology
(14th Ed.). Chennai, India: Pearson India Education Services Private
Limited.
2. Myers, D.G., & Twenge, J.M. (2017). Social Psychology. (12th Ed.). New
York, NY: McGraw – Hill Education.

3. Feldman, R. S. (2001). Social Psychology (3rd Ed.) New Delhi, India:

Pearson India Education Services Private Limited.
4. Schultz, W., &Oskamp, S. (2000). Social Psychology: An Applied
Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
5. Schneider, F.W., Gruman, J.A., & Coutts, L.M. (2005) Applied Social
Psychology- understanding and addressing social and practical
problems. New York, NY: Sage publications.

246
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MASTER OF SCIENCE IN PSYCHOLOGY

LIFE SPAN PSYCHOLOGY

MSYS- 13 / MCPS -13

Semester - I

Department of Psychology
School of Social Sciences
Tamil Nadu Open University
577, Anna Salai, Saidapet, Chennai – 600 015.
www.tnou.ac.in
May 2022
Course Writer:
Dr. M.V. Sudhakaran
Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychology
School of Social Sciences
Tamil Nadu Open University
Chennai - 600 015
©Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences
Tamil Nadu Open University
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form,
mimeograph or any other means, without permission in writing from the Tamil
Nadu Open University. Further information of the Tamil Nadu Open University
Programmes may be obtained from theUniversity office at:

577, Anna Salai, Saidapet, Chennai - 600 015.

May 2022
www.tnou.ac.in
 03.05.2022

My Dear Beloved Learners!

Vanakkam,
The Tamil Nadu Open University (TNOU) that is marching towards the motto
‘Education for Anyone at Anytime’ is very much pleased to cordially invite you to
join in it’s noble educational journey.
It is impressive that every one of you can feel proud yourself for studying
in the University which is duly recognised by the UGC-DEB, New Delhi for offering
academic Programmes through open and distance mode. As you are aware, the
Government of Tamil Nadu vide G.O (Ms) No.107 dated 18.08.2009 have assured
that the degrees issued by the University under 10+2+3 pattern are duly eligible for
government jobs.
The University has designed it’s overhauled curricula, updated syllabi
and revised Self-Learning Materials (SLMs) with the unwavering support of ripe
academics. After thorough study, you can clarify your doubts during the Academic
Counselling Classes and can also get further clarifications, if needed, from the
respective Programme Co-ordinators. There is a provision that a learner of a UG
or a PG Programme in any University can simultaneously pursue a Diploma or a
Certificate Programme in open and distance mode. In addition, it runs the skill-
oriented Vocational Programmes through the Community Colleges.
For admission, you can submit your application either in-person or through
online (https://tnouadmissions.in/onlineapp/). Your academic needs are fulfilled
instantaneously through the Regional Centres functioning in Chennai, Coimbatore,
Dharmapuri, Madurai, The Nilgiris, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelveli and Viluppuram.
The TNOU constantly supports you for not only completion of your Programme
successfully but also for placements.

At this momentous juncture, I wish you all bright and future endeavours.

With warm regards,

(K. PARTHASARATHY)
 M.Sc., PSYCHOLOGY

LIFE SPAN PSYCHOLOGY

MSYS- 13

Course Code: MSYS – 13 Course Credit: 3

SYLLABUS
BLOCK – I: BASIC CONCEPTS AND STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
Basic Concepts – Aspects of Development, Life Span Periods – Methods –
Non-Experimental, Experimental – Stages of Development – Principles of
Development – Prenatal Period – Birth – Neonatal Stages – First Year of Life
– Early Childhood, Middle Childhood – Adolescence, Adulthood, and Old
Age.
BLOCK – II: PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
Physical Development – Motor Skills – Growth Rate – Physical Health During
Adulthood, Physical Fitness and Energy – Motor Functions – Intellectual
Development – Approaches: Psychometric, Piagetian and Information
Processing Approach – Cognitive Development – Piaget’s Model – Language
Acquisition and Development of Language, Memory, Intelligence and Moral
Development.
BLOCK – III: PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Personality and social Development – Emotions – Emergence of Self – Role
of parents and siblings – Peer group influence – Psychoanalytic, Social
learning and cognitive perspectives in the personality development –
Emotional Problems of childhood – identity crisis in adolescence, relationship
with parents and peers, sexual identity – Teenage problems.
BLOCK – IV: SOCIAL ISSUES IN ADULTHOOD
Personality and Social issues in adulthood – Parenthood – Career planning –
Intimate relationship and personal life styles – Work life – Personal
relationship in family and work life.
BLOCK – V ISSUES IN OLD AGE
Old age – Physical changes – Psychomotor functioning – Health and fitness –
Health problems – Memory changes – Works and Retirement – Adjustment to
Old age – Personal Relations in Late life – Death Bereavement – Purpose and
meaning of life.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Developmental Psychology – A Life Span Approach,
Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Co. Ltd., New Delhi.
2. Zubek J.P. and Solberg, P.A., Human Development, New York, McGraw
HillBook Co. Ltd., 1954.
3. Papalia, Diane E and Old, Human Development V Ed 1992, Tata McGraw
Hill Publishing Co., Ltd.
 CONTENTS
TITLE Page No

BLOCK – I: BASIC CONCEPTS AND STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT 1

UNIT: 1 BASIC CONCEPTS 2

UNIT: 2 PRENATAL PERIODS AND BIRTH 16

UNIT: 3 DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES 24

BLOCK – II: PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT 35

UNIT: 4 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN CHILDHOOD 36

UNIT: 5 INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENTS IN CHILDHOOD 46

UNIT: 6 INTELLECTUALDEVELOPMENTS INADOLESCENT

63
AND BEYOND

BLOCK – III: PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 70

UNIT: 7 PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 71

UNIT: 8 PERSPECTIVES IN PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT 84

UNIT: 9 SEXUAL IDENTITY AND TEENAGE PROBLEMS 94

BLOCK–IV: SOCIAL ISSUES IN ADULTHOOD 109

UNIT: 10 PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN ADULTHOOD 110

UNIT: 11 CAREER PLANNING AND INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS

137

UNIT: 12 WORKLIFE, PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP IN FAMILY AND

151
WORK LIFE

BLOCK – V: ISSUES IN OLD AGE 163

UNIT: 13 OLD AGE 164

UNIT: 14 HEALTH PROBLEMS, MEMORY CHANGES IN OLD AGE 181

UNIT: 15 ADJUSTMENT, RELATIONSHIPS AND DEATH IN OLD AGE 192

Appendix: Plagiarism Certificate 212

BLOCK- I BASIC CONCEPTS AND STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

UNIT: 1 BASIC CONCEPTS

NIT: 2 PRENATAL PERIOD AND BIRTH
UNIT: 3 DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES

1
UNIT: 1

INTRODUCTION OF LIFE SPAN PSYCHOLOGY

STRUCTURE
Overview
Learning objectives
1.1. Basic Concepts

1.2. Aspects of Development

1.3. Life Span Periods
1.4. Research Methods

1.5. Principles of Development

1.5.1 Development is Lifelong
1.5.2 Development is Multidimensional
1.5.3 Development is Multidirectional
1.5.4 Development is Plastic
1.5.5. Development is Contextual

1.5.6 Development is Multidisciplinary

Let us Sum Up
Check Your Progress

Key Terms
Answers to check your progress
Glossary

Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
This unit discusses about the basic concepts of development,
Life Span Periods and methods of non-experimental and experimental
research in life span developmental psychology. It also describes the
methods developmental researchers use to collect data and the
advantages and disadvantages of each.

2
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit you will be to:

 Explain the Basic Concepts of development.
 Describe the various aspects of Development.
 Explain the Life Span periods.
 Illustrate the Research Methods.
 Explain the principles of Development.

1.1 BASIC CONCEPTS

Life Span psychology is a branch of psychology that attempts to

explain the development of humans over time, both in the micro sense,
as they develop from babies to mature adults, and in the macro sense,
as the culture itself evolves through the years and decades.
It should be noted that it's difficult to make broad claims about life
span psychology because it is effectively an umbrella term used to
describe a number of disciplines all focused on the same goal. These
disciplines, however, are often quite diverse and can seem rather
dissimilar from one another in all respects except their shared purpose.
The study of human development is not only informative but also
interesting. Life span psychology is one of the fields of psychology which
studies human development from conception till death. It covers within
its scope field like child psychology, adolescent psychology, geriatric
psychology, etc.
Definition

According to Hurlock, developmental psychology is the branch of

psychology that studies intra-individual changes and inter-individual
changes within these intraindividual changes. Its task is not only
description but also explication of age-related changes in behavior in
terms of antecedent consequent relationship.
It can also be defined as a scientific approach which aims to
explain growth, change and consistency through the lifespan. It looks at
how thinking, feeling, and behavior change throughout a person‘s life.
1.2 ASPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT

Developmental scientists‘ study three major domains, or aspects,

of the self: physical, cognitive, and psychosocial. Growth of the body
and brain, sensory capacities, motor skills, and health are parts of
physical development. Learning, attention, memory, language, thinking,

3
reasoning, and creativity make up cognitive development. Emotions,
personality, and social relationships are aspects of psychosocial
development.
Although, we talk separately about physical, cognitive, and
psychosocial development, these aspects are intricately interconnected,
but to understand their complexity, we need to establish boundaries
somewhere. Thus, we separate these spheres of influence. Despite this,
it is important to remember that each aspect of development affects the
others.

Child development is a complex and tangled web of multiple

influences, and understanding these influences requires thinking
carefully about their interactions. Just as a fly caught on one thread of a
web sends reverberations across the entire structure, development in
one area sends ripples through all other areas. For example, physical
development affects cognitive and psychosocial development.
A child with frequent ear infections may develop language more
slowly than a child without this physical problem. During puberty,
dramatic physical and hormonal changes affect the developing sense of
self. Physical changes in the brains of some older adults may lead to
intellectual and personality deterioration. Similarly, cognitive advances
and declines are related to physical and psychosocial development.
A child who is precocious in language development may bring
about positive reactions in others and thus gain in self-worth. Memory
development reflects gains or losses in physical connections in the
brain. An adult who has trouble remembering people‘s names may feel
shy in social situations.
And finally, psychosocial development can affect cognitive and
physical functioning. Indeed, without meaningful social connections,
physical and mental health suffers. Motivation and self-confidence are
important contributors to school success, whereas negative emotions
such as anxiety can impair performance. Researchers have identified
possible links between a conscientious personality and length of life.
1.3 LIFE SPAN PERIODS

Division of life span into periods is a social construction: a

concept or practice that is an invention of a particular culture or society.
There is no objectively definable moment when a child becomes an adult
or a young person becomes old. Because the concept of childhood is a
social construction, the form it takes varies across cultures.

4
 They follow a sequence of eight periods generally accepted in
Western industrial societies. After describing the crucial changes that
occur in the first period, before birth, we trace all three aspects of
development through infancy and toddlerhood, early childhood, middle
childhood, adolescence, emerging and young adulthood, middle
adulthood, and late adulthood.
1.3RESEARCH METHODS

Researchers use many different designs and methods to study

human development. The three most popular designs are:
 Cross sectional: a number of different age individuals with the
same trait or characteristic of interest are studied at a single
time.
 Longitudinal: the same individuals are studied repeatedly
over a specified period of time.
 Cross sequential: individuals in a cross sectional sample are
tested more than once over a specified period of time.

The popular research designs are adopted to conduct studies in life

span development with the following non-experimental and experimental
methods.

1.3.1 Non – Experimental Research

There are four major non-experimental techniques for studying
people: Case studies, Observation, interviews, and correlation studies.
Each approach has strengths and weaknesses. The popular life span
research methods are:
Case-Study Research

In case study research, an investigator studies an individual who

has a rare or unusual condition or who has responded favorably to a
new treatment. Case studies are typically clinical in scope. The
investigator often a physician, psychologist, social worker, counselor, or
educator interviews the subject, obtains background records, and
administers questionnaires to acquire quantifiable data on the subject. A
comprehensive case study can last months or years. Throughout the
duration of the case study, the researcher documents the condition,
treatment, and effects in relation to each patient and summarizes all of
this information in individual case reports.

5
Survey Research

Survey research involves interviewing or administering

questionnaires or written surveys to large numbers of people. The
investigator analyzes the data obtained from surveys to learn about
similarities, differences, and trends, and then makes predictions about
the population being studied. Advantages of survey research include the
great amount of information the researcher can obtain from the large
number of respondents, the convenience for respondents of taking a
written survey, and the low cost of acquiring and processing data.
Mailing surveys have the added advantage of ensuring anonymity and
thus prompting respondents to answer questions truthfully.
Disadvantages of survey research include volunteer bias,
interviewer bias, and distortion. Volunteer bias occurs when a sample of
volunteers is not representative of the general population. Subjects who
are willing to talk about certain topics may answer surveys differently
than those who are not. Interviewer bias occur when an interviewer's
expectations or insignificant gestures (such as frowning or smiling)
inadvertently influence a subject's responses one way or the other.
Distortion occurs when a subject does not respond honestly to
questions.
Observational Research

Because distortion can be a serious limitation of survey research,

scientists may choose to observe subjects' behavior directly through
observational research. Observational research takes place in either a
laboratory (laboratory observation) or a natural setting (naturalistic
observation). In either research method, observers record participants'
behavior within an environment. Observational research reduces the
possibility of subjects giving misleading accounts of their experiences,
not taking the study seriously, being unable to remember details, or
feeling too embarrassed to disclose everything that happened.

Observational research has limitations, however. Volunteer bias is

common because volunteers may not be representative of the general
public. Individuals who agree to be observed and monitored may
function differently than respondents who do not want to be observed
and monitored. Individuals may also function differently in a laboratory
setting than respondents who are observed in more natural settings.
Correlational Research

A develop mentalist may also conduct correlation research. A

correlation is a relationship between two variables (factors that change).

6
Variables may include characteristics, attitudes, behaviors, or events.
The goal of correlational research is to determine whether or not a
relationship exists between two variables, and if a relationship does
exist, the number of commonalities in that relationship. A researcher
may use case study methods, surveys, interviews, and observational
research to discover correlations. Correlations are either positive (to
+1.0), negative (to–1.0), or nonexistent (0.0). In a positive correlation,
the values of the variables increase or decrease (covary) together. In a
negative correlation, one variable increases as the other variable
decreases. In a nonexistent correlation, there is no relationship between
variables.
Although correlation is commonly confused with causation,
correlational data does not indicate a cause and effect relationship.
When a correlation is present, changes in the value of one variable
reflect changes in the value of the other. The correlation does not imply
that one variable causes the other variable, only that both variables are
somehow related. To study the effects that variables have on each
other, an investigator must conduct an experiment.
Cross-Cultural Research
Western cultural standards do not necessarily apply to other
societies, and what may be normal or acceptable for one group may be
abnormal or unacceptable for another group. Sensitivity to others'
norms, folkways, values, attitudes, customs, and practices necessitates
knowledge of other societies and cultures. Developmentalist may
conduct cross cultural research, research designed to reveal variations
existing across different groups of people. Most cross cultural research
involves survey, direct observation, and participant observation methods
of research. The challenge of this type of research is to avoid
experimenter bias and the tendency to compare dissimilar
characteristics as if they were somehow related.
Participant Observation

Participant observation requires an observer to become a member

of his or her subjects' community. An advantage of this method of
research is the opportunity to study what actually occurs within a
community and then consider that information within the political,
economic, social, and religious systems of that community. A
disadvantage of participant observation is the problem of subjects
altering their behavior because, as subjects of the observation, the
participants know that they are being watched.

7
1.3.1Experimental Research
Experiments are designed to test hypotheses (or specific
statements about the relationship between variables) in a controlled
setting in efforts to explain how certain factors or events produce
outcomes. A variable is anything that changes in value. Concepts
are operationalized or transformed into variables in research which
means that the researcher must specify exactly what is going to be
measured in the study.
The experimental method is the only research method that can
measure cause and effect relationships between variables. Three
conditions must be met in order to establish cause and
effect. Experimental designs are useful in meeting these conditions:

The independent and dependent variables must be related. In other

words, when one is altered, the other changes in response.
The independent variable is something altered or introduced by the
researcher; sometimes thought of as the treatment or
intervention. The dependent variable is the outcome or the factor
affected by the introduction of the independent variable; the dependent
variable depends on the independent variable. For example, if we are
looking at the impact of exercise on stress levels, the independent
variable would be exercise; the dependent variable would be stress.
The cause must come before the effect. Experiments measure subjects
on the dependent variable before exposing them to the independent
variable (establishing a baseline). So, we would measure the subjects‘
level of stress before introducing exercise and then again after the
exercise to see if there has been a change in stress
levels. (Observational and survey research does not always allow us to
look at the timing of these events which makes understanding causality
problematic with these methods).
The cause must be isolated. The researcher must ensure that no
outside, perhaps unknown variables, are actually causing the effect we
see. The experimental design helps make this possible. In an
experiment, we would make sure that our subjects‘ diets were held
constant throughout the exercise program. Otherwise, the diet might
really be creating a change in stress level rather than exercise.
A basic experimental design involves beginning with a sample (or
subset of a population) and randomly assigning subjects to one of two
groups: the experimental group or the control group. Ideally, to
prevent bias, the participants would be blind to their condition (not aware

8
of which group they are in) and the researchers would also be blind to
each participant‘s condition (referred to as ―double blind ―).

The experimental group is the group that is going to be exposed

to an independent variable or condition the researcher is introducing as
a potential cause of an event. The control group is going to be used for
comparison and is going to have the same experience as the
experimental group but will not be exposed to the independent variable.
This helps address the placebo effect, which is that a group may
expect changes to happen just by participating. After exposing the
experimental group to the independent variable, the two groups are
measured again to see if a change has occurred. If so, we are in a better
position to suggest that the independent variable caused the change in
the dependent variable.

The major advantage of the experimental design is that of

helping to establish cause and effect relationships. A disadvantage of
this design is the difficulty of translating much of what concerns us about
human behavior into a laboratory setting.
1.3 RINCIPLES OF DEVELOPMENT

Lifespan development involves the exploration of biological,

cognitive, and psychosocial changes and constancies that occur
throughout the entire course of life. It has been presented as a
theoretical perspective, proposing several fundamental, theoretical, and
methodological principles about the nature of human development. An
attempt by researchers has been made to examine whether research on
the nature of development suggests a specific meta-theoretical
worldview. Several beliefs, taken together, form the ―family of
perspectives‖ that contributes to this particular view.

German psychologist Paul Baltes, a leading expert on lifespan

development and aging, developed one of the approaches to studying
development called the lifespan perspective.
This approach is based on several key principles:
 Development occurs across one‘s entire life, or is lifelong.
 Development is multidimensional, meaning it involves
the dynamic interaction of factors like physical, emotional, and
psychosocial development.
 Development is multidirectional and results in gains and losses
throughout life.

9
 Development is plastic, meaning that characteristics are
malleable or changeable.
 Development is influenced by contextual and socio-cultural
influences.
 Development is multidisciplinary.
1.3.1Development is Lifelong

Lifelong development means that development is not completed in

infancy or childhood or at any specific age; it encompasses the entire
lifespan, from conception to death. The study of development
traditionally focused almost exclusively on the changes occurring from
conception to adolescence and the gradual decline in old age; it was
believed that the five or six decades after adolescence yielded little to no
developmental change at all. The current view reflects the possibility that
specific changes in development can occur later in life, without having
been established at birth. The early events of one‘s childhood can be
transformed by later events in one‘s life. This belief clearly emphasizes
that all stages of the lifespan contribute to the regulation of the nature of
human development.

Many diverse patterns of change, such as direction, timing, and

order, can vary among individuals and affect the ways in which they
develop. For example, the developmental timing of events can affect
individuals in different ways because of their current level of maturity and
understanding. As individuals move through life, they are faced with
many challenges, opportunities, and situations that impact their
development. Remembering that development is a lifelong process
helps us gain a wider perspective on the meaning and impact of each
event.
1.3.1 Development is Multidimensional
By multidimensionality, Baltes is referring to the fact that a complex
interplay of factors influence development across the lifespan, including
biological, cognitive, and socio-emotional changes. Baltes argues that a
dynamic interaction of these factors is what influences an individual‘s
development.

For example, in adolescence, puberty consists of physiological and

physical changes with changes in hormone levels, the development of
primary and secondary sex characteristics, alterations in height and
weight, and several other bodily changes. But these are not the only
types of changes taking place; there are also cognitive changes,
including the development of advanced cognitive faculties such as the

10
ability to think abstractly. There are also emotional and social changes
involving regulating emotions, interacting with peers, and possibly
dating. The fact that the term puberty encompasses such a broad range
of domains illustrates the multidimensionality component of development
(the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial domains of human
development).
1.3.1 Development is Multidirectional

Baltes states that the development of a particular domain does not

occur in a strictly linear fashion but that development of certain traits can
be characterized as having the capacity for both an increase and
decrease in efficacy over the course of an individual‘s life.
If we use the example of puberty again, we can see that certain
domains may improve or decline in effectiveness during this time. For
example, self-regulation is one domain of puberty which undergoes
profound multidirectional changes during the adolescent period. During
childhood, individuals have difficulty effectively regulating their actions
and impulsive behaviors. Scholars have noted that this lack of effective
regulation often results in children engaging in behaviors without fully
considering the consequences of their actions. Over the course of
puberty, neuronal changes modify this unregulated behavior by
increasing the ability to regulate emotions and impulses. Inversely, the
ability for adolescents to engage in spontaneous activity and creativity,
both domains commonly associated with impulse behavior, decrease
over the adolescent period in response to changes in cognition.
Neuronal changes to the limbic system and prefrontal cortex of the brain,
which begin in puberty lead to the development of self-regulation, and
the ability to consider the consequences of one‘s actions (though recent
brain research reveals that this connection will continue to develop into
early adulthood).
Extending on the premise of multidirectional, Baltes also argued that
development is influenced by the ―joint expression of features of growth
(gain) and decline (loss)‖. This relation between developmental gains
and losses occurs in a direction to selectively optimize particular
capacities. This requires the sacrificing of other functions, a process
known as selective optimization with compensation. According to the
process of selective optimization, individuals prioritize particular
functions above others, reducing the adaptive capacity of particulars for
specialization and improved efficacy of other modalities.
The acquisition of effective self-regulation in adolescents illustrates
this gain/loss concept. As adolescents gain the ability to effectively

11
regulate their actions, they may be forced to sacrifice other features to
selectively optimize their reactions. For example, individuals may
sacrifice their capacity to be spontaneous or creative if they are
constantly required to make thoughtful decisions and regulate their
emotions. Adolescents may also be forced to sacrifice their fast reaction
times toward processing stimuli in favor of being able to fully consider
the consequences of their actions.
1.3.1Development is Plastic

Plasticity denotes intrapersonal variability and focuses heavily on

the potentials and limits of the nature of human development. The notion
of plasticity emphasizes that there are many possible developmental
outcomes and that the nature of human development is much more
open and pluralistic than originally implied by traditional views; there is
no single pathway that must be taken in an individual‘s development
across the lifespan. Plasticity is imperative to current research because
the potential for intervention is derived from the notion of plasticity in
development. Undesired development or behaviors could potentially be
prevented or changed.

Recently, researchers have been analyzing how other senses

compensate for the loss of vision in blind individuals. Without visual
input, blind humans have demonstrated that tactile and auditory
functions still fully develop and they can use tactile and auditory cues to
perceive the world around them. One experiment designed by Ruder
and colleagues compared the auditory localization skills of people who
are blind with people who are sighted by having participants locate
sounds presented either centrally or peripherally (lateral) to them. Both
congenitally blind adults and sighted adults could locate a sound
presented in front of them with precision but people who are blind were
clearly superior in locating sounds presented laterally. Currently, brain-
imaging studies have revealed that the sensory cortices in the brain are
reorganized after visual deprivation. These findings suggest that when
vision is absent in development, the auditory cortices in the brain recruit
areas that are normally devoted to vision, thus becoming further refined.

A significant aspect of the aging process is cognitive decline. The

dimensions of cognitive decline are partially reversible, however,
because the brain retains the lifelong capacity for plasticity and
reorganization of cortical tissue. Mencken and colleagues developed a
brain plasticity-based training program that induced learning in mature
adults experiencing age-related decline.

12
 This training program focused intensively on aural language
reception accuracy and cognitively demanding exercises that have been
proven to partially reverse the age-related losses in memory. It included
highly rewarding novel tasks that required attention control and became
progressively more difficult to perform. In comparison to the control
group, who received no training and showed no significant change in
memory function, the experimental training group displayed a marked
enhancement in memory that was sustained at the 3-month follow-up
period. These findings suggest that cognitive function, particularly
memory, can be significantly improved in mature adults with age-related
cognitive decline by using brain plasticity-based training methods.
Development is Contextual

In Baltes‘ theory, the paradigm of contextualism refers to the idea

that three systems of biological and environmental influences work
together to influence development. Development occurs in context and
varies from person to person, depending on factors such as a person‘s
biology, family, school, church, profession, nationality, and ethnicity.
Baltes identified three types of influences that operate throughout the life
course: normative age-graded influences, normative history-graded
influences, and non-normative influences. Baltes wrote that these three
influences operate throughout the life course, their effects accumulate
with time, and, as a dynamic package, they are responsible for how lives
develop.
Non-normative influences: Unpredictable influences not tied to a
certain developmental time, personally or historical period.
Normative age-graded influences: Biological and environmental
factors that have a strong correlation with chronological age.
Normative history-graded influences: Influences associated with a
specific time period that define the broader bio-cultural context in which
an individual develops.
Development is Multidisciplinary

Any single discipline‘s account of development across the

lifespan would not be able to express all aspects of this theoretical
framework. That is why it is suggested explicitly by lifespan researchers
that a combination of disciplines is necessary to understand
development. Psychologists, sociologists, neuroscientists,
anthropologists, educators, economists, historians, medical researchers,
and others may all be interested and involved in research related to the
normative age-graded, normative history-graded, and non-normative
influences that help shape development. Many disciplines are able to

13
contribute important concepts that integrate knowledge, which may
ultimately result in the formation of a new and enriched understanding of
development across the lifespan.
LET US SUM UP

Developmental scientists study changes and stability in all aspects of

development throughout the life span. The three major domains of
development are physical, cognitive, and psychosocial. Each affects the
others. The concept of periods of development is a social construction.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Life Span psychology is a branch of _________.

2. A child with frequent ear infections may develop language _________
than a child without this physical problem.

3. ___________ study is the same individuals are studied repeatedly

over a specified period of time.
4. A correlation is a _____________ between two variables.
5. Puberty consists of physiological and ___________ changes.
KEY TERMS
Development Heredity
Maturation Ethnic group
Experimental research Non-Experimental
research
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Psychology
2. More slowly

3. Longitudinal
4. Relationship
5. Physical
GLOSSORY
Case study: Study of a single subject, such as an individual or family.
Correlation method: generally involves determining whether two or
more variables are related in a systematic way.
Human development: the scientific study of these patterns of change
and stability.

14
Life-span development: Concept of human development as a lifelong
process, which can be studied scientifically.
Naturalistic observation: Research method in which behavior is
studied in natural settings without intervention or manipulation.
MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Define Life span psychology.
2. Explain the experimental method of life span development.
3. What are the types of observations? Explain.
4. Mention the periods of life span.
5. Summarize the principles of development.
SUGGESTED READINGS
 Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Developmental Psychology – A Life
Span Approach,
 Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Co. Ltd, New
Delhi.
 Zubek J.P. and Solberg, P.A., Human Development, New
York, McGraw Hill
 Book Co. Ltd., 1954.
 Papalia, Diane E and Old, Human Development V Ed 1992,
Tata McGraw
 Hill Publishing Co., Ltd.

15
UNIT: 2

PRENATAL PERIOD AND BIRTH

STRUCTURE
Overview
Learning objectives
2.1. Prenatal Period
2.2. Nature and Nurture

2.3 Birth and Physical Development

Let us Sum Up
Check Your Progress

Key Terms
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
This unit discusses about why Prenatal period is an essential
stage in human life. There are many improvements during this period as
the embryo formed which is of a pinhead size and develops as a
miniature human being. Moreover, it is no exaggeration to say that this
period is the source of the development of a later individual. The growth
of the embryo is determined by genetic factors and other factors.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit you will be able to:

 Explain about the Prenatal Period.
 Illustrate the role of Nature and Nurture.
 Describe about the Birth and Physical Development.
2.1 PRENATAL PERIOD
Fertilization, the union of an ovum and a sperm, results in the
formation of a one-celled zygote which then duplicates itself by cell
division. Multiple births can occur either by the fertilization of two ova (or
one ovum that has split) or by the splitting of one fertilized ovum. Higher
multiple births result from either one of these processes or a

16
combination of the two. Dizygotic (fraternal) twins have different genetic
makeups and may be of different sexes. Although monozygotic
(identical) twins typically have much the same genetic makeup, they
may differ in temperament or other respects.
Mechanisms of Heredity

The basic functional units of heredity are the genes, which are
made of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). DNA carries the biochemical
instructions, or genetic code, that governs the development of cell
functions. Each gene is located by function in a definite position on a
particular chromosome. The complete sequence of genes in the human
body is called the human genome. At conception, each normal human
being receives 23 chromosomes from the mother and 23 from the father.
These form 23 pairs of chromosomes —22 pairs of autosomes and 1
pair of sex chromosomes. A child who receives an X chromosome from
each parent is genetically female. A child who receives a Y chromosome
from the father is genetically male.
The simplest patterns of genetic transmission are dominant and
recessive inheritance. When pair of alleles is the same, a person is
homozygous for the trait; when they are different, the person is
heterozygous.
Most normal human characteristics are the result of polygenic or
multifactorial transmission. Except for most monozygotic twins, each
child inherits a unique genotype. Dominant inheritance and multifactorial
transmission explain why a person‘s phenotype does not always express
the underlying genotype. The epigenetic framework controls the
functions of particular genes; it can be affected by environmental factors.
Birth defects and diseases may result from simple dominant,
recessive, or sex-linked inheritance, from mutations, or from genome
imprinting. Chromosomal abnormalities also can cause birth defects.
Through genetic counselling, prospective parents can receive
information about the mathematical odds of bearing children with certain
defects. Genetic testing involves risks as well as benefits.
2.2 NATURE AND NURTURE: INFLUENCES OF HEREDITY AND
ENVIRONMENT

Research in behavioral genetics is based on the assumption that

the relative influences of heredity and environment within a population
can be measured statistically. If heredity is an important influence on a
trait, genetically closer persons will be more similar in that trait. Family

17
studies, adoption studies, and studies of twins enable researchers to
measure the heritability of specific traits.
The concepts of reaction range, canalization, genotype
environment interaction, genotype-environment correlation (or
covariance), and niche-picking describe ways in which heredity and
environment work together.
Siblings tend to be more different than alike in intelligence and
personality. According to some behavioral geneticists, heredity accounts
for most of the similarity, and nonshared environmental effects account
for most of the difference.
Obesity, longevity, intelligence, temperament, and other aspects
of personality are influenced by both heredity and environment.

Schizophrenia is a highly heritable neurological disorder that also

is environmentally influenced.
Prenatal Development

Prenatal development occurs in three stages of gestation: the

germinal, embryonic, and fetal stages.Severely defective embryos often
are spontaneously aborted during the first trimester of pregnancy.
As fetuses grow, they move less, but more vigorously.
Swallowing amniotic fluid, which contains substances from the mother‘s
body, stimulates taste and smell. Fetuses seem able to hear, exercise
sensory discrimination, learn, and remember.
The developing organism can be greatly affected by its prenatal
environment. The likelihood of a birth defect may depend on the timing
and intensity of an environmental event and its interaction with genetic
factors.
Important environmental influences involving the mother include
nutrition, smoking, intake of alcohol or other drugs, transmission of
maternal illnesses or infections, maternal stress, anxiety, or depression,
maternal age and physical activity, and external environmental hazards,
such as chemicals and radiation. External influences also may affect the
father‘s sperm.
2.3 BIRTH AND PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Childbirth and Culture: How Birthing Has Changed

Childbirth before the twentieth century was not much different

from childbirth in some developing countries today. Birth was a female

18
ritual that occurred at home and was attended by a midwife. Pain relief
was minimal, and risks for mother and baby were high.
The development of the science of obstetrics professionalized
childbirth. Births took place in hospitals and were attended by
physicians. Medical advances dramatically improved safety.
Today, delivery at home or in birth centers attended by midwives
can be a relatively safe alternative to physician attended hospital
delivery for women with normal, low-risk pregnancies.
The Birth Process

Birth normally occurs after a preparatory period of parturition.

The birth process consists of three stages: (1) dilation of the cervix, (2)
descent and emergence of the baby, and (3) expulsion of the umbilical
cord and the placenta. Electronic fetal monitoring can detect signs of
fetal distress, especially in high-risk births. About 32 percent of births are
by cesarean delivery. Alternative methods of childbirth can minimize the
need for painkilling drugs and maximize parents‘ active involvement.
Modern epidurals can give effective pain relief with smaller doses of
medication than in the past. The presence of a doula can provide
physical benefits as well as emotional support.
The Newborn Baby
The neonatal period is a time of transition from intrauterine to
extrauterine life. At birth, the circulatory, respiratory, digestive,
elimination, and temperature regulation systems become independent of
the mothers. If a newborn cannot start breathing within about 5 minutes,
brain injury may occur.
Newborns have a strong sucking reflex and secrete meconium
from the intestinal tract. They are sometimes subject to neonatal
jaundice due to immaturity of the liver.
At 1 minute and 5 minutes after birth, a neonate‘s Apgar score
can indicate how well he or she is adjusting to extrauterine life. The
Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale can assess responses
to the environment and predict future development.
Neonatal screening is done for certain rare conditions, such as
PKU and congenital hypothyroidism.
A newborn‘s state of arousal is governed by periodic cycles of
wakefulness, sleep, and activity. Sleep takes up the major, but a
diminishing, amount of a neonate‘s time. By about 6 months babies do
most of their sleeping at night. Cultural customs affect sleep patterns.

19
Complications of Childbirth

Complications of childbirth include low birth weight, post mature

birth, and stillbirth. Low-birth-weight babies may be either preterm
(premature) or small-for-gestational-age. Low birth weight is a major
factor in infant mortality and can cause long-term physical and cognitive
problems. Very-low-birth-weight babies have a less promising prognosis
than those who weigh more.
Survival and Health

The vast majority of infant deaths occur in developing countries.

Postnatal care can reduce infant mortality. Although infant mortality has
diminished in the United States, it is still disturbingly high, especially
among African and American babies. Birth defects are the leading cause
of death in infancy, followed by disorders related to prematurity and low
birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), maternal
complications of pregnancy, and complications of the placenta, umbilical
cord, and membranes. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the
leading cause of post neonatal death in the United States. SIDS rates
have declined markedly following recommendations to lay babies on
their backs to sleep. Vaccine-preventable diseases have declined as
rates of immunization have improved, but many preschoolers are not
fully protected.
Early Physical Development
Normal physical growth and sensory and motor development
proceed according to the Cephalocaudal and Proximodistal principles.

A child‘s body grows most dramatically during the 1st year of life;
growth proceeds at a rapid but diminishing rate throughout the first 3
years. Breast-feeding offers many health advantages and sensory and
cognitive benefits and, if possible, should be done exclusively for at least
the first 6 months. The central nervous system controls sensorimotor
activity. Lateralization enables each hemisphere of the brain to
specialize in different functions.
The brain grows most rapidly during the months before and
immediately after birth as neurons migrate to their assigned locations,
form synaptic connections, and undergo integration and differentiation.
Cell death and myelination improve the efficiency of the nervous system.
Reflex behaviors—primitive, locomotor, and postural—are indications of
neurological status. Most early reflexes drop out during the 1st year as
voluntary, cortical control develops. Especially during the early period of

20
rapid growth, environmental experience can influence brain development
positively or negatively.
Sensory capacities, present from birth and even in the womb,
develop rapidly in the first months of life. Very young infants show
pronounced abilities to discriminate between stimuli. Touch is the first
sense to develop and mature. Newborns are sensitive to pain. Smell,
taste, and hearing also begin to develop in the womb. Vision is the least
well-developed sense at birth. Peripheral vision, color perception,
acuteness of focus, binocular vision, and the ability to follow a moving
object with the eyes all develop within the first few months.
Motor Development

Motor skills develop in a certain sequence, which may depend

largely on maturation but also on context, experience, and motivation.
Simple skills combine into increasingly complex systems. Self-
locomotion brings about changes in all domains of development.
Perception is intimately related to motor development. Depth
perception and haptic perception develop in the first half of the 1st year.
According to Gibson‘s ecological theory, sensory perception and motor
activity are coordinated from birth, helping infants figure out how to
navigate in their environment. Thelon‘s dynamic systems theory holds
that infants develop motor skills, not by maturation alone but by active
coordination of multiple systems of action within a changing
environment. Cultural practices may influence the pace of early motor
development.
LET US SUM UP

Prenatal period starts at the moment of fertilization taking place

and ends when the birth process is over. There are considerable
influences of heredity and internal environment on the growing individual
inside the mother‘s womb. Birth process is very complicated and
complex. The newborn infant has to adjust too many conditions in order
to survive in this world. At this period some physical and motor
development also takes place.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. The growth of the embryo is determined by __________
and other factors.
2. Prenatal period is a ____________ stage in human life.
3. Chromosomal abnormalities also can cause __________.

21
 4. Schizophrenia is a highly heritable ________that also is
environmentally influenced.
5. The ________ period is a time of transition from intrauterine to
extrauterine life.
KEY WORDS

Prenatal period Heredity and environment

Birth Process. New born baby.
Physical development Motor development.

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Genetic factors
2. Essential
3. Birth defects
4. Neurological disorder
5. Neonatal
GLOSSARY
Apgar score: A score that indicate the level of adjustment to
extrauterine life.
DNA: carriers the biochemical instructions, or genetic code, that
governs the development of cell functions.
Genetic Counselling: Giving information about the mathematical odds
of bearing children with certain defects.
Monozygotic (identical) twins: Twins typically have much the same
genetic makeup; they may differ in temperament or other respects.
Neonatal period: time of transition from intrauterine to extrauterine life.

MODEL QUESTIONS
 Explain the birth process.
 How heredity and environment play a significant role in
prenatal period? Elaborate.
 What are the complications of childbirth? Mention.
 Explain the nature of newborn baby.
 Write on the mechanisms of heredity.

22
SUGGESTED READINGS
 Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Developmental Psychology – A Life Span
Approach,
 Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Co. Ltd, New Delhi.
 Zubek J.P. and Solberg, P.A., Human Development, New York,
McGraw Hill
 Book Co. Ltd., 1954.
 Papalia, Diane E and Old, Human Development V Ed 1992,
Tata McGraw
 Hill Publishing Co., Ltd.

23
UNIT: 3

STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

STRUCTURE
Overview
Learning objectives
3.1. Stages of Development

3.1.1 Prenatal Period

3.1.2 Neonatal Stages
3.1.3 Infancy and Toddlerhood (Birth to Age 3)

3.1.4 Early Childhood (3 to 6 years)

3.1.5 Middle childhood (ages 6 to 11)
3.1.6 Adolescence (Ages 11 to About 20)
3.1.7 Young Adulthood (Ages 20 To 40)
3.2 Middle adulthood (ages 40 to 65)
3.2.1Old Age (ages 65 and above)

3.2.2 First Three Years of Life

3.2.3 Psychosocial Development during the First Three
Years

3.3 Developmental Issues in Infancy

3.4 Developmental Issues in Toddlerhood
Let us Sum Up

Check Your Progress

Key Terms
Answers to check your progress

Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

24
OVERVIEW

This unit focuses on Development being lifelong and these

lifelong processes of changes continue till the end of life. Each period of
the life span is affected by what happened before and will affect what is
to come. Each period has unique characteristics and values. No period
is more or less important than any other. There are ten stages of
Development: Prenatal Period – Birth – Neonatal Stages – First Year of
Life – Early Childhood, Middle Childhood – Adolescence, Adulthood, and
Old Age.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit you will be able to:

 Explain the physical development from conception to old
age.
 Comprehend the cognitive development that takes place
during first three years of life.
 Explain the psychosocial development during the first three
years of life.
 Explain the developmental issues in toddlerhood.

3.1 STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

Human development follows a definite pattern of development. They are
ten stages of development: prenatal period – birth – neonatal stages –
first year of life – early childhood, middle childhood – adolescence,
adulthood, and old age. Now we will discuss about this in this section.
3.1.1 Prenatal Period (Conception to Birth)
Physical Developments: Conception occurs by normal fertilization or
other means. The genetic endowment interacts with environmental
influences from the start. Basic body structures and organs form; brain
growth spurt begins. Physical growth is the most rapid in the life span.
Vulnerability to environmental influences is great.
Cognitive Developments: Abilities to learn and remember and to
respond to sensory stimuli are developing.
Psychosocial Developments: Fetus responds to mother‘s voice and
develops a preference for it.
3.1.2 Neonatal Stages

The period of infancy is divided into two periods, the period of partunate
and the period of the neonate. The period of partunate refers to the time

25
when the birth process is actually taking place and covers the first 15 to
30 minutes after birth. With the cutting of the umbilical cord within this
time, the infant becomes a separate, distinct and independent individual.
The period neonate covers the remainder of the infancy period and
adjustments essential to life are successfully made.
3.1.3 Infancy and Toddlerhood (Birth to Age 3)

Physical Developments: All senses and body systems operate at birth

to varying degrees. The brain grows in complexity and is highly sensitive
to environmental influence. Physical growth and development of motor
skills are rapid.
Cognitive Developments: Abilities to learn and remember are present,
even in early weeks. Use of symbols and ability to solve problems
develop by end of second year. Comprehension and use of language
develop rapidly.
Psychosocial Developments: Attachments to parents and others form
Self-awareness. Shift from dependence toward autonomy occurs.
Interest in other children also increases.
Physical Developments: Growth is steady; appearance becomes
slenderer and proportions more adult like. Appetite diminishes, and
sleep problems are common. Handedness appears; fine and gross
motor skills and strength improve.
Cognitive Developments: Thinking is somewhat egocentric but
understanding of other people‘s perspectives grows. Cognitive
immaturity results in some illogical ideas about the world. Memory and
language improve. Intelligence becomes more predictable. Preschool
experience is common, and kindergarten experience is more so.
Psychosocial Developments: Self-concept and understanding of
emotions become more complex; self-esteem is global. Independence,
initiative, and self-control increase. Gender identity develops. Play
becomes more imaginative, more elaborate, and usually more social.
Altruism, aggression, and fearfulness are common. Family is still the
focus of social life, but other children become more important.
3.1.4 Middle Childhood (Ages 6 To 11)
Physical Developments: Growth slows. Strength and athletic skills
improve. Respiratory illnesses are common, but health is generally
better than at any other time in the life span.
Cognitive Developments: Egocentrism diminishes. Children begin to
think logically but concretely. Memory and language skills increase.

26
Cognitive gains permit children to benefit from formal schooling. Some
children show special educational needs and strengths.
Psychosocial Developments: Self-concept becomes more complex,
affecting self-esteem. Co regulation reflects gradual shift in control from
parents to child. Peers assume central importance.
3.1.5 Adolescence (Ages 11 To About 20)

Physical Developments: Physical growth and other changes are rapid

and profound. Reproductive maturity occurs. Major health risks arise
from behavioral issues, such as eating disorders and drug abuse.
Cognitive Developments: Ability to think abstractly and use of scientific
reasoning develops. Immature thinking persists in some attitudes and
behaviors. Education focuses on preparation for college or vocation.
Psychosocial Developments: Search for identity, including sexual
identity, becomes central. Relationships with parents are generally good.
Peer group may exert a positive or negative influence.
3.1.6 Young Adulthood (Ages 20 To 40)
Physical Developments: Physical condition peaks, and then declines
slightly. Lifestyle choices influence health.
Cognitive Developments: Thought and moral judgments become more
complex. Educational and occupational choices are made, sometimes
after period of exploration.
Psychosocial Developments: Personality traits and styles become
relatively stable, but changes in personality may be influenced by life
stages and events. Intimate relationships and personal lifestyles are
established but may not be lasting. Most people marry and most become
parents.
3.1.7Middle adulthood (ages 40 to 65)
Physical Developments: Slow deterioration of sensory abilities, health,
stamina, and strength may begin, but individual differences are wide.
Women experience menopause.
Cognitive Developments: Mental abilities peak; expertise and practical
problem-solving skills are high. Creative output may decline but improve
in quality. For some, career success and earning powers peak; for
others, burnout or career change may occur.
Psychosocial Developments: Sense of identity continues to develop;
midlife transition may occur. Dual responsibilities of caring for children
and parents may cause stress. Launching of children leaves empty nest.

27
3.1.8 Old age (age 65 and above)
Physical Developments: Most people are healthy and active, although
health and physical abilities generally decline. Slowing of reaction time
affects some aspects of functioning.
Cognitive Developments: Most people are mentally alert. Although
intelligence and memory may deteriorate in some areas, most people
find ways to compensate.
Psychosocial Developments: Retirement from workforce may occur
and may offer new options for use of time. People develop more flexible
strategies to cope with personal losses and impending death.
Relationships with family and close friends can provide important
support. Search for meaning in life assumes central importance.
3.2 FIRST THREE YEAR’S OF LIFE - COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT
Studying Cognitive Development

Six approaches to the study of cognitive development are

behaviorist, psychometric, Piagetian, information-processing, cognitive
neuroscience, and social-contextual. All of these approaches can shed
light on how early cognition develops.
Behaviorist Approach
Two simple types of learning that behaviorists study are classical
conditioning and operant conditioning. Rovee-Collier‘s research
suggests that infants‘ memory processes are much like those of adults,
though this conclusion has been questioned. Infants‘ memories can be
jogged by periodic reminders.
Psychometric Approach

Psychometric tests measure factors presumed to make up

intelligence. Developmental tests, such as the Bayley Scales of Infant
and Toddler Development, can indicate current functioning but are
generally poor predictors of later intelligence. The home environment
may affect measured intelligence. If the home environment does not
provide the necessary conditions that pave the way for cognitive
competence, early intervention may be needed.
Piagetian Approach

During Piaget‘s sensorimotor stage, infants‘ schemes become

more elaborate. They progress from primary to secondary to tertiary
circular reactions and finally to the development of representational

28
ability, which makes possible deferred imitation, pretending, and
problem solving. Object permanence develops gradually, according to
Piaget, and is not fully operational until 18 to 24 months. Research
suggests that a number of abilities, including imitation and object
permanence, develop earlier than Piaget described.
Information-Processing Approach

Information-processing researchers measure mental processes

through habituation and other signs of visual and perceptual abilities.
Contrary to Piaget‘s ideas, such research suggests that representational
ability is present virtually from birth.
Indicators of the efficiency of infants‘ information processing,
such as speed of habituation, tend to predict later intelligence.
Information-processing research techniques such as habituation, novelty
preference, and the violation-of-expectations method have yielded
evidence that infants as young as 3 to 6 months may have a rudimentary
grasp of such Piagetian abilities as categorization, causality, object
permanence, a sense of number, and an ability to reason about
characteristics of the physical world. Some researchers suggest that
infants may have innate learning mechanisms for acquiring such
knowledge.
Cognitive Neuroscience Approach

Explicit memory and implicit memory are located in different brain

structures. Working memory emerges between 6 and 12 months of age.
Neurological developments help explain the emergence of Piagetian
skills and memory abilities.
Social-Contextual Approach

Social interactions with adults contribute to cognitive competence

through shared activities that help children learn skills, knowledge, and
values important in their culture.
Language Development

The acquisition of language is an important aspect of cognitive

development. Prelinguistic speech includes crying, cooing, babbling, and
imitating language sounds. By 6 months, babies have learned the basic
sounds of their language and have begun to link sound with meaning.
Perception of categories of sounds in the native language may commit
the neural circuitry to further learning in that language only. Before they
say their first word, babies use gestures.

29
 The first word typically comes sometime between 10 and 14
months, initiating linguistic speech. For many toddlers, a naming
explosion occurs sometime between 16 and 24 months. The first brief
sentences generally come between 18 and 24 months. By age 3, syntax
and communicative abilities are fairly well developed. Early speech is
characterized by oversimplification, under extending and overextending
word meanings, and over regularizing rules.
Deaf children seem to learn sign language similarly to how
hearing children learn spoken language. Two classic theoretical views
about how children acquire language are learning theory and nativism.
Today, most developmental scientists hold that an inborn capacity to
learn languages may be activated or constrained by experience.
Influences on language development include neural maturation and
social interaction.
Family characteristics, such as socioeconomic status, adult
language use, and maternal responsiveness, affect a child‘s vocabulary
development. Children who hear two languages at home generally learn
both at the same rate as children who hear only one language, and they
can use each language in appropriate circumstances. Child-directed
speech (CDS) seems to have cognitive, emotional, and social benefits,
and infants show a preference for it. However, some researchers dispute
its value.
3.2.1 Psychosocial Development during the First Three Years
Foundations of Psychosocial Development

Emotional development is orderly; complex emotions seem to

develop from earlier, simpler ones. Crying, smiling, and laughing are
early signs of emotion. Other indices are facial expressions, motor
activity, body language, and physiological changes. Brain development
is closely linked with emotional development.
Self-conscious and self-evaluative emotions arise after the
development of self-awareness. Many children seem to fall into one of
three categories of temperament: ―easy,‖ ―difficult,‖ and ―slow-to-warm-
up‖. Temperamental patterns appear to be largely inborn and to have a
biological basis. They are generally stable but can be modified by
experience.
Goodness of fit between a child‘s temperament and
environmental demands aids adjustment. Cross-cultural differences in
temperament may reflect child-raising practices. Child-raising practices
and care giving roles vary around the world. Infants have strong needs

30
for maternal closeness, warmth, and responsiveness as well as physical
care. Fatherhood is a social construction. Fathering roles differ in
various cultures.
3.3 DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES IN INFANCY

According to Erikson, infants in the first 18 months are in the first

stage of personality development, basic sense of trust versus mistrust.
Sensitive, responsive, consistent care giving is the key to successful
resolution of this conflict.
Research based on the Strange Situation has found four patterns
of attachment: secure, avoidant, ambivalent (resistant), and
disorganized-disoriented. Newer instruments measure attachment in
natural settings and in cross-cultural research. Attachment patterns may
depend on a baby‘s temperament as well as on the quality of parenting
and may have long-term implications for development.
Stranger anxiety and separation anxiety may arise during the
second half of the 1st year and appear to be related to temperament and
circumstances. A parent‘s memories of childhood attachment can
influence his or her own child‘s attachment. Mutual regulation enables
babies to play an active part in regulating their emotional states. A
mother‘s depression, especially if severe or chronic, may have serious
consequences for her infant‘s development. Social referencing has been
observed by 12 months.
3.4 DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES IN TODDLERHOOD
The sense of self arises between 4 and 10 months, as infants
begin to perceive a difference between self and others and to
experience a sense of agency and self-coherence. The self-concept
builds on this perceptual sense of self and develops between 15 and 24
months with the emergence of self-awareness and self-recognition.
Erikson‘s second stage concerns autonomy versus shame and
doubt. In some cultures, negativism is a normal manifestation of the shift
from external control to self-control. Socialization, which rests on
internalization of societally approved standards, begins with the
development of self-regulation. A precursor of conscience is committed
compliance to a caregiver‘s demands; toddlers who show committed
compliance tend to internalize adult rules more readily than those who
show situational compliance. Children who show receptive cooperation
can be active partners in their socialization.

31
 Parenting practices, a child‘s temperament, the quality of the
parent-child relationship, and cultural and socioeconomic factors may
affect the ease and success of socialization.
Relationships with Other Children

Sibling relationships play a distinct role in socialization; what

children learn from relations with siblings carries over to relationships
outside the home. Between ages 1½ and 3 years, children tend to show
more interest in other children and an increasing understanding of how
to deal with them.
Children of Working Parents

In general, mothers‘ workforce participation during a child‘s first 3

years seems to have little impact on development, but cognitive
development may suffer when a mother works 30 or more hours a week
by her child‘s 9th month. Substitute childcare varies in quality. The most
important element in quality of care is the caregiver. Although quality,
quantity, stability, and type of care influence psychosocial and cognitive
development, the influence of family characteristics seems greater
overall.
Maltreatment: Abuse and Neglect
Forms of maltreatment are physical abuse, neglect, sexual
abuse, and emotional maltreatment. Most victims of maltreatment are
infants and toddlers. Some die due to failure to thrive. Others are victims
of shaken baby syndrome. Characteristics of the abuser or neglecter,
the family, the community, and the larger culture all contribute to child
abuse and neglect. Maltreatment can interfere with physical, cognitive,
emotional, and social development, and its effects can continue into
adulthood. Still, many maltreated children show remarkable resilience.
LET US SUM UP
In this chapter, we have learned that the life span is divided into
eight periods: prenatal, infancy and toddlerhood, early childhood, middle
childhood, adolescence, emerging and young adulthood, middle
adulthood, and late adulthood. In each period, people have
characteristic developmental needs and tasks. The first three years of
life span development was very crucial part of child development.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. In ________ stage, physical growth and development of
motor skills are rapid.

32
2. _______ group may exert a positive or negative influence in
adolescence.
3. People develop more flexible strategies to cope with
________ and impending death.
4. The acquisition of _________ is an important aspect of
cognitive development.
5. Sibling relationships play a distinct role in ________.
KEY TERMS

Normative Critical period

Plasticity Multidirectional.
Physical development Cognitive development
Psychosocial development social construction

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Infancy

2. Peer
3. Personal losses
4. Language
5. Socialization
GLOSSARY
Period of Partunate: The time when the birth process is actually taking
place and covers the first 15 to 30 minutes after birth.
Period Neonate: It covers the remainder of the infancy period and
adjustments essential to life are successfully made.
Prelinguistic Speech: Early forms of speech in children which includes
crying, cooing, babbling and imitating language sounds.

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Summarize the stages of development psychology.
2. Explain the prenatal period.
3. Discuss the developmental issues in Infancy.
4. Explain the approaches to study cognitive development.
5. Bring out the psychosocial development in first three years of
life.

33
SUGGESTED READINGS
 Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Developmental Psychology – A Life Span
Approach,
 Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Co. Ltd., New Delhi.
 Zubek J.P. and Solberg, P.A., Human Development, New York,
McGraw Hill
 Book Co. Ltd., 1954.
 Papalia, Diane E and Old, Human Development V Ed 1992,
Tata McGraw
 Hill Publishing Co., Ltd.

34
BLOCK- II PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT

UNIT: 4 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN CHILDHOOD

UNIT: 5 INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENTS IN

CHILDHOOD
UNIT: 6 INTELLECTUALDEVELOPMENTS INADOLESCENT

AND BEYOND

35
UNIT: 4

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

STRUCTURE

Overview
Learning objectives
4.1. Physical Development at Early Childhood

4.1.1 Motor Skills

4.1.2 Bodily Growth and Change
4.1.3 Brain Development

4.2. Physical Development at Middle Childhood

4.3. Physical Development at Adolescence
Let us Sum Up
Check Your Progress
Key Terms
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

This unit focuses on physical development, motor skills, growth rate,

physical health, physical fitness and energy – motor functions of early
childhood, middle childhood and adolescence. It also presents the
significant physical changes during these periods.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
 Identify physical changes in early childhood.
 Describe the health and safety in early childhood.
 Explain the motor development and physical activity in
middle childhood.
 Comprehend physical and mental health of adolescence.

36
4.1 EARLY CHILDHOOD
Aspects of Physical Development

In early childhood, children slim down and shoot up. They need
less sleep than before and are more likely to develop sleep problems.
They improve in running, hopping, skipping, jumping, and throwing balls.
They also become better at tying shoelaces, drawing with crayons, and
pouring cereal, and they begin to show a preference for using either the
right or left hand.
4.1.1 Motor Skills

Development of the sensory and motor areas of the cerebral

cortex permits better coordination between what children want to do and
what they can do. Preschool children make great advances in gross
motor skills, such as running and jumping, which involve the large
muscles. Children vary in adeptness depending on their genetic
endowment and their opportunities to learn and practice motor skills.
Motor coordination in childhood tends to be a relatively stable trait over
time.
The gross motor skills developed during early childhood are the
basis for sports, dancing, and other activities that often begin in middle
childhood. Thus, it is perhaps not surprising that motor coordination
predicts participation in sports. Motor coordination has also been
associated with both childhood and adolescent levels of physical activity.
Moreover, poor motor coordination has been associated with an
increased risk of obesity or overweight in children in what is likely to be a
reciprocal relationship.
Children under 6 are rarely ready to take part in any organized
sport. If the demands of the sport exceed the child‘s physical and motor
capabilities, this can leave the child frustrated. Physical development
can flourish in active, unstructured free play.

Fine motor skills, such as buttoning shirts and drawing pictures,

involve eye-hand and small-muscle coordination. Gains in these skills
allow young children to take more responsibility for their personal care.
As they develop motor skills, preschoolers continually merge abilities
they already have with those they are acquiring to produce more
complex capabilities. Such combinations of skills are known as systems
of action. Handedness, the preference for using one hand over the
other, is usually evident by about age 3. Because the left hemisphere of

37
the brain, which controls the right side of the body, is usually dominant,
90 percent of people favor their right side. Handedness is not always
clear-cut; not everybody prefers one hand for every task. Boys are more
likely to be left-handed than are girls. For every 100 left-handed girls,
there are 123 left-handed boys.
Is handedness genetic or environmental? Some researchers
argue for genetic explanations, citing, for example, that left-handedness
runs in families and the high heritability estimates between twins.
Identifying the genetic mechanism has been elusive; while inheritance
patterns appear to suggest single gene inheritance, the genes
themselves have not been easy to find, and some evidence suggests
handedness may actually be the result of many genes working together.
Other researchers have argued that the environment must be more
important.
4.1.2 Bodily Growth and Change

Children grow rapidly between ages 3 and 6, but less quickly

than before. At about 3, children normally begin to lose their babyish
roundness and take on the slender, athletic appearance of childhood. As
abdominal muscles develop, the toddler potbelly tightens. The trunk,
arms, and legs grow longer. The head is still relatively large, but the
other parts of the body continue to catch up as body proportions steadily
become more adult like.
The ―average‖ 3-year-old now weighs about 12Kg. Both boys and
girls typically grow about 2 to 3 inches a year during early childhood and
gain approximately 1 to 3 Kgs annually. Boys‘ slight edge in height and
weight continues until the growth spurt of puberty.
Muscular and skeletal growth progresses are making children
stronger. Cartilage turns to bone at a faster rate than before, and bones
become harder, giving the child a firmer shape and protecting the
internal organs. These changes, coordinated by the still-maturing brain
and nervous system, promote the development of a wide range of motor
skills.
4.1.3 Brain Development

During the first few years of life, brain development is rapid and
profound. By age 3, the brain is approximately 90 percent of adult
weight. From ages 3 to 6, the most rapid brain growth occurs in the
frontal areas that regulate planning and goal setting, and the density of
synapses in the prefrontal cortex peaks at age 4.

38
 This ―exuberant connectivity‖ will gradually be pruned over time
as a result of experience, a process that underlies the great plasticity of
the human brain. In addition, myelin (a fatty substance that coats the
axons of nerve fibers and accelerates neural conduction) continues to
form. By age 6, the brain has attained about 90 percent of its peak
volume. From ages 6 to 11, rapid brain growth occurs in areas that
support associative thinking, language, and spatial relations.
The corpus callosum is a thick band of nerve fibers that connects
both hemispheres of the brain and allows them to communicate more
rapidly and effectively with each other, allowing improved coordination of
the senses, attention and arousal, and speech and hearing. The corpus
callosum continues to be myelinated throughout childhood and
adolescence, with peak volume occurring later in boys than in girls.
4.2 MIDDLE CHILDHOOD

The various aspects of physical development: Height and weight, Motor

development and physical activity, Brain development, Health fitness
and safety and Obesity and body image will be discussed in this section.
4.2.1 Aspects of Physical Development

Growth during middle childhood slows considerably. Still,

although day-by-day changes may not be obvious, they add up to a
startling difference between 6-year-olds, who are still small children, and
11-year-olds, many of whom are now beginning to resemble adults.
Height and Weight
Children grow about 2 to 3 inches each year between ages 6 and
11 and approximately double their weight during that period. Girls retain
somewhat more fatty tissue than boys, a characteristic that will persist
through adulthood. The average 10-year-old weighs about 18 pounds
more than 40 years ago.
Motor Development and Physical Activity

Motor skills continue to improve in middle childhood. By this age,

most children in developing countries go to work, and this leaves them
little time and freedom for physical play. School-age children now spend
less time on sports and other outdoor activities and more hours on
schooling, homework, and media activities. At the same time, many
children participate in organized sports. The games children play at
recess tend to be informal. Most of recess activity involves socializing
with peers. Boys play more physically active games, whereas girls favor
games that include verbal expression or counting aloud, such as

39
hopscotch and jump rope. When given the choice, most children opt to
play in natural or green areas rather than concrete.
However, when provided with more playground equipment,
children tend to be more active during recess. Not surprisingly, more
space to play in also leads to higher levels of activity, and children tend
to decrease their activity levels as the temperature rises. Younger
children spend more time running and chasing each other. About 10
percent of schoolchildren‘s free play in the early grades, peaking in
middle childhood, consists of rough-and-tumble play wrestling, kicking,
tumbling, grappling, and chasing, often accompanied by laughing and
screaming. It seems to be universal, and boys engage in higher levels of
it than girls. This kind of play may look like fighting but is done playfully
among friends. Despite the perception that recess takes time away from
learning, recess is associated with improvements in academic
performance. The improvements may stem from the changes in
behavior that occur after children are allowed free time.
Developmental changes determine what types of organized
sports are most effective. Six- to 9-year-olds need more flexible rules,
shorter instruction time, and more free time for practice than older
children. At this age, girls and boys are about equal in weight, height,
endurance, and motor skill development. Older children are better able
to process instruction and learn team strategies.
Brain Development
A number of cognitive advances occur in middle childhood that
can be traced back to changes in the brain‘s structure and functioning. In
general, these changes can be characterized as resulting in faster, more
efficient information processing and an increased ability to ignore
distracting information.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology shows us that the
brain consists of both gray matter and white matter. Gray matter is
composed of closely packed neurons in the cerebral cortex. White
matter is made of glial cells, which provide support for neurons, and of
myelinated axons, which transmit information across neurons. The
amount of gray matter in the frontal cortex is strongly influenced by
genetics.
Gray matter volume shows a U-shaped trajectory. The overall
volume increases prepuberty and then declines by post puberty. The
decline in overall volume is driven primarily by a loss in the density of
gray matter. Although ―less‖ gray matter may sound negative, the result

40
is actually the opposite. The ―loss‖ reflects pruning of unused dendrites.
In other words, those connections that are used remain active; the
unused connections eventually disappear. The result is that the brain
becomes ―tuned‖ to the experiences of the child. In this way, we can
calibrate our growing brains to local conditions.
Health, Fitness and Safety

The development of vaccines for major childhood illnesses has

made middle childhood a relatively safe time of life in most of the world.
The death rate in these years is the lowest in the life span. Still, too
many children are overweight, and some suffer from chronic medical
conditions or accidental injuries or from lack of access to health care.
Obesity and body image

Overweight, a body mass index between the 85th and 95th

percentile, and obesity, a body mass index over the 95th percentile,
have become a major health issue for children worldwide. The
prevalence rate has risen sharply—in 1975, just over 4 percent of
children and teens ages 5 to 19 were overweight or obese.
In 2016, 18 percent—or more than 340 HILLion children and
adolescents—were overweight or obese. Worldwide, the obesity rate
has tripled since 1975. While overweight and obesity were once
considered to be problems of high-income and urban countries, they are
now found in low- and middle-income countries as well. In fact, many of
these countries now carry a double burden and must manage the twin
issues of under nutrition and obesity and overweight at the same time.

Causes of Obesity can result from an inherited tendency

aggravated by too little exercise and too much or the wrong kinds of
food. Children are more likely to be overweight if they have overweight
parents or other relatives. Poor nutrition, encouraged by media
advertising and wide availability of snack foods and beverages, also
contributes. Eating fast food has been associated with overweight and
obesity and on a typical day, approximately one-third of children and
adolescents report eating fast food.
4.3 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT AT ADOLESCENCE
Aspects of Physical Development

This focuses on processes that occur in the long period known

as adolescence a developmental transition that involves physical,
cognitive, emotional, and social changes and takes varying forms in
different social, cultural, and economic settings. An important physical

41
change is the onset of puberty, the process that leads to sexual maturity,
or fertility—the ability to reproduce. Adolescence is defined as roughly
as encompassing the years between 11 and 19 or 20.
Adolescence as a Social Construction

Adolescence is not a clearly defined physical or biological

category, it is a social construction. In traditional and preindustrial
cultures, children generally entered the adult world when they matured
physically or when they began a vocational apprenticeship. In the
Western world, adolescence was first recognized as a unique period in
the life span in the twentieth century.
In most parts of the world, adolescence lasts longer and is less
clear-cut than in the past. There are myriad reasons for this social
change. First, puberty generally begins earlier. In addition, as the world
becomes more driven by technology and information, the amount of
training required to be eligible for higher-paying occupations has
increased.
Because of this, the period of adolescence has been extended
upward as young adults tend to go to school for more years, delay
marriage and childbirth, and settle into permanent careers later and less
firmly than in the past.
Puberty

Puberty is triggered by hormonal changes. Puberty takes about 4

years, typically begins earlier in girls than in boys, and ends when a
person can reproduce; but the timing of these events varies
considerably.
Puberty is marked by two stages: (1) the activation of the adrenal
glands and (2) the maturing of the sex organs a few years later. During
puberty, both boys and girls undergo an adolescent growth spurt. The
reproductive organs enlarge and mature, and secondary sex
characteristics appear. A secular trend toward earlier attainment of adult
height and sexual maturity began about 100 years ago, probably
because of improvements in living standards.• The principal signs of
sexual maturity are production of sperm (for males) and menstruation
(for females).
The Adolescent Brain

The adolescent brain is not yet fully mature. It undergoes a

second wave of overproduction of gray matter, especially in the frontal
lobes, followed by pruning of excess nerve cells. Continuing myelination

42
of the frontal lobes facilitates the maturation of cognitive processing.
Because the limbic areas of the brain mature first and the frontal lobes
mature more slowly, this predisposes adolescents to impulsivity and risk-
taking.
Physical Health during Adulthood

Physical development is at its peak during early adulthood. The

brain reaches its maximum size so cognitive advances can also peak.
Senses are at their sharpest; eyesight will not begin to noticeably
deteriorate until around age 40 and hearing is generally sharp enough.
During early adulthood it is important to maintain a state of physical
health.
Although people are at their strongest here, lack of exercise is
very harmful to a person‗s health. It is recommended that people get 30
minutes of moderate exercise at least five days a week to maintain a
healthy body. It has many advantages to those who do engage in this
activity: it reduces the risk of osteoporosis, optimizes the immune
response of the body, may decrease stress and anxiety, and provides a
feeling of accomplishment. Ultimately it helps people maintain their
physical health longer. Along these same lines, people must reduce their
caloric and be more conscious of nutrition during early adulthood.
Secondary aging is a state of physical decline that some
experience during early adulthood. It is brought on by environmental
factors or an individual‗s choices. Drug abuse and other factors can
bring about this decline. Interestingly, secondary aging is related to the
high death rate during early adulthood, especially among certain minority
groups.
LET US SUM UP

Physical growth continues during the years from 3 to 6, but more

slowly than during infancy and toddlerhood. Boys are on average slightly
taller, heavier, and more muscular than girls. Internal body systems are
maturing. Sleep patterns change during early childhood, as throughout
life, and are affected by cultural expectations. Occasional sleepwalking,
sleep terrors, and nightmares are common, but persistent sleep
problems may indicate emotional disturbances. Environmental factors
such as exposure to poverty, homelessness, smoking, air pollution, and
pesticides increase the risks of illness or injury. Lead poisoning can have
serious physical, cognitive, and behavioral effects.

43
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Muscular and skeletal growth progresses are making children

__________.
2. The __________is a thick band of nerve fibers that connects
both hemispheres.
3. The gross motor skills developed during ___________.
4. Obesity is with a body mass index over the _________
percentile.
5. Puberty is marked by ________ stages.
KEY TERMS

Conservation Egocentrism
Enuresis Handedness

Gross Motor Skills Systems of Action

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Stronger
2. Corpus callosum
3. Early childhood
4. 95th
5. Two
GLOSSARY
Corpus Callosum: A thick band of nerve fibers that connects both
hemispheres of the brain.
Fine Motor Skills: Skills that involve eye-hand and small-muscle
coordination.
Handedness: The preference for using one hand over the other.
MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Explain the aspects of physical development in early childhood.

2. Write about Obesity and body image.
3. Explain the development of motor skills in early childhood.
4. Write an account on brain development in middle childhood.
5. What is puberty? Explain.

44
SUGGESTED READINGS

 Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Developmental Psychology – A Life Span

Approach,
 Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Co. Ltd., New Delhi.
 Zubek J.P. and Solberg, P.A., Human Development, New York,
McGraw Hill
 Book Co. Ltd., 1954.
 Papalia, Diane E and Old, Human Development V Ed 1992, Tata
McGraw
 Hill Publishing Co., Ltd.

45
UNIT: 5

INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT

STRUCTURE

Overview
Learning objectives
5.1Intellectual Development-Approaches

5.1.2 Piagetian Approach: The Preoperational Child

5.2. Middle Childhood and Intellectual Development
5.2.1 Piagetian Approach: The Concrete Operational Child

5.3. The Development of Executive Functioning

Let us Sum Up
Check Your Progress
Key Terms
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Mode Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
This unit explains the intellectual Development that takes place
during early childhood, middle childhood and adolescence. It discusses
various approaches to understand the cognitive development such as
Psychometric, Piagetian and Information Processing Approaches. This
section also deals with language acquisition and Development of
Language, Memory, Intelligence and Moral Development.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit you will be able to:

 Identify physical changes in early childhood.
 Describe three views of the cognitive changes that occur in
early childhood.
 Summarize how language develops in middle childhood.
 Evaluate different approaches to adolescence.

46
5.1 INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT-APPROACHES
Psychometric and Vygotskian Approaches

One factor that may affect the strength of early cognitive skills is
intelligence. Although the definition of intelligence is controversial, most
psychologists agree that intelligence involves the ability to learn from
situations, adapt to new experiences, and manipulate abstract concepts.
Let‘s look at two ways intelligence is measured through traditional
psychometric tests and through newer tests of cognitive potential, and
then at influences on children‘s performance.
Traditional Psychometric Measures

Three- to 5-year-old children are more proficient with language

than younger children, so intelligence tests for this age group can
include more verbal items. These tests, beginning at age 5, tend to be
fairly reliable in predicting measured intelligence and school success
later in childhood. The two most commonly used individual tests for
preschoolers are the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales and the
Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence.
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales are used for ages 2 and
up and take 45 to 60 minutes. The child is asked to define words, string
beads, build with blocks, identify the missing parts of a picture, trace
mazes, and show an understanding of numbers. The child‘s score is
supposed to measure fluid reasoning (the ability to solve abstract or
novel problems), knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial
processing, and working memory. (The fifth edition, revised in 2003),
includes nonverbal methods of testing all five of these dimensions of
cognition and permits comparisons of verbal and nonverbal
performance. In addition to providing a full-scale IQ, the Stanford-Binet
yields separate measures of verbal and nonverbal IQ plus composite
scores spanning the five cognitive dimensions.
The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, revised
(WPPSI-IV) is an individual test taking 30 to 60 minutes. It has separate
levels for ages 2½ to 4 and 4 to 7 and yields verbal, performance, and
combined scores. It includes subtests designed to measure both verbal
and nonverbal fluid reasoning, receptive versus expressive vocabulary,
and processing speed. Both the Stanford-Binet and the WPPSI-IV have
been standardized on samples of children representing the population of
preschool-age children in the United States. The WPPSI-IV also has
been validated for special populations, such as children with intellectual

47
disabilities, developmental delays, language disorders, and autistic
disorders.
Piagetian Approach: The Preoperational Child

In Jean Piaget‘s theory, infants learn about the world via their
senses and motor activity during the sensor motor stage. Now, we turn
our attention to Piaget‘s second stage, the preoperational stage. Lasting
from approximately ages 2 to 7, it is characterized by an expansion in
the use of symbolic thought. However, children are not yet fully ready to
engage in logical mental operations. Let‘s look at some advances and
some immature aspects of preoperational thought and at recent
research, some of which challenges Piaget‘s conclusions.
Advances of Preoperational Thought

Advances in symbolic thought are accompanied by a growing

understanding of space, causality, identities, categorization, and
number.
The Symbolic Function: ―I want ice cream!‖ announces Kerstin,
age 4, trudging indoors from the hot, dusty backyard. She has not seen
or smelled or tasted anything that triggered this desire, no open freezer
door, no television commercial, and no bowl of sweet ice cream
temptingly sitting on the counter waiting to be eaten. Rather, she has
called up the concept from her memories.
Being able to think about something in the absence of sensory or
motor cues characterizes the symbolic function. Children who have
attained symbolic function can use symbols, or mental representations,
such as words, numbers, or images to which a person has attached
meaning. This is a vital achievement because without symbols people
could not communicate verbally, make change, read maps, or treasure
photos of distant loved ones.
Preschool children show symbolic function in a variety of ways.
For example, deferred imitation, in which children imitate an action at
some point after having observed it, becomes more robust after 18
months. Deferred imitation is related to symbolic function because it
requires the child to have kept a mental representation of an observed
action. A child must pull a representation out of memory in order to
repeat it. Another marker of symbolic function is pretend play. In pretend
play, also called fantasy play, dramatic play, or imaginary play, children
use an object to represent something else. For example, a child may
hold up a remote control to her ear while pretending to talk on a
telephone. The remote control is a symbol for the telephone she has

48
seen her mother use. By far the most extensive use of the symbolic
function is language. Language, at its heart, is a system of symbols. For
example, the word ―key‖ is a symbol for the class of objects used to
open doors. When we see the emergence of language in young children,
we have a wide and clear window into their increasing use of the
symbolic function.
Understanding of Objects in Space: In addition to their
growing ability to use the symbolic function, children also begin to be
able to understand the symbols that describe physical spaces, although
this process is slow. It is not until at least age 3 that most children
reliably grasp the relationships between pictures, maps, or scale models
and the objects or spaces they represent. Older preschoolers can use
simple maps, and they can transfer the spatial understanding gained
from working with models to maps and vice versa. So, for example, as
they approach 5 years of age, most preschoolers can view a scale
model of a room, be shown on that model where a toy is hidden, and
then find the toy in the actual room.
Understanding of Causality: Piaget maintained that
preoperational children cannot yet reason logically about cause and
effect. Instead, he said, they reason by transduction. They mentally link
two events; especially events close in time, whether or not there is
logically a causal relationship. For example, Luis may think that his ―bad‖
thoughts or behavior caused his own or his sister‘s illness or his parents‘
divorce.
Piaget was incorrect in believing that young children could not
understand causality. When tested in situations that are appropriate to
their overall level of cognitive development, young children do grasp
cause and effect. For example, naturalistic observations of 2½- to 5-
year-olds‘ everyday language showed flexible causal reasoning.
Other research has supported their ability to engage in more
complex causal reasoning. In one study, children were shown two small
and one large light. Pressing on one of the small lights, which was
attached to the large light by a wire, caused the large light to illuminate.
Four-year-old children were able to understand that a relevant change
(switching the wire connection to the other small light) would alter the
causal sequence, but an irrelevant change (moving a block near the
light) would not.
Understanding of Identities and Categorization: The world
becomes more orderly and predictable as preschool children develop a
better understanding of identities: the concept that people and many

49
things are basically the same even if they change in outward form, size,
or appearance. For example, putting on a wig does not make a person a
different person; rather, it is just a surface change in appearance. This
understanding underlies the emerging self-concept, and many of the
processes involved in understanding the identity of others is mirrored in
the understanding of one‘s own identity.
Categorization, or classification, requires a child to identify
similarities and differences. By age 4, many children can classify by two
criteria, such as color and shape. Children use this ability to order many
aspects of their lives, categorizing people as ―good,‖ ―bad,‖ ―nice,‖
―mean,‖ and so forth.
One type of categorization is the ability to distinguish living from
nonliving things. When Piaget asked young children whether the wind
and the clouds were alive, the answers led him to think they were
confused. The tendency to attribute life to objects that are not alive is
called animism. However, when later researchers questioned 3- and 4-
year-olds about something more familiar to them—differences between
a rock, a person, and a doll—the children showed they understood that
people are alive and rocks and dolls are not. In general, it appears that
children attribute animism to items that share characteristics with living
things: things that move, make sounds, or have lifelike features such as
eyes. For example, after watching a robot stack a pile of blocks, children
were likely to attribute cognitive, behavioral, and especially affective
characteristics to a robot.
Understanding of Number: Multiple lines of research have
shown that infants have a rudimentary sense of number. Research
suggests that infants as young as 4½ months indicate, with longer
looking times and increased staring, that if one doll is added to another
doll, there should be two dolls, not just one. By 6 months of age, they
can ―count‖ higher and know that 8 dots are different from 16 dots. Other
research has found that ordinality—the concept of comparing quantities
(more or less, bigger or smaller)—seems to begin around 9 to 11
months.

Socioeconomic status (SES) and preschool experience affect

how rapidly children advance in math. By age 4, children from middle-
income families have markedly better number skills than children from
lower-income families, and their initial advantage tends to continue.
Children whose preschool teachers do a lot of ―math talk,‖ such as
asking children to help count days on a calendar, tend to make greater
gains than children whose teachers do not use this technique. Likewise,

50
the amount of ―math talk‖ mother‘s use in their naturalistic interactions
with their children is positively associated with their later preschool math
abilities.
Finally, playing number board games with children enhance their
numerical knowledge, especially if they are from low SES backgrounds.
In part this may be because games can make math fun. This may help
spark children‘s interest in math, which has been associated with strong
math skills, even when intelligence is statistically controlled for.
Numerical competence is important; how well children understand
numbers in kindergarten predicts their academic performance in math
through 3rd grade, and deficient number sense has been associated
with mathematical learning disabilities.
Information-Processing Approach: Memory

During early childhood, children improve in attention and in the

speed and efficiency with which they process information; and they
begin to form long-lasting memories.
Basic Processes and Capacities

Information-processing theorists focus on the processes that

affect cognition. According to this view, memory can be described as a
filing system that has three steps, or processes: encoding, storage, and
retrieval. Encoding is like putting information in a folder to be filed in
memory; it attaches a ―code‖ or ―label‖ to the information so it will be
easier to find when needed. For example, if you were asked to list
―things that are red,‖ you might list apples, stop signs, and hearts.
Presumably, all these items were tagged in memory with the concept
―red‖ when they were originally encoded. This code is what now enables
you to access these seemingly disparate objects. Storage is putting the
folder away in the filing cabinet. It is where the information is kept. When
the information is needed, you access storage, and through the process
of retrieval, you search for the file and take it out.

Information-processing models depict the brain as containing

three types of storage: sensory memory, working memory, and long-
term memory. Sensory memory is a temporary storehouse for incoming
sensory information. For example, the light trail that is visible when a
sparkler is moved quickly on a dark night illustrates visual sensory
memory. Sensory memory shows little change from infancy on.
However, without processing (encoding), sensory memories fade
quickly.

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 Information being encoded or retrieved is kept in working
memory, a short-term storehouse for information a person is actively
working on, trying to understand, remember, or think about. According to
a widely used model, a central executive control processing operation is
working memory. The central executive orders information encoded for
transfer to long-term memory, a storehouse of virtually unlimited
capacity that holds information for long periods of time. The central
executive also retrieves information from long-term memory for further
processing. It is assisted by two subsystems: the phonological loop,
which aids in the processing of verbal information, and the visuospatial
sketchpad, which maintains and manipulates visual information.
Recognition and Recall

Placing material in memory is not enough; it must also be

retrieved to be used. Recognition and recall are types of retrieval.
Recognition is the ability to identify something encountered before; for
example, picking out a missing mitten from a lost-and-found box. Recall
is the ability to reproduce knowledge from memory; for example,
describing the mitten to someone.
Forming and Retaining Childhood Memories
Memory of experiences in early childhood is rarely deliberate:
young children simply remember events that made a strong impression.
Most of these early conscious memories seem to be short-lived.
Generic memory, which begins at about age 2, produces a script, or
general outline of a familiar, repeated event, such as riding in the bus to
preschool or having lunch at Grandma‘s house. It helps a child know
what to expect and how to act.
Episodic memory,refers to awareness of having experienced a
particular event at a specific time and place. Given a young child‘s
limited memory capacity, episodic memories are temporary. Unless they
recur several times (in which case they are transferred to generic
memory), they last for a few weeks or months and then fade.
Autobiographical memory: a type of episodic memory, refers to
memories of distinctive experiences that form a person‘s life history. Not
everything in episodic memory becomes part of autobiographical
memory—only those memories that have a special, personal meaning to
the child. Autobiographical memory generally emerges between ages 3
and 4.

52
Language Development

During early childhood, vocabulary increases greatly, and

grammar and syntax become fairly sophisticated. Children become more
competent in pragmatics. Private speech is normal and common; it may
aid in the shift to self-regulation. Causes of delayed language
development are unclear. If untreated, language delays may have
serious cognitive, social, and emotional consequences. Interaction with
adults can promote emergent literacy. Well-designed, age-appropriate
programming is associated with enhanced cognitive development.
5.2 MIDDLE CHILDHOOD
5.2.1 Piagetian Approach: The Concrete Operational Child

At about age 7, according to Piaget, children enter the stage of

concrete operations when they can use mental operations, such as
reasoning, to solve concrete problems. Children can think logically
because they can take multiple aspects of a situation into account.
However, their thinking is still limited to real situations in the here and
now.
COGNITIVE ADVANCES

In the stage of concrete operations, children have a better

understanding than preoperational children of spatial concepts,
causality, categorization, inductive and deductive reasoning,
conservation, and number.
Spatial Relationships, Eight-year-old Ella stares intently at the map.
―The star means we are here,‖ she points, ―so that must mean the store
is there!‖ Ella turns to her mother with a smile and they both begin
walking. Ella is now in the stage of concrete operations. She is better
able to understand spatial relationships. This allows her to interpret a
map, estimate the time to get from one place to another, and remember
routes and landmarks. Children are more easily able to navigate a
physical environment with which they have experience, and training can
help improve spatial skills as well.
Causality, Another key development during middle childhood involves
the ability to make judgments about cause and effect. For example,
when 5- to 12-year-old children are asked to predict how balance scales
work, older children give more correct answers. In addition, earlier in
middle childhood they understood the number of objects on each side of
a scale matters, but it is not until later they understood that the distance
of objects from the center of a scale is also important.

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 Additionally, as children learn more about the world, their
growing knowledge informs the quality of their reasoning. For example,
in one study, children ages 3 to 11 years were given information about
oral health that was either consistent (e.g., going to the dentist is good
for teeth) or inconsistent (e.g., drinking cola is good for teeth) with reality
and scenarios in which the outcome was either good or bad oral health.
Children were then asked how the causal association provided in the
scenarios might be tested. When the information was consistent with
reality and had a good outcome, or inconsistent and had a bad outcome,
children were more likely to use appropriate hypothesis testing (i.e.,
manipulate only one variable at a time). In other conditions, they used
scientifically invalid procedures (e.g., changing all variables at a time).
Thus, the quality of their reasoning was better when they were able to
use their understanding of the world to inform their thinking.
Categorization, John sits at the table, working on his class project. He
is making a timeline of his life. His mother has given him six photographs
of himself from infancy to the current time, and John carefully lays them
in order from earliest to latest. Part of the reason John is now able to
complete tasks such as this class project is because he is better able to
categorize objects.
Another characteristic of this age is that of transitive inferences (if
a < b and b < c, then a < c). For example, Mateo is shown three sticks.
He is shown that the yellow stick is shorter than the green stick and is
then shown that the green stick is shorter than the blue stick. However,
he is not shown all three sticks in order of their length. If Mateo is able to
understand transitive inferences, he should be able to quickly and easily
infer that the yellow stick is shorter than the blue stick without physically
comparing them. While Piaget believed that children did not develop this
ability until middle childhood, more recent research on visual
preferences has shown that children as young as 15 months have some
limited ability to reason in this fashion, at least for social stimuli.
Class inclusion also becomes easier. Class inclusion is the ability to
see the relationship between a whole and its parts, and to understand
the categories within a whole. For example, preoperational children 10
flowers, seven roses and three carnations and asked them whether
there were more roses or more flowers. Children in the preoperational
stage of development tended to say there were more roses because
they were comparing the roses with the carnations rather than the whole
bunch of flowers. Not until age 7 or 8 do children consistently report that
roses are a subclass of flowers. More recent research indicates that

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children actually do have the ability to understand the logic of class
inclusion, but usually fail to inhibit the incorrect response in favor of the
misleading perceptual comparison.
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning:

Inductive reasoning involves making observations about

particular members of a class of people, animals, objects, or events, and
then drawing conclusions about the class as a whole. For example, if
one neighbor‘s dog barks and another neighbor‘s dog bark, then the
conclusion might be that all dogs bark.

Deductive reasoning, by contrast, starts with a general statement

a premise about a class and applies it to particular members of the
class. If a premise is true of the whole class, and the reasoning is sound,
then the conclusion must be true. So, for example, if the belief is that all
dogs bark, and a new dog comes along, it would be reasonable to
conclude that the new dog will also bark.
Conservation, In the preoperational stage of development, children are
focused on appearances and have difficulty with abstract concepts. For
example, CaHILLa, who is at the preoperational stage of development,
is likely to think that if one of two identical clay balls is rolled into a long
thin snake, it will now contain more clay because it is longer. She is
deceived by appearances and thus fails this conservation task.
However, Michael, who is in the stage of concrete operations, will say
that the ball and the snake still contain the same amount of clay. What
accounts for his ability to understand that the amount of clay remains
unchanged regardless of the form it takes?
In solving various types of conservation problems, children in the
stage of concrete operations can work out the answers in their heads.
Three primary achievements allow them to do this. First, they
understand the principle of identity. For instance, Michael understands
that the clay is still the same clay even though it has a different shape
because nothing was added or taken away from it. Second, children in
the concrete operations stage understand the principle of reversibility.
Michael can picture what would happen if he went backward in time and
rolled the snake back into a ball. Third, children at this stage can
decenter. When Cahill looked at the snake, she focused only on its
length, ignoring that it was thinner and flatter than the ball of clay. She
centered on one dimension (length) while excluding the other
(thickness). Michael, however, is able to decenter and looks at more
than one aspect of the two objects at once. Thus, although the ball is
shorter than the snake, it is also thicker.

55
Number and Mathematics,When 4- to 5-year-old children deal a deck
of cards or distribute portions of pizza, they demonstrate that they have
some intuitive understanding of fractions. However, children have more
difficulty when dealing with numbers, which are more abstract. They
tend not to think about the quantity a fraction represents; instead, they
focus on the numerals that make it up. Thus, they may say that plus 1⁄3
equals 2 ⁄5. It is also difficultfor children to grasp that is bigger than 1⁄4—
that the smaller fraction (1⁄4) has the larger denominator.
Information-Processing Approach: Planning, Attention, and
Memory

Clara walks by the kitchen and smells cake cooling on the

counter. A few years ago, she might have darted into the kitchen and
stolen a few bites. But now, she thinks to herself, ―No, that cake is for
later. If I take a bite, my mom will get mad at me.‖ Clara‘s more
sophisticated cognitive abilities have allowed her to control her behavior
in ways that were previously unavailable to her.
As children move through the school years, they make steady
progress in the abilities to regulate and sustain attention, process and
retain information, and plan and monitor their behavior. All of these
interrelated developments contribute to executive function, the
conscious control of thoughts, emotions, and actions to accomplish
goals or solve problems. School-age children also understand more
about how memory works, and this knowledge enables them to plan and
use strategies, or deliberate techniques, to help them remember.
5.3 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING
The gradual development of executive function from infancy
through adolescence is the result of developmental changes in brain
structure. The prefrontal cortex, the region that enables planning,
judgment, and decision making, shows significant development during
this period. As unneeded synapses are pruned away and pathways
become myelinated, processing speed—usually measured by reaction
time improves dramatically. Faster, more efficient processing increases
the amount of information children can keep in working memory. As
children develop the ability to mentally juggle more concepts at the same
time, they are also able to develop more complex thinking and goal-
directed planning.

Another aspect of executive function involves the development of

self-regulatory capacity, including the ability to regulate attention, inhibit
responses, and monitor errors. Advances in these areas, as well as in

56
working memory occur with increases in activity of fronto parietal and
fronto-striatal circuits.
Selective Attention

School-age children can concentrate longer than younger

children and can focus on the information they need and want while
screening out irrelevant information. For example, in school, it may be
necessary for a child to focus on a teacher‘s less-than-exciting lesson
while simultaneously ignoring the antics of the class clown. This growth
in selective attention, the ability to deliberately direct one‘s attention and
shut out distractions may hinge on the executive skill of inhibitory
control, the voluntary suppression of unwanted responses.
The increasing capacity for selective attention is believed to be
due to neurological maturation and is one of the reasons memories
improves during middle childhood. Older children make fewer mistakes
in recall than younger children because they are better able to expect
and predict what might be important to remember, to then select and
attend to the appropriate stimulus when presented with it, and, when
asked, to recall the relevant information from memory while ignoring
irrelevant information.
Working Memory
Working memory involves the short-term storage of information
that is being actively processed, like a mental workspace. For example,
if you are asked to compute what 42 × 60 is, you would use your working
memory to hold part of the answer while you solved the rest of it.

The efficiency of working memory increases greatly in middle

childhood, laying the foundation for a wide range of cognitive skills. For
example, between the ages of 6 and 10 there are improvements in
processing speed (how quickly information is processed) and storage
capacity (how many things can be simultaneously held in working
memory). Because working memory is necessary for storing information
while other material is being mentally manipulated, the capacity of a
child‘s working memory can directly affect academic success. For
example, children with low working memory struggle with structured
learning activities, especially when there are lengthy instructions.
Individual differences in working memory capacity are also linked to a
child‘s ability to acquire knowledge and new skills.

Research has indicated that as many as 10 percent of school-

age children suffer from poor working memory. However, working
memory is not a fixed entity. Training programs can improve working

57
memory capacity, and indeed training programs have been shown to be
associated with changes in brain activity in frontal and parietal cortex,
basal ganglia, and dopamine receptor density. This is especially true for
visuospatial working memory, such as that needed to play concentration
games in which pairs of cards must be matched. Thus far, such training
effects tend to be absent or short-lived or do not transfer to areas other
than the specific form of working memory addressed. However, more
research is needed in this area, and there are suggestions that the
adoption of tools that assess working memory in the classroom could
still influence achievement for these children.
The Development of Memory Strategies

Were you ever taught the saying ―please excuse my dear Aunt
Sally‖ as a technique to help you remember the order of operations in
solving an equation? This is an example of a mnemonic device, a
strategy to aid memory.
Common memory strategies are rehearsal, organization, and
elaboration. Writing down a telephone number, making a list, setting a
timer, and putting a library book by the front door are examples of
external memory aids: prompts by something outside the person. Saying
a telephone number over and over after looking it up, so as not to forget
it before dialing, is a form of rehearsal, or conscious repetition.
Organization is mentally placing information into categories (such as
animals, furniture, vehicles, and clothing) to make it easier to recall. In
elaboration, children‘s associate items with something else, such as an
imagined scene or story. To remember to buy lemons, ketchup, and
napkins, for example, a child might visualize a ketchup bottle balanced
on a lemon, with a pile of napkins handy to wipe up any spills.
Psychometric Approach: Assessment of Intelligence
Psychometrics is a branch of psychology involved in the
quantitative measurement of psychological variables, and psychometric
techniques have been used extensively in the development of ways to
measure intelligence. The most widely used individual test is the
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV). This test for ages 6
through 16 measures verbal and performance abilities, yielding separate
scores for each as well as a total score. The separate subtest scores
pinpoint a child‘s strengths and help diagnose specific problems. For
example, if a child does well on verbal tests (such as general information
and basic arithmetic operations) but poorly on performance tests (such
as doing a puzzle or drawing the missing part of a picture), the child may
be slow in perceptual or motor development. A child who does well on

58
performance tests but poorly on verbal tests may have a language
problem. Another commonly used individual test is the Stanford-Binet
Intelligence Scales.
A popular group test, the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test
(OLSAT8), has levels for kindergarten through 12th grade. Children are
asked to classify items, show an understanding of verbal and numerical
concepts, display general information, and follow directions. Separate
scores for verbal comprehension, verbal reasoning, pictorial reasoning,
figural reasoning, and quantitative reasoning can identify specific
strengths and weaknesses.
The IQ Controversy

The use of psychometric intelligence tests such as those just

described is controversial. On the positive side, because IQ tests have
been standardized and widely used, there is extensive information about
their norms, validity, and reliability. Scores on IQ tests taken during
middle childhood are fairly good predictors of school achievement,
especially for highly verbal children, and these scores are more reliable
than during the preschool years. IQ at age 11 even has been found to
predict length of life, functional independence late in life, and the
presence or absence of dementia.
Language and Literacy

Language abilities continue to grow during middle childhood.

School-age children are better able to understand and interpret oral and
written communication and to make them understood. These tasks are
especially challenging for children who are not native-language
speakers.
Vocabulary, Grammar and Syntax

As vocabulary grows during the school years, children use

increasingly precise verbs. They learn that a word like run can have
more than one meaning, and they can tell from the context which
meaning is intended. Simile and metaphor, figures of speech in which a
word or phrase that usually designates one thing is compared or applied
to another, become increasingly common. Although grammar is quite
complex by age 6, children during the early school years rarely use the
passive voice (as in ―The sidewalk is being shoveled‖).
Children‘s understanding of rules of syntax (the deep underlying
structure of language that organizes words into understandable phrases
and sentences) becomes more sophisticated with age. For example,

59
most children under age 5 or 6 think the sentences ―John promised Bill
to go shopping‖ and ―John told Bill to go shopping‖ both mean that Bill is
the one to go to the store. By age 8 most children can interpret the first
sentence correctly and by age 9 virtually all children can. They now look
at the meaning of a sentence as a whole instead of focusing on word
order alone. Sentence structure continues to become more elaborate.
Older children use more subordinate clauses (―The boy who delivers the
newspapers rang the doorbell.‖).
Pragmatics: Knowledge about Communication

The major area of linguistic growth during the school years is in

pragmatics: the social context of language. Pragmatics includes both
conversational and narrative skills.

Good conversationalists‘ probe by asking questions before

introducing a topic with which the other person may not be familiar. They
quickly recognize a breakdown in communication and do something to
repair it. There are wide individual differences in such skills; some 7-
year-olds are better conversationalists than some adults (Anderson,
Clark, & Mullin, 1994). There are also gender differences. Boys tend to
use more controlling statements, negative interruptions, and competitive
statements, whereas girls phrase their remarks in a more tentative,
conciliatory way and are more polite and cooperative.
However, not all children show this gender difference or to the
same degree. In one study, children at 6 years of age showed strong
gender differences that declined by 9 years of age. In another study,
both Dutch girls and boys tend to be equally assertive and controlling in
their play. Most 6-year-olds can retell the plot of a short book, movie, or
television show. They are beginning to describe motives and causal
links. By second grade, children‘s stories become longer and more
complex. Fictional tales often have conventional beginnings and endings
(―Once upon a time . . .‖ and ―They lived happily ever after‖). Word use is
more varied than before, but characters do not show growth or change,
and plots are not fully developed.
Second-Language Learning

In 2014, 22 percent of U.S. children ages 5 to 17 spoke a

language other than English at home. The primary language most of
these children spoke was Spanish, and 5 percent had difficulty speaking
English (Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics,
2016).

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 Some schools use an English-immersion approach (sometimes
called ESL, or English as a second language) in which language-
minority children are immersed in English from the beginning in special
classes. Other schools have adopted programs of bilingual education, in
which children are taught in two languages, first learning in their native
language and then switching to regular classes in English when they
become more proficient. These programs can encourage children to
become bilingual (fluent in two languages) and to feel pride in their
cultural identity.
LET US SUM UP

During the early childhood period many advances take place in

the thought processes of children. Memory skills such as recognition and
recall, forming memories are also developing. There are many
psychological tests that can be used to measure the intellectual
development of children at early childhood period. At the middle
childhood period many cognitive functions develop while executive
functioning such as selective attention, working memory also develop.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. In Piaget‘s theory of cognitive development, the second stage
is ________ stage.
2. Infants learn about the world via their senses and motor activity
during the _______.
3. Socioeconomic status and _______affect how rapidly children
advance in math.
4. Common memory strategies are rehearsal, __________and
elaboration.
5. __________children are better able to understand and
interpret oral and written communication

KEY TERMS

Preoperational stage Recall

Childhood memories Stanford Binet Intelligence
Scales

Selective attention working memory

Deductive reasoning

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ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Preoperational
2. Sensorimotor stage
3. Preschool experience
4. Organization
5. School-age
GLOSSARY
Encoding: Process by which information is prepared for long-term
storage and later retrieval.
Generic Memory: Memory that produces scripts of familiar routines to
guide behavior.
Ordinality: The concept of comparing quantities.
Pragmatics: The practical knowledge needed to use language for
communicative purposes.
Preoperational Stage: In Piaget‘s theory, the second major stage of
cognitive development, in which symbolic thought expends but children
cannot yet use logic.
MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Bring out the characteristics of preoperational child.
2. Explain traditional psychometric measures of IQ during early
childhood.
3. Discuss the cognitive advances in middle childhood.
4. List out the executive functions that develop during middle
childhood.
5. Write about vocabulary, grammar and syntax.
SUGGESTED READINGS
 Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Developmental Psychology – A Life
Span Approach,
 Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Co. Ltd., New
Delhi.
 Zubek J.P. and Solberg, P.A., Human Development, New
York, McGraw Hill
 Book Co. Ltd., 1954.
 Papalia, Diane E and Old, Human Development V Ed 1992,
Tata McGraw
 Hill Publishing Co., Ltd.

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UNIT: 6

INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT

STRUCTURE

Overview
Objectives
6.1. Cognitive development – Piaget‘s model

6.2. Language acquisition and development of language

6.3 Memory
6.4 Intelligence

6.5. Moral development

Let us sum up
Check your progress
Key words
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model questions
Suggested readings

OVERVIEW
The content of this unit describes many aspects of adolescent
cognitive maturation with Piaget‘s stages while at the same time
presenting the nature of language development in adolescence.
Kohlberg‘s theory of moral development is also discussed with its
evaluation.

OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit you will be able to:

 Identify the cognitive developments in adolescence.
 Describe the nature of language development during
adolescence.

63
  Understand the nature of memory and intelligence during
adolescence.
 Summarize the stages of moral development in
adolescence as proposed by Kohlberg.
6.1 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT – PIAGET’S MODEL

Adolescents not only look different from younger children, but

they also think and talk differently. Their speed of information processing
continues to increase. Although their thinking may remain immature in
some ways, many are capable of abstract reasoning and sophisticated
moral judgments and can plan more realistically for the future.
Piaget’s Stage of Formal Operations

Adolescents enter what Piaget called the highest level of

cognitive development formal operations when they move away from
their reliance on concrete, real-world stimuli and develop the capacity for
abstract thought. This development, usually around age 11, gives them
a new, more flexible way to manipulate information. They can use
symbols to represent other symbols (for example, letting the letter X
stand for an unknown numeral) and thus can learn algebra and calculus.
They can better appreciate the hidden messages in metaphor and
allegory and thus can find richer meanings in literature. They can think in
terms of what might be, not just what is. They can imagine possibilities
and can form and test hypotheses.
The ability to think abstractly has emotional implications too.
Whereas a young child could love a parent or hate a classmate, ―the
adolescent can love freedom or hate exploitation. The possible and the
ideal captivate both mind and feeling‖.
Hypothetical-Deductive Reasoning involves a methodical,
scientific approach to problem solving, and it characterizes formal
operations thinking. It involves the ability to develop, consider, and test
hypotheses, and the young person can be compared to a scientist
exploring a problem. To appreciate the difference formal reasoning
makes, let‘s follow the progress of a typical child in dealing with a classic
Piagetian problem, the pendulum problem.

The child, Adam, is shown the pendulum an object hanging from

a string. He is then shown how he can change any of four factors: the
length of the string, the weight of the object, the height from which the
object is released, and the amount of force he may use to push the
object. He is asked to figure out which factor or combination of factors
determines how fast the pendulum swings.

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 When Adam first sees the pendulum, he is not yet 7 years old
and is in the preoperational stage. He tries one thing after another in a
hit-or-miss manner. First, he puts a light weight on a long string and
pushes it; then he tries swinging a heavy weight on a short string; then
he removes the weight entirely. He cannot solve the problem. Adam next
encounters the pendulum at age 10, when he is in the stage of concrete
operations. This time, he discovers that varying the length of the string
and the weight of the object affects the speed of the swing. However,
because he varies both factors at the same time, he cannot tell which is
critical or whether both are. At 15, Adam goes at the pendulum problem
systematically. He varies one factor at a time, holding the other three
factors constant. In this way, he is able to solve the problem and
determine that only one factor the length of the string impacts how fast
the pendulum swings. He is now capable of hypothetical deductive
reasoning. Adam‘s solution of the pendulum problem shows that he has
arrived at the stage of formal operations. He is now capable of
hypothetical-deductive reasoning. He considers all the relationships he
can imagine and tests them systematically, one by one, to eliminate the
false and arrive at the true.
Hypothetical-deductive reasoning gives him a tool to solve
problems, from fixing the family car to constructing a political theory.
What brings about the shift to formal reasoning? Piaget attributed it to a
combination of brain maturation and expanding environmental
opportunities. Both are essential: even if young people‘s neurological
development has advanced enough to permit formal reasoning, they can
attain it only with appropriate stimulation. As with the development of
concrete operations, schooling and culture play a role, as Piaget
ultimately recognized.
6.2 LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT OF
LANGUAGE

Children‘s use of language generally reflects their level of

cognitive development. School age children are quite proficient in use of
language, but adolescence brings further refinements. Vocabulary
continues to grow as reading matter becomes more adult. By ages 16 to
18, the average young person knows approximately 80,000 words. This
is important for academic success; vocabulary knowledge is crucial for
reading Comprehension.
With the advent of abstract thought, adolescents can define and
discuss such abstractions as love, justice, and freedom. They more
frequently use such terms as however, otherwise, anyway, therefore,

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really, and probably to express logical relationships. They become more
conscious of words as symbols that can have multiple meanings, and
they take pleasure in using irony, puns, and metaphors.
Adolescents also become more skilled in social perspective-
taking, the ability to tailor their speech to another person‘s point of view.
So, for example, a teen might use simpler words when talking to a child
or swear among friends and show deference when speaking to an adult.
This ability is essential for skilled conversation.
Language is not static; it is fluid and the words and phrases used
by people change over time. These changes are striking in the speech of
adolescents, who often develop their own unique terms. Vocabulary may
differ by gender, ethnicity, age, geographical region, neighborhood, and
type of school and varies from one clique to another. Teenage slang is
part of the process of developing an independent identity separate from
parents and the adult world. This specialized vocabulary even extends to
electronic communication, with its own rules for spelling, abbreviations,
and the use of emoticons and emojis to convey emotional content.
6.3 MEMORY

The efficiency of working memory increases greatly in middle

childhood, laying the foundation for a wide range of cognitive skills.
Improvements both in processing speed and in storage capacity were
found to underlie the development of working memory in this age group.
Between ages 5 and 7, the brain‘s frontal lobes undergo significant
development and reorganization. These changes may make possible
improved metamemory, knowledge about the processes of memory.
From kindergarten through fifth grade, children advance steadily in
understanding memory. Kindergartners and first graders know that
people remember better if they study longer, that people forget things
with time, and that relearning something is easier than learning it for the
first time. By third grade, children know that some people remember
better than others and that some things are easier to remember than
others.
Devices to aid memory are called mnemonic strategies. The
most common mnemonic strategy among both children and adults is use
of external memory aids.Other common mnemonic strategies are
rehearsal, organization, and elaboration.Writing down a telephone
number, making a list, setting a timer, and putting a library book by the
front door are examples of external memory aids: prompts by something
outside the person. Saying a telephone number over and over after
looking it up so as not to forget it before dialing is a form of rehearsal, or

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conscious repetition.Organization is mentally placing information into
categories (such as animals, furniture, vehicles, and clothing) to make it
easier to recall. In elaboration, children associate items with something
else, such as an imagined scene or story. To remember to buy lemons,
ketchup, and napkins, for example, a child might visualize a ketchup
bottle balanced on a lemon, with a pile of napkins handy to wipe up any
spills. As children get older, they develop better strategies, use them
more effectively and tailor them to meet specific needs.
6.4 INTELLIGENCE

Intelligent behavior is goal oriented and adaptive: directed at

adjusting to the circumstances and conditions of life. Intelligence, as
ordinarily understood, enables people to acquire, remember, and use
knowledge; to understand concepts and relationships; and to solve
everyday problems. Intelligence was once thought to be fixed at birth,
but we now know that it is influenced by both inheritance and
experience. The prefrontal cortex and other brain regions under strong
genetic influence contribute to intelligent behavior. So does the speed
and reliability of transmission of messages in the brain. Because of the
brain‘s plasticity, environmental factors, such as the family, schooling,
and culture, also affects brain structure. However, heritability of
intelligence increases with age as children select or create environments
that fit their genetic tendencies. Schooling seems to increase tested
intelligence. Many studies attribute ethnic differences in IQ largely or
entirely to inequalities in environment in income, nutrition, living
conditions, health, parenting practices, early childcare, intellectual
stimulation, schooling, culture, or other circumstances such as the
effects of oppression and discrimination that can affect self-esteem,
motivation, and academic performance.
6.5 MORAL DEVELOPMENT

As children attain higher cognitive levels, they become capable

of more complex reasoning about moral issues. Adolescents are better
able than younger children to take another person‘s perspective, to solve
social problems, to deal with interpersonal relationships, and to see
themselves as social beings. All of these tendencies foster moral
development.
Moral Reasoning: Kohlberg’s Theory

On the basis of thought processes shown by responses to his

dilemmas, Kohlberg (1969) described three levels of moral reasoning,
each divided into two stages:

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Level I:Preconventional morality. People act under external controls.
They obey rules to avoid punishment or reap rewards, or they act out of
self-interest. This level is typical of children ages 4 to 10.
Level II: Conventional morality (or morality of conventional role
conformity). People have internalized the standards of authority figures.
They are concerned about being ―good,‖ pleasing others, and
maintaining the social order. This level is typically reached after age 10;
many people never move beyond it, even in adulthood.
Level III: Post conventional morality (or morality of autonomous moral
principles). People recognize conflicts between moral standards and
make their own judgments on the basis of principles of right, fairness,
and justice. People generally do not reach this level of moral reasoning
until at least early adolescence, or more commonly in young adulthood,
if ever.
In Kohlberg‘s theory, it is the reasoning underlying a person‘s
response to a moral dilemma, not the response itself that indicates the
stage of moral development. Two people who give opposite answers
may be at the same stage if their reasoning is based on similar factors.
Some adolescents and even some adults remain at Kohlberg‘s
level I. Like young children, they seek merely to avoid punishment or
satisfy their needs. Most adolescents and adults seem to be at level II.
They conform to social conventions, support the status quo, and ―do the
right thing‖ to please others or to obey the law. LevelIII reasoning
(upholding social norms) is less common but increases from early
adolescence into adulthood.

LET US SUM UP

Children in the preoperational stage show several important advances,

as well as some immature aspects of thought. The symbolic function
enables children to reflect on people, objects, and events that are not
physically present. It is shown in deferred imitation, pretend play, and
language. Information-processing models describe three steps in
memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval. Although sensory memory
shows little change with age, the capacity of working memory increases
greatly. The central executive controls the flow of information to and
from long-term memory.

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CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. Adolescents enter into ______, what Piaget called the highest
level of cognitive development.
2. Hypothetical-deductive reasoning involves a methodical,
scientific approach to__________.
3. Adolescents also become more skilled in social_______, the
ability to tailor their speech to another person‘s point of view.
4. Kohlberg (1969) described ___________levels of moral
reasoning.
5. Educational and _________ aspirations are influenced by
several factors, including self-efficacy and parental values.
KEY WORDS

Formal operations Hypothetical – deductive

reasoning
Morality Preconventional morality
Post conventional morality Self - efficacy
Vocational aspirations
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Formal operations
2. Problem solving
3. perspective-taking
4. three
5. Vocational
GLOSSARY

Abstract thought:Ability to define and discuss such abstractions as

love, justice, and freedom.
Hypothetical-Deductive Reasoning:Hypothetical-deductive reasoning
involves a methodical, scientific approach to problem solving, and it
characterizes formal operations thinking.
Met memory: knowledge about the processes of memory.
Post conventional morality: Third levelof Kohlberg‘s theory of moral
reasoning, in which people following ternally held moral principle sand
can decide among conflictingmoral standards.
Working memory: Short-term storage of information to process
actively.

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MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Write on the aspects of cognitive maturation in adolescence.
2. Explain the language developments during adolescence.
3. Discuss the Kohlberg‘s levels and stages of moral
development.
4. Write on the memory development in adolescence.
5. Bring out the influences on intelligence.
SUGGESTED READINGS
 Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Developmental Psychology – A Life Span
Approach,
 Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Co. Ltd., New Delhi.
 Zubek J.P. and Solberg, P.A., Human Development, New York,
McGraw Hill
 Book Co. Ltd., 1954.
 Papalia, Diane E and Old, Human Development V Ed 1992,
Tata McGraw
 Hill Publishing Co., Ltd

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BLOCK – III: PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
UNIT: 7 PERSONALITIES AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
UNIT: 8 PERSPECTIVES IN PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

UNIT: 9 SEXUAL IDENTITY AND TEENAGE PROBLEMS

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UNIT: 7

PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

STRUCTURE

Overview
Objectives
7.1 Personality and social development

7.2. Emotions
7.2.1 Understanding emotions
7.3. Emergence of self

7.4 Role of parents and siblings

7.5 Peer group influence
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Key words
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model questions
Suggested readings

OVERVIEW

This section discusses the development of personality and social

development. Emotional development is an important milestone in social
development. Various aspects of emotional development will be
discussed in this section. Self-concept emerges gradually and it plays a
vital role in personality and social development of an individual. The
social and personality development of an individual is influenced by
parents, siblings and peer group.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit you will be able to:

 Describe Personality and social Development.
 Describe emotional aspects and its development.

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  Understand the emergence of self.
 Comprehend the nature of parental and sibling influence on
social development.
 Realize the importance of peer group.
7.1 PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Although babies share common patterns of development, each,

from the start, shows a distinct personality: the relatively consistent
blend of emotions, temperament, thought, and behavior that makes each
person unique. One baby may usually be cheerful; another easily upset.
One toddler plays happily with other children; another prefers to play
alone. Such characteristic ways of feeling, thinking, and acting, which
reflect both inborn and environmental influences, affect the way children
respond to others and adapt to their world. From infancy on, personality
development is intertwined with social relationships and this combination
is called psychosocial development.
7.2 EMOTIONS
Emotions, such as sadness, joy, and fear, are subjective
reactions to experience that are associated with physiological and
behavioral changes. People differ in how often they feel a particular
emotion, in the kinds of events that may produce it, in the physical
manifestations they show, and in how they act as a result. Culture
influences the way people feel about a situation and the way they show
their emotions.
During the first month, newborns typically become quiet at the
sound of a human voice or when they are picked up. They may smile
when their hands are moved together to play pat-a-cake. As time goes
by, infants respond more to people—smiling, cooing, reaching out, and
eventually going to them. These early signals or clues to babies‘ feelings
are important indicators of development. When babies want or need
something, they cry; when they feel sociable, they smile or laugh. When
their messages bring a response, their sense of connection with other
people grows. Their sense of control over their world grows, too, as they
see that their cries bring help and comfort and that their smiles and
laughter elicit smiles and laughter in return. They become more able to
participate actively in regulating their states of arousal and their
emotional life.

Emotional development is an orderly process in which complex

emotions unfold from simpler ones. According to one widely used model
of emotional development, soon after birth babies show signs of

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contentment, interest, and distress. These are diffuse, reflexive, mostly
physiological responses to sensory stimulation or internal processes.
During the next six months or so, these early emotional states
differentiate into true emotions: joy, surprise, sadness, disgust, and then
anger and fear—reactions to events that have meaning for the infant.
The emergence of these basic, or primary, emotions is related to the
biological clock of neurological maturation.
Self-conscious emotions, such as embarrassment, empathy, and
envy, arise only after children have developed self-awareness: the
cognitive understanding that they have a recognizable identity, separate
and different from the rest of their world. This consciousness of self
seems to emerge between 15 and 24 months. Self-awareness is
necessary before children can be aware of being the focus of attention,
identify with what other ―selves‖ are feeling, or wish they had what
someone else has. By about age 3, having acquired self-awareness plus
a good deal of knowledge about their society‘s accepted standards,
rules, and goals, children become better able to evaluate their own
thoughts, plans, desires, and behavior against what is considered
socially appropriate. Only then can they demonstrate the self- evaluative
emotions of pride, guiltand shame
The development of the brain after birth is closely connected with
changes in emotional life: Emotional experiences not only are affected
by brain development but also can have long-lasting effects on the
structure of the brain.
By middle childhood, children are aware of their culture‘s rules
for acceptable emotional expression. Children learn what makes them
angry, fearful, or sad and how other people react to displays of these
emotions, and they learn to behave accordingly. When parents respond
with disapproval or punishment, emotions such as anger and fear may
become more intense and may impair children‘s social adjustment. Or
the children may become secretive and anxious about negative feelings.
As children approach early adolescence, parental intolerance of
negative emotion may heighten parent-child conflict.

Emotional self-regulation involves effortful (voluntary) control of

emotions, attention, and behavior. Children low in effortful control tends
to become visibly angry or frustrated when interrupted or prevented from
doing something they want to do. Children with high effortful control can
stifle the impulse to show negative emotion at inappropriate times.
Effortful control may be temperamentally based but generally increases
with age. Low effortful control may predict later behavior problems.

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Children tend to become more empathic and more inclined to prosocial
behavior in middle childhood. Children with high self-esteem tend to be
more willing to volunteer to help those who are less fortunate than they
are, and volunteering, in turn, helps build self-esteem. Prosocial children
tend to act appropriately in social situations, to be relatively free from
negative emotion, and to cope with problems constructively. Parents
who acknowledge children‘s feelings of distress and help them focus on
solving the root problem foster empathy, prosocial development and
social skills.
7.2.1 UNDERSTANDING EMOTIONS

Emotional understanding appears to proceed in an ordered and

hierarchical manner. First, by about 5 years of age, children understand
the public aspects of emotions. In other words, they understand the
things that cause other people to feel happy or sad, how those emotions
look on other people, and that reminding someone of something that
happened can elicit that emotion again. Preschoolers can talk about
their feelings and often those of others, and they understand that
emotions are connected with experiences and desires. They also
understand that someone who gets what he wants will be happy and
someone who does not get what she wants will be sad. By about 4 to 5
years, most children can recognize the facial expressions of joy,
sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust, although girls tend to
outperform boys slightly. They are also able to recognize emotions as
reflected in vocal cues and body posture, such as found in a sad
person‘s slumped shoulders or an angry person‘s aggressive stance.
By about 7 years of age, children start to understand that mental
states can drive emotions. For example, they understand that someone
can feel one way and look another. They also understand that what
someone believes, even if it is not true, can affect emotional state and
what someone wants, even if they themselves do not want it, can also
affect emotional state. This process is involved in the development of
moral behavior. In one study, 4- through 8-year-olds were asked to
describe how a young boy would feel if his ball rolled into the street and
he either retrieved it—and thus broke the rule of not going into the
street—or refrained from retrieving it. The 4- and 5-year-olds tended to
believe that the boy would be happy if he got the ball—even though he
would be breaking a rule—and unhappy if he didn‘t. The older children,
like adults, were more inclined to believe that obedience to a rule would
make the boy feel good and disobedience would make him feel bad.

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 Last, by about 9 years of age, children start to understand more
complex aspects of emotion. For example, they understand that
situations can be viewed from multiple perspectives, that people might
have conflicting emotions such as feeling angry at someone while loving
them, and that they can use cognitive strategies to regulate their
emotional state.
Understanding Emotions Directed toward the Self

Social emotions involve a comparison of one‘s self or one‘s

actions to social standards. These emotions are directed toward the self
and include guilt, shame, and pride. They typically develop by the end of
the 3rd year after children gain self-awareness and accept the standards
of behavior their parents have set. They require the consideration of
others‘ points of view.
In the first story, a child takes a few coins from a jar after being
told not to do so; in the second story, a child performs a difficult
gymnastic feat—a flip on the bars. Each story was presented in two
versions: one in which a parent sees the child doing the act and another
in which no one sees the child. The children were asked how they and
the parent would feel in each circumstance.
The answers revealed a gradual progression in understanding of
feelings about the self. At ages 4 to 5, children did not say that either
they or their parents would feel pride or shame. Instead, they used such
terms as ―worried‖ or ―scared‖ (for the money jar incident) and ―excited‖
or ―happy‖ (about the gymnastic accomplishment). At 5 to 6, children
said their parents would be ashamed or proud of them but did not
acknowledge feeling these emotions themselves. At 6 to 7, children said
they would feel proud or ashamed, but only if they were observed. Not
until ages 7 to 8 did children say that they would feel ashamed or proud
of themselves even if no one saw them.
7.3 EMERGENCE OF SELF

The cognitive growth that takes place during middle childhood enables
children to develop more complex concepts of them and to gain in
emotional understanding and control.
Self-Concept Development

The self-concept is our total picture of our abilities and traits. It is

―a cognitive construction a system of descriptive and evaluative
representations about the self‖ that determines how we feel about
ourselves and guides our actions. The sense of self also has a social

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aspect: Children incorporate into their self-image their growing
understanding of how others see them.
Around age 7 or 8, children reach the third stage of self-concept
development and at this time judgments about the self become more
conscious, realistic, balanced, and comprehensive as children form
representational systems: broad, inclusive self-concepts that integrate
various aspects of the self.
Self-Esteem

Self-esteem is the self-evaluative part of the self-concept; the

judgment children make about their overall worth. Self-esteem, in part, is
based on children‘s growing cognitive ability to describe and define
them. Developmental Changes in Self-Esteem although children do not
generally talk about a concept of self-worth until about age 8, younger
children show by their behavior that they have one. For example, how
they feel about themselves shows consistency; positive or negative self-
perceptions at age 5 predict self-perceptions and socioe motional
functioning at age 8.
Although there are individual differences in self-esteem, most
young children wildly overestimate their abilities. Their self-esteem is not
based on reality. One reason for this is that self-esteem is, in part, the
result of feedback received from other people, and adults tend to give
positive and uncritical feedback. For example, a kindergartener‘s crude
lettering is not generally critiqued as being messy; rather, parents and
teachers are more likely to praise and encourage the child‘s efforts.

In addition, children‘s self-esteem tends to be one-dimensional.

In other words, children believe they are either all good or all bad. In
middle childhood, self-esteem will become more realistic as personal
evaluations of competence based on internalization of parental and
societal standards begin to shape and maintain self-worth.
Contingent Self-Esteem

Children whose self-esteem is contingent on success tend to

become demoralized when they fail. Often these children attribute failure
to the deficiencies, which they believe they are unable to change. About
one-third to one-half of preschoolers, kindergarteners, and first graders
show a ―learned helplessness‖ pattern. For example, when given a
difficult puzzle, ―helpless‖ children are likely to give up. They assume
they will fail and so do not bother to try.

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 Children with no contingent self-esteem, in contrast, tend to
attribute failure or disappointment to factors outside themselves or to the
need to try harder. For example, when faced with the same puzzle, such
a child might assume the puzzle was for older children or might continue
to try to put it together despite having initial difficulties. If initially
unsuccessful or rejected, they persevere, trying new strategies until they
find one that works. Children who believe they can succeed if they try,
who enjoy challenges, and who have faith in their ability to meet those
challenges tend to have parents who praise their efforts, not their
inherent abilities, and who focus on specific, focused feedback rather
than generic praise.
According to Erikson, a major determinant of self-esteem is
children‘s view of their capacity for productive work. This fourth stage of
psychosocial development focuses on industry versus inferiority. Middle
childhood is the time when children must learn skills valued in their
society. The virtue that follows successful resolution of this stage is
competence, a view of the self as able to master skills and complete
tasks. If children feel inadequate compared with their peers, they may
retreat to the protective embrace of the family. If, on the other hand, they
become too industrious, they may neglect social relationships and turn
into workaholics. Parents strongly influence a child‘s beliefs about
competence.
7.4 ROLE OF PARENTS AND SIBLINGS
The most important influences of the family environment on
children‘s development come from the atmosphere in the home. One
contributing factor to family atmosphere is whether it is supportive and
loving or conflict ridden.

During the course of childhood, control of behavior gradually

shifts from parents to child. Middle childhood brings a transitional stage
of co regulation, in which parent and child share power. Parents exercise
oversight, but children enjoy moment-to-moment self regulation. With
regard to problems among peers, for example, parents now rely less on
direct intervention and more on discussion with their child. Children are
more apt to follow their parents‘ wishes when they recognize that the
parents are fair and are concerned about the child‘s welfare and that
they may ―know better‖ because of experience. It helps if parents try to
acknowledge children‘s maturing judgment and take strong stands only
on important issues.
The shift to co regulation affects the way parents handle
discipline. Parents of school-age children are more likely to use inductive

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techniques. The way parents and children resolve conflicts may be more
important than the specific outcomes. If family conflict is constructive, it
can help children see the need for rules and standards. They also learn
what kinds of issues are worth arguing about and what strategies can be
effective. However, as children become preadolescents and their striving
for autonomy becomes more insistent, the quality of family problem
solving often deteriorates.
Sibling Relationships

Siblings influence each other, not only directly, through their

interactions with each other, but also indirectly through their impact on
each other‘s relationship with their parents. Parents‘ experience with an
older sibling influences their expectations and treatment of a younger
one. Conversely, behavior patterns a child establishes with parents tend
to spill over into the child‘s behavior with siblings. When the parent-child
relationship was conflictual, sibling conflict was more.
7.5 PEER GROUP INFLUENCE
In middle childhood the peer group comes into its own. Groups
form naturally among children who live near one another or go to school
together and often consist of children of the same racial or ethnic origin
and similar socioeconomic status. Children who play together are
usually close in age and of the same sex.
Positive and Negative Effects of Peer Relations
Children benefit from doing things with peers. They develop skills
needed for sociability and intimacy, and they gain a sense of belonging.
They are motivated to achieve, and they attain a sense of identity. They
learn leadership and communication skills, cooperation, roles, and rules.
As children begin to move away from parental influence, the peer group
opens new perspectives and frees them to make independent
judgments. In comparing themselves with others their age, children can
gauge their abilities more realistically and gain a clearer sense of self-
efficacy.
The peer group helps children learn how to get along in society—
how to adjust their needs and desires to those of others, when to yield,
and when to stand firm. The peer group offers emotional security. It is
reassuring for children to find out that they are not alone in harboring
thoughts that might offend an adult. Same-sex peer groups may help
children learn gender-appropriate behaviors and incorporate gender
roles into their self-concept. In a two-year study of 106 ethnically diverse
but mostly middle-class third through seventh graders, a sense of being

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typical of one‘s gender and being content with that gender increased
self-esteem and well-being, whereas feeling pressure—from parents,
peers, or oneself—to conform to gender stereotypes lessened well-
being.
On the negative side, peer groups may reinforce prejudice:
unfavorable attitudes toward outsiders, especially members of certain
racial or ethnic groups. Children tend to be biased toward children like
themselves, but these biases, except for a preference for children of the
same sex, diminish with age and cognitive development. Prejudice and
discrimination can do real damage. The peer group also can foster
antisocial tendencies. Preadolescent children are especially susceptible
to pressure to conform. Of course, some degree of conformity to group
standards is healthy. It is unhealthy when it becomes destructive or
prompts young people to act against their better judgment. It is usually in
the company of peers that some children shoplift and begin to use
drugs.
Popularity

Popularity becomes more important in middle childhood.

Schoolchildren whose peers like them are likely to be well adjusted as
adolescents. Those who are not accepted by peers or who are overly
aggressive are more likely to develop psychological problems, drop out
of school or become delinquent.
Children can be unpopular (either rejected or neglected) for
many reasons. Although some unpopular children are aggressive, others
are hyperactive, inattentive, or withdrawn. Still others act silly and
immature or anxious and uncertain. Unpopular children are often
insensitive to other children‘s feelings and do not adapt well to new
situations. Some show undue interest in being with groups of the other
sex. Some unpopular children expect not to be liked, and this
expectation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is often in the family
that children acquire behaviors that affect popularity. Authoritative
parents tend to have more popular children than authoritarian parents
do. Children of authoritarian parents who punish and threaten are likely
to threaten or act mean with other children. They are less popular than
children whose authoritative parent‘s reason with them and try to help
them understand how another person might feel. Culture also can affect
criteria for popularity.

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Friendship

Children may spend much of their free time in groups, but only as
individuals do they make friends. Popularity is the peer group‘s opinion
of a child, but friendship is a two-way street. Children look for friends
who are like them in age, sex, ethnicity, and interests. The strongest
friendships involve equal commitment and mutual give-and-take. Even
unpopular children can make friends; but they have fewer friends than
popular children and tend to find friends among younger children, other
unpopular children, or children in a different class or a different school.
With their friends, children learn to communicate and cooperate. They
help each other weather stressful situations, such as starting at a new
school or adjusting to parents‘ divorce. The inevitable quarrels help
children learn to resolve conflicts. Friendship seems to help children feel
good about them, though it‘s also likely that children who feel good
about themselves have an easier time making friends. Having friends is
important because peer rejection and friendlessness in middle childhood
may have long-term negative effects.
LET US SUM UP

The self-concept becomes more realistic during middle

childhood. Emotional growth is affected by parents‘ reactions to displays
of negative emotions. Development of coregulation may affect the way
a family handles conflicts and discipline. Siblings learn about conflict
resolution from their relationships with each other. Relationships with
parents affect sibling relationships. The peer group becomes more
important in middle childhood. The peer group helps children develop
social skills, allows them to test and adopt values independent of
parents, gives them a sense of belonging, and helps develop their self-
concept and gender identity.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. The self-concept is our total picture of our abilities and
_______.
2. Self-esteem is the __________part of the self-concept.
3. Emotional self-regulation helps children guide their behavior
and adjust their responses to meet __________.
4. The need to deal with conflicting feelings about the self is at
the heart of the __________ stage of psychosocial
development identified by Erik Erikson.
5. Middle childhood brings a transitional stage of_____________.

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KEY WORDS

Self-concept Self-definition Real self

Ideal self Self-esteemSocial emotions
Gender identity Gender roles Gender-typing
Gender stereotypes Functional playConstructive play
Dramatic play Formal games with rules Gender
Segregation
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Traits
2. Self-evaluative
3. Societal expectations
4. Third
5. Coregulation

GLOSSARY
Coregulation: a transitional stage of in which parent and child share
power.
Emotional development: An orderly process in which complex
emotions unfold from simpler ones.
Emotional self-regulation: Effortful (voluntary) control of emotions,
attention and behavior.
Self-concept: Our total picture of our abilities and traits.
Social emotions: It is a comparison of one‘s self or one‘s actions to
social standards.
MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Define Self-concept.
2. Write about emotional development.
3. Describe the parental and sibling influence on social
development.
4. What are the factors determining popularity in peer group?
5. Write a short note on friendship.

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SUGGESTED READINGS
 Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Developmental Psychology – A Life
Span Approach,
 Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing co. Ltd., New
Delhi.
 Zubek J.P. and Solberg, P.A., Human Development, New
York, McGraw Hill
 Book Co. Ltd., 1954.
 Papalia, Diane E and Old, Human Development V Ed 1992,
Tata McGraw
 Hill Publishing Co., Ltd

83
UNIT: 8

PERSPECTIVES IN PERSONALITY
DEVELOPMENT
STRUCTURE

Overview
Objectives
8.1. Psychoanalytic, social learning and cognitive perspectives

8.1.1 Basic concepts

8.1.2 Psychoanalytic theory
8.1.3 Social learning theory

8.1.4 Cognitive perspective

8.2. Emotional problems of childhood
8.2.1 Childhood Depression
8.3. Identity crisis in adolescence
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Key words
Answers to check your progress
Glossary

Model questions
Suggested readings

OVERVIEW
The content of this unit is about different perspectives on
personality development: the psychoanalytic, social learning and
cognitive perspectives. These perspectives would make the student
understand the nature of personality development better. There are
many emotional problems that emerge during the childhood period and
those problems will be discussed elaborately in this section. Thirdly, this
unit discusses the nature of adolescent identity and the dynamics of
identity crisis during adolescence.

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OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit you will be able to:

 Understand the basic theories explaining personality
development.
 Describe the emotional problems prevailing during childhood.
 Realize the nature of identity formation and identity crisis in
adolescence.
8.1. PSYCHOANALYTIC, SOCIAL LEARNING AND COGNITIVE
PERSPECTIVES
8.1.1 Basic Concepts

Personality is often defined as an organized combination of

attributes, motives, values, and behaviors unique to each individual.
Most people describe personalities in terms of relatively enduring
dispositional traits such as extraversion or introversion, independence or
dependence, and the like.
Two aspects of personality deserve attention. First, people differ
in characteristic adaptations, more situation-specific and changeable
ways in which people adapt to their roles and environments.
Characteristic adaptations include motives, goals, plans, schemas, self-
conceptions, stage-specific concerns and coping mechanisms. Next, we
differ too in narrative identities, unique and integrative ―life stories‖ that
we construct about our pasts and futures to give ourselves an identity
and our lives meaning. Both biological factors, including a ―human
nature‖ we share with our fellow humans and cultural and situational
influences help shape these aspects of personality.
Self-concept is one‘s perceptions, positive or negative, of unique
attributes and traits as a person. A closely related aspect of self
perception is self-esteem – one‘s overall evaluation of worth as a
person, high or low, based on all the positive and negative self
perceptions that make up self-concept. We examine how self-concept
and self esteem change and remain the same over the life span. We
also take up the question of how adolescents pull together their various
self perceptions to form an identity - an overall sense of which they are,
where they are heading, and where they fit into society.
Theories of Personality

Although these concepts give us a vocabulary for talking about

the self and the personality, we also gain perspective on the nature of
personality development and how to study it by considering three major

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theoretical perspectives: psychoanalytic theory, social learning theory
and cognitive theory.
8.1.2 Psychoanalytic Theory

Psychoanalytic theorists generally use in-depth interviews,

dream analysis, and similar techniques to get below the surface of the
person and her behavior and to understand the inner dynamics of
personality. Sigmund Freud believed that children progressed through
universal stages of psychosexual development, ending with the genital
stage of adolescence. Freud did not see psychosexual growth
continuing during adulthood. Indeed he believed that the personality was
formed during the first 5 years of life and showed considerable continuity
thereafter.

Anxieties arising from harsh parenting, overindulgence or other

unfavorable early experiences would leave a permanent mark on the
personality and reveal themselves in adult personality traits. The
psychosocial theory of personality development formulated by neo-
Freudian Erik Erikson is concerned with the inner dynamics of
personality and proposes that people undergo similar personality
changes at similar ages as they confront the challenges associated with
different stages of development. Compared with Freud, however,
Erikson placed more emphasis on social influences such as peers,
teachers and cultures; the rational ego and its adaptive powers;
possibilities for overcoming the effects of harmful early experiences; and
the potential for growth during the adult years.
8.1.3 Social Learning Theory
Social learning (or social cognitive) theorists such as Albert
Bandura and Walter Mischel not only reject the notion of universal
stages of personality development but also question the existence of
enduring personality traits that show themselves in a variety of situations
and over long stretches of the life span. Instead, they emphasize that
people change if their environments change. An aggressive boy can
become a warm and caring man if his aggression is no longer reinforced
but his caring behavior is. Similarly, that aggressive boy could learn to
be nonaggressive in school even though he is aggressive at home. If
there is consistency in personality it is often a matter of people behaving
consistently in the same situation from occasion to occasion, not
behaving consistently across different situations. We must, therefore,
look at people in context to understand personality.

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 From the social learning perspective, personality boils down to a
set of behavioral tendencies shaped by interactions with other people in
specific social situations. Because social context is so powerful,
consistency in personality over time is most likely if the person‘s social
environment remains the same. However, most of us experience new
social environments as we grow older. Just as we behave differently
when we are in a library than when we are in a bar, we become
―different people‖ as we take on new roles, develop new relationships or
move to new locations. For example, Firstborns are often thought to be
bossy and they may well be when they tend younger siblings, but this
trait does not necessarily carry over into situations in which they interact
with peers who are similar in age and competence and cannot be
pushed around as easily as younger brothers and sisters.
8.1.4 Cognitive Perspective

There are many ways to think about personality. One another

type of approach is a cognitive approach, which looks at the way people
think and how it influences their personality. There are many different
cognitive approaches to personality. Some of the earliest ones focused
on the way our mental representations, or the way we picture things in
our minds, influenced our personalities. Another common cognitive
approach to personality says that people have certain beliefs, attitudes,
and values that impact their personalities.
The trait approach to personality is one of the cognitive
perspectives based on the psychometric approach that guided the
development of intelligence tests. According to trait theorists, personality
is a set of dispositional trait dimensions or continua along which people
can differ (for example, sociable–unsociable, responsible–irresponsible).
To identify distinct trait dimensions, researchers construct personality
scales and use the statistical technique of factor analysis to identify
groupings of personality scale items that are correlated with each other
but not with other groupings of items. Trait theorists assume that
personality traits are relatively enduring; like psychoanalytic theorists,
they expect to see carryover in personality over the years. Unlike
psychoanalytic theorists, however, they do not believe that the
personality unfolds in a series of stages.
Human personalities can best be described in terms of a five-
factor model-with five major dimensions of personality that have come to
be known as the Big Five. These five personality dimensions-openness
to experience,conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and
neuroticism-are appear to be genetically influenced and emerge fairly

87
early in life. The Big Five also seem to be universal; they capture the
ways in which people all over the world describe themselves and other
people. This is true even though levels of Big Five traits differ from
culture to culture and even though traits may be expressed differently in
different cultures.
8.2 EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS OF CHILDHOOD

Children with emotional, behavioral, and developmental

problems tend to be an underserved group. Only about half of all
children who need services for mental health issues receive the help
they need. Children diagnosed with emotional, behavioral, and
developmental problems have disruptive conduct disorders: aggression,
defiance, or antisocial behavior. In addition, they have anxiety or mood
disorders: feeling sad, depressed, unloved, nervous, fearful, or lonely.
Disruptive Conduct Disorders Temper tantrums and defiant,
argumentative, hostile, or deliberately annoying behavior-common
among 4- and 5-year-olds-typically are outgrown by middle childhood as
children get better at controlling these behaviors. When such a pattern of
behavior persists until age 8, children (usually boys) may be diagnosed
with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), a pattern of defiance,
disobedience, and hostility toward adult authority figures lasting at least
6 months and going beyond the bounds of normal childhood behavior.
Children with ODD constantly fight, argue, lose their temper, snatch
things, blame others, and are angry and resentful. They have few
friends, are in constant trouble in school, and test the limits of adults‘
patience.
Some children with ODD may later be diagnosed with conduct
disorder (CD), a persistent, repetitive pattern, beginning at an early age,
of aggressive, antisocial acts, such as truancy, setting fires, habitual
lying, fighting, bullying, theft, vandalism, assaults, and drug and alcohol
use. Conduct disorder in childhood is strongly predictive of antisocial
and criminal behavior in adulthood. Neurobiological deficits may be
important that determine whether a particular child with antisocial
tendencies will become severely and chronically antisocial. These
deficits may affect their ability to feel empathy for others, leading to a
characteristic callous unemotionality.
Children who are at elevated risk of becoming antisocial adults
also tend to be impulsive and have low IQ and poor academic
achievement. They also tend to experience substandard parenting. Their
parents may not supervise them well, or they may be overly punitive or
erratic in their care. They may be cold or antisocial, abusive, use hostile

88
parenting strategies or have high levels of family conflict. Their families
are more likely to be large or poor. Additionally, children who later
become antisocial are more likely to have antisocial peers, to go to
schools with high delinquency rates and to live in high crime
neighborhoods. These risk factors are additive-the more of them
present, the higher the risk.
Some children have realistic reasons to fear going to school: a
sarcastic teacher, overly demanding work, or a bully to avoid. In such
cases, the environment may need changing, not the child. However,
some children have school phobia, an unrealistic fear of going to school.
True school phobia may be a type of separation anxiety disorder, a
condition involving excessive anxiety for at least 4 weeks concerning
separation from home or from people to whom the child is attached.
Although separation anxiety is normal in infancy, when it persists in older
children, it is cause for concern. Separation anxiety disorder affects
some 4 percent of children and young adolescents and may persist
through the college years. These children often come from close-knit,
caring families. They may develop the disorder spontaneously or after a
stressful event, such as the death of a pet, an illness, or a move to a
new.
Sometimes school phobia may be a form of social phobia, or
social anxiety: extreme fear and/or avoidance of social situations such
as speaking in class or meeting an acquaintance on the street. Social
phobia affects about 5 percent of children; it runs in families, so there
may be a genetic component. Often these phobias are triggered by
traumatic experiences, such as a child‘s mind going blank when the child
is called on in class. Social anxiety tends to increase with age, whereas
separation anxiety decreases.
Some children have a generalized anxiety disorder, not focused
on any specific part of their lives. These children worry about just about
everything: school grades, storms, earthquakes, and hurting themselves
on the playground. They tend to be self-conscious, self-doubting and
excessively concerned with meeting the expectations of others. They
seek approval and need constant reassurance, but their worry seems
independent of performance or of how they are regarded by others.
Far less common is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Children with this disorder may be obsessed by repetitive, intrusive
thoughts, images or impulses (often involving irrational fears); or may
show compulsive behaviors, such as constant hand-washing; or both.

89
8.2.1 Childhood Depression

Childhood depression is a disorder of mood that goes beyond

normal, temporary sadness. Symptoms include inability to have fun or
concentrate, fatigue, extreme activity or apathy, crying, sleep problems,
weight change, physical complaints, feelings of worthlessness, a
prolonged sense of friendlessness, or frequent thoughts about death or
suicide. Childhood depression may signal the beginning of a recurrent
problem that is likely to persist into adulthood. The exact causes of
childhood depression are unknown, but depressed children tend to come
from families with high levels of parental depression, anxiety, substance
abuse or antisocial behavior. The atmosphere in such families may
increase children‘s risk of depression. Genetics are also important, given
the existence of gene variants that increase the risk of depression.
Children as young as 5 or 6 can accurately report depressed moods and
feelings that forecast later trouble, from academic problems to major
depression and ideas of suicide. Depression often emerges during the
transition to middle school and may be related to stiffer academic
pressures, weak self-efficacy beliefs, and lack of personal investment in
academic success.
8.3.I DENTITY CRISIS IN ADOLESCENCE
The search for identity-which Erikson defined as a coherent
conception of the self, made up of goals, values, and beliefs to which the
person is solidly committed- comes into focus during the teenage years.
Adolescents‘ cognitive development enables them to construct a ―theory
of the self‖.A teenager‘s effort to make sense of the self is not ―a kind of
maturational malaise‖. It is part of a healthy, vital process that builds on
the achievements of earlier stages-on trust, autonomy, initiative, and
industry-and lays the groundwork for coping with the challenges of
adulthood. However, an identity crisis is seldom fully resolved in
adolescence; issues concerning identity crop up again and again
throughout adult life.
8.3.1 Identity versus Identity Confusion

The chief task of adolescenceis to confront the crisis of identity

versus identity confusion, or identity versus role confusion, so as to
become a unique adult with a coherent sense of self and a valued role in
society.

Identity, according to Erikson, forms as young people resolve

three major issues: the choice of an occupation, the adoption of values
to live by and the development of a satisfying sexual identity. During

90
middle childhood, children acquire skills needed for success in their
culture. As adolescents, they need to find ways to use these skills. When
young people have trouble settling on an occupational identity-or when
their opportunities are artificially limited-they are at risk of behavior with
serious negative consequences, such as criminal activity or early
pregnancy.
According to Erikson, the psychosocial moratorium, the time out
period that adolescence provides, allows young people to search for
commitments to which they can be faithful. Many adolescents have a
premature adulthood thrust upon them. They lack the time or opportunity
for this psychosocial moratorium-the protected period necessary to build
a stable sense of self. Adolescents who resolve the identity crisis
satisfactorily develop the virtue of fidelity: sustained loyalty, faith, or a
sense of belonging to a loved one or two friends and companions.
Fidelity also can be identification with a set of values, an ideology, a
religion, a political movement, a creative pursuit, or an ethnic group.
Fidelity is an extension of trust. In infancy, it is important for trust
of others to outweigh mistrust; in adolescence, it becomes important to
be trustworthy oneself. Adolescents extend their trust to mentors or
loved ones. In sharing thoughts and feelings, an adolescent clarifies a
tentative identity by seeing it reflected in the eyes of the beloved.
However, these adolescent intimacies differ from mature intimacy, which
involves greater commitment, sacrifice, and compromise. Erikson saw
the prime danger of this stage as identity or role confusion, which can
greatly delay reaching psychological adulthood.
Some degree of identity confusion is normal. According to
Erikson, it accounts for the seemingly chaotic nature of much adolescent
behavior and for teenagers‘ painful self-consciousness. Cliquishness
and intolerance of differences, both hallmarks of the adolescent social
scene, are defenses against identity confusion. Erikson‘s theory
describes male identity development as the norm. According to Erikson,
a man is not capable of real intimacy until after he has achieved a stable
identity; whereas women define themselves through marriage and
motherhood. Thus, women (unlike men) develop identity through
intimacy, not before it.
LET US SUM UP

Personality is an organized combination of attributes unique to

the individual shaped by both biological and cultural and situational
factors. Self-concept is an individual‘s perceptions of those attributes;
self-esteem an overall evaluation of self-worth; and identity a coherent

91
self-definition. Different theories explain the way in which personality
develop over the years. Generally there are many emotional problems
found in childhood period. These problems are directly related to
parenting and situational factors. During adolescence, identity formation
becomes a major issue and adolescents undergo different stages of
identity formation.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. ____________ refers to overall evaluation of a person.
2. ___________ is one‘s perceptions, positive or negative, of
unique attributes and traits as a person.
3. __________ proposed the psychoanalytic theory.
4. __________ is proposed by Albert Bandura.
5. Identity formation during adolescence was mainly addressed
by ________.
KEY TERMS

Personality Psychoanalysis
Social Learning
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder School Phobia Social
AnxietyIdentity Identity confusion
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. Self esteem
2. Self-concept
3. Sigmund Freud
4. Social Learning

5. Erickson

GLOSSARY
Conduct Disorder(CD): a persistent, repetitive pattern, beginning at an
early age, of aggressive, antisocial acts.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD): a pattern of defiance,
disobedience and hostility toward adult authority figures.
Personality: An organized combination of attributes, motives, values,
and behaviors unique to each individual.
Psychosocial Moratorium: the time out period that adolescence
provides to search for commitments to which they can be faithful.

92
Separation Anxiety Disorder: a condition involving excessive anxiety
for at least 4 weeks concerning separation from home or from people to
whom the child is attached.
MODEL QUESTIONS
1. What is the difference between self-esteem and self-concept?
2. Critically evaluate the theories of personality.
3. Enlist the common emotional problems of childhood.
4. Write an account on childhood depression.
5. Elaborate identity crisis.

SUGGESTED READINGS
 Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Developmental Psychology – A Life
Span Approach,
 Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing co. Ltd., New
Delhi.
 Zubek J.P. and Solberg, P.A., Human Development, New
York, McGraw Hill
 Book Co. Ltd., 1954.
 Papalia, Diane E and Old, Human Development V Ed 1992,
Tata McGraw
 Hill Publishing Co., Ltd.

93
UNIT: 9

SEXUAL IDENTITY AND TEENAGE PROBLEMS

STRUCTURE

Overview

Learning objectives
9.1. Adolescent relationship with parents
9.2. Adolescents relationship with peers

9.3. Sexual identity

9.4. Teenage problems
Let us sum up

Check your progress

Key words
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model questions
Suggested readings

OVERVIEW
In this section we discuss about the nature of relationship
adolescents have with their parents and peer group members. We also
explore how sexual identity develops during adolescent years. Due to
rapid physical and psychological changes in adolescent years,
teenagers face many problems which are detrimental to their smooth
transition to adulthood. We discuss those teenage problems also in
detail.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
After reading this unit you will be able to:
 To describe the nature of adolescent relationship
with parents and peers.
 To understand sexual identity in adolescence.
 To describe different teenage problems.

94
9.1 ADOLESCENT RELATIONSHIP WITH PARENTS

Age becomes a powerful bonding agent in adolescence.

Adolescents spend more time with peers and less with family. Even as
adolescents increasingly turn toward peers to fulfill many of their social
needs, they still look to parents for a secure base from which they can
try their wings.
The Myth of Adolescent Rebellion

The teenage years have been called a time of adolescent

rebellion. Most young people feel close to and positive about their
parents, share similar opinions on major issues, and value their parents‘
approval. Teenage rebellion, rather than being normative, is more likely
to be associated with variables such as abusive, indifferent, or neglectful
parenting. The relatively few deeply troubled adolescents tend to come
from disrupted families and, as adults, continue to have unstable family
lives and to reject cultural norms. Those raised in homes with a positive
family atmosphere tend to come through adolescence with no serious
problems and, as adults, to have solid marriages and lead well-adjusted
lives.
Still, adolescence can be a tough time for young people and their
parents. Family conflict, depression, and risky behavior are more
common than during other parts of the life span. Family conflict can
have a significant impact on emotional distress, especially for girls and
teens with foreign-born parents.
Negative emotions and mood swings are most intense during
early adolescence. By late adolescence, emotionality tends to become
more stable. Recognizing that adolescence may sometimes be
tumultuous may help parents and teachers put trying behavior in
perspective. But adults who assume that adolescent turmoil is always
normal and necessary may fail to heed the signals of the relatively few
young persons who need special help.
Relationship with Parents

Most adolescents report good relations with their parents. Still,

adolescence brings special challenges. Just as adolescents feel tension
between dependency on their parents and the need to break away,
parents want their children to be independent yet find it hard to let go.
Individuation begins in infancy and continues throughout
adolescence. It involves the struggle for autonomy and differentiation, or
personal identity. An important aspect of individuation is carving out

95
boundaries of control between self and parents and this process may
entail family conflict. Somewhat paradoxically, a warm, interconnected
relationship with parents can help teens individuate successfully. Both
family conflict and positive identification with parents are highest at
age13 and then diminish through age 17, when they stabilize or increase
somewhat. This shift reflects increased opportunities for independent
adolescent decision making.
Despite common beliefs about adolescence being a time of great
rebellion and chaos, family arguments most often concern control over
everyday personal matters-chores, schoolwork, dress, money, curfews,
dating, and friends-rather than issues of health and safety or right and
wrong. The emotional intensity of these conflicts-often out of all
proportion with the subject matter-may reflect the underlying
individuation process.
There are also cultural differences. One primary distinction is that
drawn between collectivistic and individualistic societies. Connectedness
between teens and parents is higher in collectivistic countries. In
collectivistic cultures, emphasis is placed more on family than on
individual desires. In cultures like these, the developmental goal during
adolescence is less about establishing independence away from the
family and more about establishing interdependence with the family and
strengthening emotional bonds with family members.
Family relations can affect mental health. Family conflict predicts
multiple adjustment problems, including depression, anxiety, conduct
problems, and problems with and it tends to increase over time in harsh,
coercive, or hostile families especially for girls. Additionally, adolescent
maltreatment has been linked to criminal offenses and violent crime,
alcohol and drug use, risky sexual behavior, and suicidal thoughts.
Alternatively, healthy family interactions have a positive effect.
Family conflict tends to go down over time in warm, supportive families.
In addition, autonomy support on the part of parents is associated with
more adaptive self regulation of negative emotions and academic
engagement and positive family identification is related to less
depression. Adolescents who are given more decision-making
opportunities report higher self-esteem than those who are given fewer
such opportunities. Last, both individuation and family connectedness
during adolescence predict well-being in middle age.

96
Parenting Styles and Parental Authority

Authoritative parenting continues to foster healthy psychosocial

development. Authoritative parents insist on important rules, norms, and
values but are willing to listen, explain, and negotiate. They exercise
appropriate control over a child‘s conduct (behavioral control) but not
over the child‘s feelings, beliefs, and sense of self (psychological
control). So, for example, they might ground their teenage son for
breaking a rule, but they would not insist that the teen agree with them
about the wisdom of the broken rule. Generally, behavioral control is
preferable. Psychological control and harsh control can harm
adolescents‘ psychosocial development and mental health and are
associated with externalizing problems. For example, withdrawal of love
as a control strategy is associated with an increase in resentment toward
parents and decrease in teens‘ ability to self-regulate negative emotions.
Parents who are psychologically controlling tend to be
unresponsive to their children‘s growing need for psychological
autonomy, the right to their own thoughts and feelings. By contrast,
parents who are open to new experiences themselves are more likely to
allow their teen‘s greater freedom. Parents who provide both structure
and autonomy help teens develop rules of conduct, psychosocial skills
and good mental health. Problems arise when parents overstep what
adolescents perceive as appropriate bounds of legitimate parental
authority. When teens feel their parents are trying to dominate their
behavior, and particularly their psychological experience, their emotional
health suffers.
Parental Monitoring and Adolescents’ Self-Disclosure

Part of monitoring involves knowing what a teen is up to. Young

people‘s growing autonomy and the shrinking areas of perceived
parental authority redefine the types of behavior adolescents are
expected to disclose to parents. Both adolescents and parents see
prudential issues, behavior related to health and safety (such as
smoking, drinking, and drug use), as most subject to disclosure, followed
by moral issues (such as lying), conventional issues (such as bad
manners or swearing), and multifaceted, or borderline issues, which lie
at the boundary between personal matters and one of the other
categories.

Both adolescents and parents see personal issues (such as how

teens spend their time and money) as least subject to disclosure.
However, for each type of behavior, parents tend to want more
disclosure than adolescents are willing to provide, although this

97
discrepancy diminishes with age. Importantly, adolescent disclosure to
parents is predictive of delinquency; those teens who disclose more are
less likely to engage in problem behaviors. Teens are more likely to
disclose information when parents maintain a warm, responsive family
climate and provide clear expectations without being overly controlling -
in other words, when parenting is authoritative.
Adolescents, especially girls, tend to have closer, more
supportive relationships with their mothers than with their fathers and
girls confide more in their mothers. Moreover, relationship quality seems
to matter more in girls‘ willingness to confidein their parents. In other
words, boys‘ secret keeping depends less on relationship warmth than
does that of girls.
Family Structure and Atmosphere

Conflict in the home can affect the process of individuation and

changes in marital distress or conflict predict corresponding changes in
adolescents‘ adjustment. Divorce can affect this processas well.
Adolescents whose parents later divorced showed more academic,
psychological, and behavioral problems before the breakup than peers
whose parent‘s did not later divorce.
Adolescents living with their continuously married parents tend to
have significantly fewer behavioral problems than those in other family
structures (single-parent, cohabiting, or stepfamilies). Divorce negatively
impacts outcomes in part via its influence on the paternal relationship.
High-quality involvement by a nonresident father helps a great deal, but
not as much as the involvement of a father living in the home.
Adolescents, especially boys, from single-parent families are at
higher risk for problem behaviors such as substance abuse or
aggression. However, this risk can be mitigated by other family
structures. For example, parental monitoring and mother‘s educational
level, family income, and quality of the home environment have been
associated with a reduction in risk.
Mothers’ Employment and Economic Stress

The impact of a mother‘s work outside the home may depend on

how many parents are present in the household. Single mothers may
find that work affects how much time and energy is left to spend with
children or monitor their activities. These variables, in turn, were related
to an increase in risky adolescent behaviors. Additionally, maternal
employment has repeatedly been associated with a less healthy
nutritional environment in the home and an increased risk of overweight.

98
 The type of after-school care and supervision is important. Those
teens that are on their own, away from home tend to become involved in
alcohol and drug use and in misconduct in school, especially if they have
an early history of problem behavior. Participation in organized after-
school activities can serve as a protective factor.
A major problem in many single-parent families is lack of money.
Family economic hardship during adolescence affects adult well-being in
part because it is stressful and that stress interferes with family
relationships and affects children‘s educational and occupational
attainments.
9.2 ADOLESCENTS RELATIONSHIP WITH PEERS

An important influence in adolescence is the peer group. The

peer group is a source of affection, sympathy, understanding, and moral
guidance; a place for experimentation; and a setting for achieving
autonomy and independence from parents. It is a place to form intimate
relationships that serve as rehearsals for adult intimacy.
In childhood, most peer interactions are dyadic, or one-to-one,
though larger groupings begin to form in middle childhood. As children
move into adolescence, the peer social system becomes more diverse.
Cliques-structured groups of friends who do things together-become
more important. A larger type of grouping, the crowd, which does not
normally exist before adolescence, is based not on personal interactions
but on reputation, image, or identity. Crowd membership is a social
construction: for example, the jocks, the nerds, or the stoners. All three
levels of peer groupings may exist simultaneously, and some may
overlap in membership, which may change over time. Both clique and
crowd affiliations tend to become looser as adolescence progresses.

The influence of peers normally peaks at ages 12 to 13 and

declines during middle and late adolescence. Risk-taking, especially in
early adolescence, is higher in the company of peers than when alone,
even when potential negative consequences are made clear. For
example, at age 13 or 14, popular adolescents may engage in mildly
antisocial behaviors, such as trying drugs or sneaking into a movie
without paying, to demonstrate to their peers their independence from
parental rules. However, attachment to peers in early adolescence is not
likely to forecast real trouble unless the attachment is so strong that the
young person is willing to give up obeying household rules, doing
schoolwork, and developing his or her own talents in order to win peer
approval and popularity.

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Friendships

The intensity and importance of friendships and the amount of

time spent with friends are probably greater in adolescence than at any
other time in the life span. Friendships tend to become more reciprocal,
more equal, and more stable, although many friendships are still fleeting.
Higher-quality friendships are more stable. Those that are less satisfying
become less important or are abandoned. Often, differences in such
areas as peer acceptance, physical aggression, school competence,
and especially sex predict friendship dissolution.

Greater intimacy, loyalty, and sharing with friends mark a transition

toward adult like friendships. Adolescents begin to rely more on friends
than on parents for intimacy and support, and they share confidences
more than younger friends do. Girls‘ friendships tend to be more intimate
than boys‘, with frequent sharing of confidences. Intimacy with same-sex
friends increases during early to midadole scence, after which it typically
declines as intimacy with the other sex grows.
The increased intimacy of adolescent friendship preflects
cognitive as well as emotional development. Adolescents are now better
able to express their private thoughts and feelings and consider another
person‘s point of view. The capacity for intimacy is related to
psychological adjustment and social competence, and adolescents who
are more intimate with their friends feel closer to and have less conflict
with them. Adolescents with high-quality friendships have a high opinion
of them, do well in school, are sociable, and are less likely to be hostile,
anxious, or depressed. They also tend to have established strong bonds
with parents. This may be part of a more general process. When
adolescents have high-quality friendships, those friendships tend to be
deeply embedded within their other supportive social relationships,
including other friends, romantic partners, and family members. A
bidirectional process seems to be at work: Good relationships foster
adjustment, which in turn fosters good relationships.
Social Media and Electronic Interaction

The explosion of online communication technologies such as e-

mail, social networking sites, and text messaging has changed the way
many adolescents communicate. As a group, adolescents are the
primary users of these technologies. Adolescents, who are active users
of social media sites, especially if they are not guarded about their
personal privacy, are more vulnerable to online harassment and cyber
bullying .In general, screen-based media usage is related to poorer
physical health, quality of life, and quality of family relationships.

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However, what type of media is used appears to be important. Because
adolescents connect self-disclosure with quality friendships, this is linked
to friendship quality and formation, which in turn elevates social
connectedness and well-being. However, there is a dark side to this.
One aspect of online communication that enhances intimacy-anonymity-
has made it appealing for electronic bullies. This in conjunction with
limited contextual cues, especially for teens whose parents do not
monitor their child‘s online activities, increases the risk of cyber bullying.
Romantic Relationships

Romantic relationships are a central part of most adolescents

‗social worlds. With the onset of puberty, most heterosexual boys and
girls begin to think about and interact more with members of the other
sex. Romantic relationships tend to become more intense and intimate
across adolescence. By age 16, adolescents interact with and think
about romantic partners more than about parents, friends, or siblings.
9.3SEXUAL IDENTITY
Seeing oneself as a sexual being, recognizing one‘s sexual
orientation, and forming romantic or sexual attachments all are parts of
achieving sexual identity. Awareness of sexuality is an important aspect
of identity formation.
Homosexual, Bisexual, and Transgender Identity Development
Most gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth begin to identify as such between
the ages of 12 and 17 years. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth who are
unable to establish peer groups that share their sexual orientation may
struggle with the recognition of same-sex attractions, although the
Internet has increasingly provided an anonymous and accessible means
for young adults to explore their sexuality. Gay and lesbian youth who
experience rejection and low support for their sexual orientation from
their parents after coming out are more likely to have difficulty accepting
their sexual identity. Youth who do not successfully integrate their sexual
identity in their self-concept are at risk for issues with anxiety,
depression, or conduct problems. Other teens rejected by their parents
upon coming out may adopt a negative view of their sexuality. Family
rejection is associated with low self-esteem depression, substance
abuse, and suicidal ideation, perhaps because parents‘ negative views
about homosexuality are incorporated into their self-image.

Transgender is a term that refers to individuals whose biological

sex at birth and gender identity is not the same. Those people who seek

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medical assistance to permanently transition to their preferred gender
are generally referred to as transsexual, and still others use terms such
as gender queer to refer to a wide range of variable identities that may
be neither fully male nor fully female. Forming a gender identity for
people who do not fit the traditional binary is a complex issue. Because
being transgender is relatively rare-approximately 0.3 percent of the
population -it is likely many transgender children and youth do not have
access to transgender adult models to base their understanding on in
the same way homosexual children do. Moreover, because the very
concept is controversial, it is often not discussed in school-based sexual
education programs. Still, most transgender children from a young age
know something is different, even if it takes them a while to figure it out.

Like gay and lesbian youth, transgender youth are at significantly

elevated risk for a host of negative outcomes, and indeed, their risk
appears to be even higher. And like homosexual youth, these outcomes
appear to be driven by stigma, rejection, and a lack of social support.
For instance, transgender youth are more likely to be bullied, and this
bullying is in turn associated with an elevated risk of suicide attempts.
Transgender youth are also at elevated risk of sexual victimization,
violence, depression, anxiety, and substance. Parental rejection, which
is common, appears to be a particularly important risk factor.
Finding a sense of community is a protective factor and has been
related to less fearfulness, a decreased risk of sociality, a sense of
comfort, and increases in resilience. A sense of community is particularly
powerful when combined with a well-developed gender identity. In one
study, people with a strong sense of their transgender identity who also
had a strong sense of belonging to a transgender community showed
positive effects on well-being, self-esteem and life satisfaction.
9.4 TEENAGE PROBLEMS

Many adolescents, especially girls, report frequent health

problems, such as headache, backache, stomachache, nervousness,
and feeling tired, lonely or low. Such reports are especially common
where life tends to be fast paced and stressful.

Many health problems are preventable, stemming from lifestyle

or poverty. Adolescents from less affluent families tend to report poorer
health and more frequent symptoms. Adolescents from more affluent
families tend to have healthier diets and to be more physically active
let‘s look at several specific health concerns: physical fitness, sleep
needs, eating disorders, drug abuse, depression, and causes of death in
adolescence.

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 A sedentary lifestyle may result in increased risk of obesity and
type II diabetes, both growing problems among adolescents. It also can
lead to increased likelihood of heart disease and cancer in adulthood.
Unfortunately, only about one-third of high school students engage in the
recommended amounts of physical activity and the proportion of young
people who are inactive increases throughout the high school years.
Sleep Needs and Problems

Sleep deprivation among adolescents has been called an

epidemic. Adolescents need as much or more sleep than when they
were younger. Sleeping in on weekends does not make up for the loss
of sleep on school nights. A pattern of late bedtimes and oversleeping in
the mornings can contribute to insomnia, a problem that often begins in
late childhood or adolescence. Sleep deprivation can sap motivation and
cause irritability and concentration and school performance can suffer.
Sleepiness also can be deadly for adolescent drivers.
Nutrition and Eating Disorders
Good nutrition is important to support the rapid growth of
adolescence and to establish healthy eating habits that will last through
adulthood. Adolescents eat fewer fruits and vegetables and consume
more foods that are high in cholesterol, fat and calories and low in
nutrients than adolescents in other industrialized countries. Deficiencies
of calcium, zinc and iron are common at this age. Poor nutrition is most
frequent in economically depressed or isolated populations but also may
result from concern with body image and weight control. Eating
disorders, including obesity, are most prevalent where food is abundant
and attractiveness is equated with slimness.
Obesity

Overweight teenagers tend to be in poorer health than their

peers and are more likely to have difficulty attending school, performing
household chores, or engaging in strenuous activity or personal care.
They are at heightened risk of high cholesterol, hypertension, and
diabetes. They tend to become obese adults, subject to a variety of
physical, social, and psychological risks. Genetic and other factors, such
as faulty regulation of metabolism and, at least in girls, depressive
symptoms and having obese parents can increase the likelihood of
teenage obesity.

Excessive concern with weight control and body image may be

signs of anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, both of which involve
abnormal patterns of food intake. These chronic disorders occur

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worldwide, mostly in adolescent girls and young women. Cultural
pressure to be thin and biological factors, including genetic factors, plays
an equally important role.
People with anorexia have a distorted body image and, though
typically severely underweight, think they are too fat. They often are
good students but may be withdrawn or depressed and may engage in
repetitive, perfectionist behavior. They are extremely afraid of losing
control and becoming overweight. Early warning signs include
determined, secret dieting; dissatisfaction after losing weight; setting
new, lower weight goals after reaching an initial desired weight;
excessive exercising; and interruption of regular menstruation. Anorexia
is, paradoxically, both deliberate and involuntary: An affected person
deliberately refuses food needed for sustenance, yet cannot stop doing
so even when rewarded or punished.
Bulimia Nervosa

Adolescent person with bulimia regularly goes on huge, short-

lived eating binges (two hours or less) and then may try to purge the
high caloric intake through self-induced vomiting, strict dieting or fasting,
excessively vigorous exercise, or laxatives, enemas, or diuretics. People
with bulimia are usually not overweight, but they are obsessed with their
weight and shape. They tend to have low self-esteem and may become
overwhelmed with shame, self-contempt, and depression. A related
binge eating disorder involves frequent binging but without subsequent
fasting, exercise, or vomiting. Not surprisingly people who binge
frequently tend to be overweight and to experience emotional distress
and other medical and psychological disorders.
Use and Abuse of Drugs

Although the great majority of adolescents do not abuse drugs, a

significant minority do. Substance abuse is harmful use of alcohol or
other drugs. Abuse can lead to substance dependence, or addiction,
which may be physiological, psychological, or both and is likely to
continue into adulthood. Addictive drugs are especially dangerous for
adolescents because they stimulate parts of the brain that are still
developing in adolescence. Adolescents are more vulnerable than adults
to both immediate and long-term negative effects of alcohol on learning
and memory.

Substance use often begins when children enter middle school,

where they become more vulnerable to peer pressure. The earlier young
people start using a drug, the more frequently they are likely to use it

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and the greater their tendency to abuse it. Young people who begin
drinking early tend to have behavior problems or to have siblings who
are alcohol dependent. Smoking often begins in the early teenage years
as a sign of toughness, rebelliousness, and passage from childhood to
adulthood. This desired image enables a young initiate to tolerate initial
distaste for the first few puffs, after which the effects of nicotine begin to
take over to sustain the habit. Within a year or two after starting to
smoke, these young people inhale the same amount of nicotine as
adults and experience the same cravings and withdrawal effects if they
try to quit. Young adolescents attracted to smoking often come from
homes, schools, and neighborhoods where smoking is common. They
also tend to be overweight, to have low self-esteem, and not to be
succeeding at.
Depression

The prevalence of depression increases during adolescence.

Depression in young people does not necessarily appear as sadness but
as irritability, boredom, or inability to experience pleasure. One reason it
needs to be taken seriously is the danger of suicide. Adolescent girls,
especially early maturing girls, are more likely to be depressed than
adolescent boys. This gender difference may be related to biological
changes connected with puberty. Other possible factors are the way girls
are socialized and their greater vulnerability to stress in social
relationships. In addition to gender, risk factors for depression include
anxiety, fear of social contact, stressful life events, chronic illnesses
such as diabetes or epilepsy, parent-child conflict, abuse or neglect,
alcohol and drug use, sexual activity, and having a parent with a history
of depression.
Death in Adolescence
Death in adolescence is always tragic, and usually accidental.
The frequency of violent deaths in this age group reflects a violent
culture as well as adolescents‘ inexperience and immaturity, which often
lead to risk taking and carelessness. Collisions are more likely to be fatal
when teenage passengers are in the vehicle, probably because
adolescents tend to drive more recklessly in the presence of peers. The
high incidence of drinking and driving among teens also contributes to
these deadly incidences.
Suicide

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among teens.

Adolescent boys are almost four times more likely than adolescent girls

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to succeed in taking their lives, even though girls are more likely to
consider or attempt suicide. Young people who consider or attempt
suicide tend to have histories of emotional illness. They are likely to be
either perpetrators or victims of violence and to have school problems,
academic or behavioral. Many have suffered from maltreatment in
childhood and have severe problems with relationships. They tend to
think poorly of themselves, to feel hopeless, and to have poor impulse
control and low tolerance for frustration and stress. These young people
are often alienated from their parents and have no one outside the family
to turn to. They also tend to have attempted suicide before or to have
friends or family members who did so. Alcohol plays a part in half of
teenage suicides. Perhaps the key factor is a tendency toward impulsive
aggression.
LET US SUM UP

Although relationships between adolescents and their parents

are not always easy, full-scale adolescent rebellion is unusual. For the
majority of teens, adolescence is a fairly smooth transition. For the
minority who seem more deeply troubled, it can predict a difficult
adulthood. Adolescents spend an increasing amount of time with peers,
but relationships with parents continue to be influential. Conflict with
parents tends to be greatest during early adolescence. Authoritative
parenting is associated with the most positive outcomes. Relationships
with siblings tend to become more distant during adolescence, and the
balance of power between older and younger siblings becomes more
equal. The influence of the peer group is strongest in early adolescence.
The structure of the peer group becomes more elaborate, involving
cliques and crowds as well as friendships. Friendships, especially
among girls, become more intimate, stable, and supportive in
adolescence. Sexual orientation appears to be influenced by an
interaction of biological and environmental factors and to be at least
partly genetic. Health problems often are associated with poverty or
lifestyle. Many adolescents do not engage in regular vigorous physical
activity. Many adolescents do not get enough sleep because the high
school schedule is out of sync with their natural body rhythms. Concern
with body image, especially among girls, may lead to eating disorders.
The prevalence of depression increases in adolescence, especially
among girls. Leading causes of death among adolescents include motor
vehicle accidents and suicide.

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1. The _________have been called a time of adolescent rebellion.
2. An important influence in adolescence is the ______ group.
3. _________refers to a wide range of variable identitiesthat may be
neither fully male nor fully female.
4. A ___________lifestyle may result in increased risk of obesity and type
II diabetes.
5. Sleep deprivation among adolescents has been called a __________.
KEY TERMS

Authoritative parenting Economic Stress

Cyber bullying

Midadolescence Suicidality Sleep

deprivation
Obesity Depression

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Teenage years
2. Peer
3. Gender queer
4. Sedentary
5. Epidemic
GLOSSARY
Cliques: structured groups of friends who do things together.

Prudential Issues: behavior related to health and safety such as

smoking, drinking and drug use.
Psychological autonomy: the right to one‘s own thoughts and feelings.
Transgender: A term that refers to individuals whose biological sex at
birth and gender identity is not the same.
Transsexual: Those people who seek medical assistance to
permanently transition to their preferred gender.

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MODEL QUESTIONS

1) Elaborate adolescent rebellion.

2) Describe the adolescent relationship with parents.
3) Portray the peer relationship in adolescence.
4) Describe the development of sexual identity in adolescent.
5) Enlist the teenage problems.

SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Developmental Psychology – A Life Span
Approach,
Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Co. Ltd, New Delhi.
2. Zubek J.P. and Solberg, P.A., Human Development, New York,
McGraw Hill
Book Co. Ltd., 1954.
3. Papalia, Diane E and Old, Human Development V Ed 1992, Tata
McGraw
HillPublishing Co., Ltd.

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BLOCK–IV: SOCIAL ISSUES IN ADULTHOOD

UNIT: 10 PERSONALITIES AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN ADULTHOOD

UNIT: 11 CAREER PLANNING AND INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS

UNIT: 12 WORK LIFE, PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP IN FAMILY AND

WORK LIFE

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UNIT: 10

PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN ADULTHOOD

STRUCTURE

Overview
Learning objectives
10.1. Personality in Adulthood

10.1.1 Change at Midlife: Theoretical Approaches

10.1.2 Trait Models
10.1.3 Normative-Stage Models

10.1.4 The Self at Midlife

10.1.5 Identity Development
10.2. Social Issues in Adulthood
10.2.1 Relationships, Gender and Quality Of Life
10.3. Parenthood
10.3.1 Parenthood as a developmental experience
10.3.2 Parenting Grown Children
10.3.3 Adolescent Children: Issues for Parents
10.3.4 The Empty Nest

10.3.5 Prolonged Parenting

10.3.6 Men‘s and women‘s involvement in parenthood
10.3.7 Parenthood and marital satisfaction

Let us sump up
Check your progress
Key words

Answers to check your progress

Glossary
Model questions

Suggested readings

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OVERVIEW

Personality is a continuously growing variable in human

development. A major change in personality development occurred in
adolescence by way of identity formation. This continues in early
adulthood and there are some other changes in this period. In addition to
personality changes there are some social relationship dimensions that
change during adulthood. Parenthood is one of the things to be
experienced in adulthood. In this chapter we look into these aspects of
development.
10.1 PEERSONALITY IN ADULTHOOD

In adulthood period personality development takes place and its

development involves several dimensions of personality. Much depends
on ego development: a combination of ability to understand oneself and
one‘s world, to integrate and synthesize what one perceives and knows,
and to take charge of planning one‘s life course. Some emerging adults
have more highly developed egos than others and are therefore more
ready to learning to stand alone.
10.1.1 Change at Midlife: Theoretical Approaches

In psychosocial terms, middle adulthood once was considered a

relatively settled period. Freud saw no point in psychotherapy for people
over 50 because he believed personality is permanently formed by that
age. In contrast, humanistic theorists such as Abraham Maslow and Carl
Rogers looked on middle age as an opportunity for positive change.
According to Maslow, the full realization of human potential, which he
called self-actualization, can come only with maturity. Rogers held that
full human functioning requires a constant, lifelong process of bringing
the self in harmony with experience. Longitudinal studies show that
psychosocial development involves both stability and change. Several
theorists have sought to answer that questions pertaining to types of
changes occur and the factors bring them about. We discuss in the
following section some of the theories explaining personality
development during adulthood.
10.1.2Trait Models

Costa and McCrae‘s trait research which originally claimed

continuity or consistency of personality after age 30 in the Big Five trait
groupings-neuroticism (anxiety, hostility, instability), extraversion,
openness to experience, conscientiousness, and agreeableness-has
now acknowledged slower change during the middle and older years as
well. Other investigators testing a similar trait structure have found more

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significant positive change during those years. In middle age,
conscientiousness, for example, tends to show remarkable gains
apparently attendant on work experience, while emotional stability
continues the steady upward climb begun in young adulthood. People
tend to become more socially mature-confident, warm, responsible, and
calm-as they move through the prime of life, and maturity in turn enables
them to be more productive contributor sat work and to society and to
lead longer and healthier lives. Individual differences based on
experience often occur; for example, men who remarry in middle age
tend to become less neurotic.
10.1.3 Normative-Stage Models

Two early normative-stage theorists whose work continues to

provide a frame of reference for much developmental theory and
research on middle adulthood are Carl G. Jung and Erik Erikson.
Carl G. Jung: Individuation and Transcendence

The Swiss psychologist Carl Jung held that healthy midlife

development calls for individuation, the emergence of the true self
through balancing or integrating conflicting parts of the personality,
including those parts that previously have been neglected. Until about
age 40 adults concentrate on obligations to family and society and
develop aspects of personality that will help them reach external goals.
Women emphasize expressiveness and nurturance; men are primarily
oriented toward achievement. At midlife, people shift their preoccupation
to their inner, spiritual, selves. Both men and women seek a union of
opposites by expressing their previously disowned aspects. Two
necessary but difficult tasks of midlife are giving up the image of youth
and acknowledging mortality. The need to acknowledge mortality
requires a search for meaning within the self. This inward turn may be
unsettling; as people question their commitments, they may temporarily
lose their moorings. Yet, people who avoid this transition and do not
reorient their lives appropriately miss the chance for psychological
growth.
Erik Erikson: Generatively versus Stagnation

In contrast to Jung, who saw midlife as a time of turning inward,

Erikson described an outward turn. Erikson saw the years around age
40 as the time when people enter their seventh normative stage,
generatively versus stagnation. Generatively, as Erikson defined it, is the
concern of mature adults for establishing and guiding the next
generation, perpetuating oneself through one‘s influence on those to

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follow. People who do not find an outlet for generatively, become self-
absorbed, self-indulgent or stagnant (inactive or lifeless).The virtue of
this period is care: ―a widening commitment to take care of the persons,
the products, and the ideas one has learned to care for‖. Inner desires
for symbolic immortality, or a need to be needed, combine with external
demands (increased expectations and responsibilities) to producea
conscious concern for the next generation. This concern, together with
what Erikson called ―belief in the species, ―leads to generative
commitments and actions. Generatively tends to be associated with
prosocial behavior.
Generativity, Age, and Gender

Generativity, according to Erikson, is ―a sign of both

psychological maturity and psychological health. It typically emerges
during midlife because the demands of work and family during this
period call for generative responses. Highly generative parents tend to
be more involved in their children‘s schooling than those who are less
generative and tend to have authoritative parenting styles. Using such
techniques as behavioral checklists and self-reports,researchers have
found that middle-aged people do tend to score higher on generativity
than younger and older ones. However, generativity is not limited to
middleage. The age at which individuals achieve generativity varies, as
does its strength at any particular time. Furthermore, some people are
more generative than others. Women typically report higher levels of
generativity than men, but this difference fades in late adulthood.
Forms of Generativity
As the central challenge of the middle years, generativity can be
expressed, not only through parenting and grand parenting, but
alsothrough teaching or mentorship, productivity or creativity, and self-
generation,or self-development. It can extend to the world of work, to
politics, to religion, to hobbies, to art, music, and other spheres-or to, as
Erikson called it, ―maintenanceof the world‖.Volunteering for community
service or a political cause is an expression ofgenerativity. Relief from
primary family and work responsibilitiesmay free middle-aged and older
adults to express generativity on abroader scale.Generativity, then, may
derive from involvement in multiple roles. Such involvement has been
linked to well-being and satisfaction both in midlife and in later life,
perhaps through the sense of having contributed meaningfully to society.
Again, however, because these findings are correlational, we cannot be
sure that generativity causes well-being; it may be that people who are
happy with their lives are more likely to be. At midlife there comes a

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tendency for men to become more nurturing and expressive. Likewise
men at midlife became less obsessed with personal achievement and
more concerned with relationships; and they show generatively by
becoming mentors to younger people.
In the forties, many of the men abandoned the compulsive,
unreflective busywork of their occupational apprenticeships and once
more become explorers of the world within. For men, the transition to
middle adulthood is stressful enough to be considered a crisis. In their
fifties, the best-adjusted men were the most generative, as measured by
their responsibility for other people at work, their gifts to charity, and the
accomplishments of their children.
Timing of Events: The Social Clock

According to the timing-of-events model introduced, adult

personality development hinges less on age than on important life
events. Middle age often brings a restructuring of social roles: launching
children, becoming grandparents, changing jobs or careers, and
eventually, retirement. The occurrence and timing of such major events
were fairly predictable. Today, lifestyles are more diverse, and the
boundaries of middle adulthood have blurred, erasing the old definitions
of the ‗social clock‘. When occupational patterns were more stable and
retirement at age is almost universal, the meaning of work at midlife for
both men and women may have been different from its current meaning
in a period of frequent job changes, downsizing, and early or delayed
retirement.
When women‘s lives revolved around bearing and rearing
children, the end of the reproductive years meant something different
from what it means now, when so many middle-aged women have
entered the workforce. When people died earlier, middle-aged survivors
felt old, realizing that they too were nearing the end of their lives. Many
middle-aged people now find themselves busier and more involved than
ever-some still raising young children while others redefine their roles as
parents to adolescents and young adults and often as caregivers to
aging parents. Yet despite the multiple challenges and variable events of
midlife, most middle-aged adults seem well able to handle them.
10.1.4The Self at Midlife

Many people feel and observe personality change occurring at

midlife. Whether we look at middle-aged people objectively, in terms of
their outward behavior, or subjectively, in terms of how they describe
themselves, certain issues and themes emerge. Changes in personality

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and lifestyle during the early to middle forties are often attributed to the
midlife crisis, a supposedly stressful period triggered by review and
reevaluation of one‘s life. The midlife crisis was conceptualized as a
crisis of identity. Indeed, it has been called a second adolescence. What
brings it on is awareness of mortality. Many people now realize that they
will not be able to fulfill the dreams of their youth, or that fulfillment of
their dreams has not brought the satisfaction they expected. They know
that if they want to change direction, they must act quickly. Midlife
turmoil is inevitable as people struggle with the need to restructure their
lives.Some middle-aged people may experience crisis or turmoil, but
others feel at the peak of their powers. Still others may fall somewhere in
between-with neither a peak nor a crisis-or may experience both crisis
and competence at different times or in different domains of life.
The onset of middle age may be stressful, but no more so than
some events of young adulthood. Indeed, some researchers have
proposed the occurrence of a quarter life crisis in the mid-twenties to
early thirties, as emerging adults seek to settle into satisfying work and
relationships. Apparently, midlife is just one of life‘s turning points-
psychological transitions that involve significant change or
transformation in the perceived meaning, purpose, or direction of a
person‘s life. Turning points may be triggered by major life events,
normative changes, or a new understanding of past experience, either
positive or negative, and they may be stressful. However, many
individuals experience positive growth from successful resolution of
stressful situations.
Turning points often involve an introspective review and
reappraisal of values and priorities. The midlife review can be a time of
stocktaking, yielding new insights into the self and spurring midcourse
corrections in the design and trajectory of one‘s life. Along with
recognition of the finiteness of life, a midlife review may bring regret over
failure to achieve a dream or keener awareness of developmental
deadlines -time constraints on, say, the ability to have a child or to make
up with an estranged friend or family member. Whether a turning point
becomes a crisis may depend less on age than on individual
circumstances and personal resources. People high in neuroticism are
more likely to experience midlife crises. People with ego-resiliency-the
ability to adapt flexibly and resourcefully to potential sources of stress-
and those who have a sense of mastery and control are more likely to
navigate the midlife crossing successfully. For people with resilient
personalities, even negative events, such as an unwanted divorce, can
become springboards for positive growth.

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10.1.5Identity Development

Although Erikson defined identity formation as the main concern

of adolescence, he noted that identity continues to develop. Indeed, the
process of identity formation is the central issue of adulthood. Most
middle-aged adults have a well-developed sense of self and can cope
well with change.
In middle age identity is made up of accumulated perceptions of
the self. Perceived physical characteristics, cognitive abilities, and
personality traits are incorporated into identity schemas. These self-
perceptions are continually confirmed or revised in response to incoming
information, which can come from intimate relationships, work-related
situations, community activities, and other experiences.

People interpret their interactions with the environment by means

of two processes, identity assimilation and identity accommodation.
Identity assimilation is an attempt to hold on to a consistent sense of self
in the face of new experiences that do not fit an existing schema; identity
accommodation is adjustment of the schema to fit new experiences.
Identity assimilation tends to maintain continuity of the self; identity
accommodation tends to bring about needed change. Overuse of either
assimilation or accommodation is unhealthy. People who constantly
assimilate are inflexible and do not learn from experience. People who
constantly accommodate are weak and highly vulnerable to criticism;
their identity is easily undermined. Most healthy is identity balance,
which enables a person to maintain a stable sense of self while adjusting
the self-schemas to incorporate new information, such as the effects of
aging.
People deal with physical, mental, and emotional changes
associated with the onset of aging much as they deal with other
experiences that challenge theidentity schema. People who overuse
assimilation may seek, perhaps unrealistically, to maintain a youthful
self-image and ignore what is going on in their bodies. This process of
denial may make it harder for them to confront the reality of aging when
it can no longer be ignored. People who are overly accommodative may
overreact to early signs of aging, such as the first gray hair. They may
feel hopeless, and pessimism may hasten their physical and cognitive
declines.

People who use identity balance can recognize the changes that
are occurring and respond flexibly; they seek to control what can be
controlled and accept what cannot stronger, more stable identity enables
them to resist negative self-stereotyping, seek help when needed, and

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face the future without panic or undue anxiety. Midlife adults are more
likely to accommodate and less likely to assimilate to age-related
changes than are older adults. However, cohort influences the way
people respond to signs of aging. The baby boom generations, now in
middle age, have set high standards for youthfulness and beauty and
may be overly alarmed by the changes they see in their bodies that are
beyond their control. Gender also makes a difference. Middle-aged
women are more likely than men that age to use identity
accommodation, whereas men are more likely to use identity
assimilation.
10.2 SOCIAL ISSUES IN ADULTHOOD

According to social convoy theory, people move through life

surrounded by social convoys: circles of close friends and family
members of varying degrees of closeness, on whom they can rely for
assistance, well-being, and social support, and to whom they in turn also
offer care, concern, and support. Characteristics of the person (gender,
race, religion, age, education, and marital status)together with
characteristics of that person‘s situation (role expectations, life events,
financial stress, daily hassles, demands, and resources) influence the
size and composition of the convoy, or support network; the amount and
kinds of social support a person receives; and the satisfaction derived
from this support. All of these factors contribute to health and well-being.
Generally, the size of the social network peaks in young
adulthood and declines thereafter. The declines in size are primarily
seen in friendship networks; the size of the family network remains
relatively stable over time. This decline in friendship networks is due to
changing circumstances (e.g., the increase in time demands of work and
family life) or motivational goals (e.g., staying most close to people who
help us regulate emotions). Other relationships, such as those with
coworkers or neighbors, tend to be important during particular times. For
example, when changing jobs or moving, people in the social network
may drop out or new people may be included. Late in adulthood, if family
demands decline, women are more likely than men to add new social
network members.

Socio emotional selectivity theory assumes we select our friends

based on their ability to meet our goals. Social interaction has three
main goals: (1) it is a source of information ;(2) it helps people develop
and maintain a sense of self; and (3) it isa source of emotional well-
being. In infancy, the third goal, the need for emotional support, is

117
paramount. From childhood through young adulthood, information-
seeking comes to the fore. By middle age, although information-seeking
remains important, the original, emotion-regulating function of social
contacts begins to reassert itself. In other words, middle-aged people
increasingly seek out others who make them feel good. For instance,
although their social networks are smaller than those of younger adults,
older adults describe their social network members more positively and
less negatively. In other words, older adults chose to limit their
interactions to those people whom they find to be emotionally fulfilling
and supportive.
10.2.1 Relationships, Gender and Quality of Life

For most middle-aged adults, relationships are key to well-being.

For example, social support from spouses, and to a lesser extent from
children and friends, is related to well-being in older adults and social
support is related to life satisfaction at all ages. Having a partner and
being in good health were the biggest factors in well-being for women in
their fifties. Being single, divorced, or widowed, however, was
associated with depression, loneliness, and decreases in happiness.
Having a tense relationship with a spouse, mother, or sibling, is also
associated with a risk of depression, especially for women. However,
relationships can also present stressful demands, which tend to fall most
heavily on women. A sense of responsibility and concern for others may
impair a woman‘s well-being when problems or misfortunes beset
others; men are less likely to be affected in this way. Thus, men tend to
benefit more from relationships than women do. Their greater concern
for the welfare of others may help explain why middle-aged women tend
to be unhappier with their marriages than are men.
10.3 PARENTHOOD
People in industrial societies typically have fewer children today
than in earlier generations, and they start having them later in life, in
many cases because they spend their emerging adult years getting an
education and establishing a career. The percentage of women who give
birth for the first time in their late thirties and even in their forties and
fifties has increased dramatically, often with the help offertility
treatments. The aging of the population as well as delays in marriage
and childbearing may be due to couples‘s choice to remain childless.
Some see marriage primarily asa way to enhance their intimacy, not as
an institution dedicated to the bearingand raising of children. Others may
be discouraged by the financial burdens of parenthood and the difficulty

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of combining parenthood with employment. Better child care and other
support services might help couples make truly voluntary decisions.
10.3.1 Parenthoodas a Developmental Experience

A first baby marks a major transition in parents‘ lives. This totally

dependent newsperson changes a man and woman and changes their
relationship. As children develop, parents do, too. Along with feeling
excitement, wonder, and awe, most new parents experience some
anxiety about the responsibility of caring for a child, the commitment of
time and energy it entails, and the feeling of permanence that
parenthood imposes on a marriage. Pregnancy and the recovery from
childbirth can affect a couple‘s relationship, sometimes increasing
intimacy and sometimes creating barriers.
10.3.2Parenting Grown Children

Even after the years of active parenting are over and children
have left home for good, parents are still parents. The midlife role of
parent to young adults raises new issues and calls for new attitudes and
behaviors on the part of both generations. Middle-aged parents
generally give their children more help and support than they get from
them as the young adults establish careers and families. Parents give
the most help to children who need it most, typically those who are
single or are single parents. At thecae time, adult children‘s problems
reduce their parents‘ well-being. Some parents have difficulty treating
their offspring as adults, and many young adults have difficulty accepting
their parents‘ continuing concern about them. In a warm, supportive
family environment, such conflicts can bemanaged by an open airing of
feelings. Most young adults and their middle-aged parents enjoy each
other‘s company and get along well. However, intergenerational families
do not all fit one mold. Adult children tend to be closer to their mothers
than to their fathers.
10.3.3Adolescent Children: Issues for Parents

Ironically, the people at the two times of life popularly linked with
emotional crises-adolescence and midlife-often live in the same
household. It is usually middle-aged adults who are the parents of
adolescent children. While dealing with their own special concerns,
parents have to cope daily with young people who are undergoing great
physical, emotional, and social changes. Although research contradicts
the stereotype of adolescence as a time of inevitable turmoil and
rebellion, some rejection of parental authority is necessary. An important

119
task for parents is to accept maturing children as they are, not as what
the parents had hoped they would be.
Theorists from a variety of perspectives have described this
period as one of questioning, reappraisal, or diminished well-being for
parents. However, this too is not inevitable. Being a parent is associated
with more psychological distress than being child-free but also brings
greater psychological wellness and generativity, especially to men. For
some parents, especially white-collar and professional men with sons, a
child‘s adolescence bring increased satisfaction, well-being, and even
pride. For most parents, the normative changes of adolescence elicit a
mixture of positive and negative emotions. This is particularly true of
mothers with early adolescent daughters, whose relationships tend to be
both close and conflict-filled. Parents tend to compensate for lack of
acceptance and warmth in mother-son and father-daughter relationships
by increasing their emotional involvement with work and, in the case of
fathers, spending more time there.
10.3.4The Empty Nest

The empty nest is a supposedly difficult transition, especially for

women that occur when the youngest child leaves home. Although some
women, heavily invested in mothering, do have problems in adjusting to
the empty nest, they are far outnumbered by those who find the
departure liberating. For some women, the empty nest may bring relief
from chronic emergency of parenthood. They can pursue their own
interests as they bask in their grown children‘s accomplishments. Today,
the refilling of the nest by grown children returning home may be far
more stressful. The effects of the empty nest on a marriage depend on
its quality and length. In a good marriage, the departure of grown
children may usher in a second honeymoon. The empty nest may be
harder on couples whose identity is dependent on the parental role, or
who now must face marital problems they had previously pushed aside
under the press of parental responsibilities. The empty nest does not
signal the end of parenthood. It is a transition to a new stage: the
relationship between parents and adult children.
10.3.5 Prolonged Parenting

Since the 1980s, more and more adult children have delayed
leaving home until the late twenties or beyond-a phenomenon called
failure to launch. Furthermore, therevolving door syndrome, sometimes
called the boomerang phenomenon, has become more common:
Increasing numbers of young adults, especially men, return to their
parents‘ home, sometimes more than once, and sometimes with their

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own families. Prolonged parenting may lead to intergenerational tension
when it contradicts parents‘ normative expectations. As children move
from adolescence to young adulthood, parents typically expect them to
become independent, and children expect to do so. An adult child‘s
autonomy is a sign of parental success.
As the timing-of-events model would predict, then, a grown
child‘s delayed departure from the nest or return to it may produce family
stress. Parents and adult children tend to get along best when the young
adults are employed and living on their own. When adult children live
with parents, relations tend to be smoother when the parents see the
adult child moving toward autonomy. However, the non-normative
experience of parent-child co residence is becoming less so, especially
for parents with more than one child. Rather than an abrupt leave-taking,
the empty nest transition is coming to be seen as a more prolonged
process of separation, often lasting several years. Co residence with
adult children may be seen as an expression of family solidarity, an
extension of the normative expectation of assistance from parents to
young adult children. The presence of adult children seems to have no
effect on the parents ‗marital happiness, on the amount of marital
conflict, or on the amount of time couples had with each other.
10.3.6Men’s and Women’s Involvement in Parenthood

Most women‘s expectations about parenthood and its influence

on their well-being are matched or exceeded by their experience. When
the parenting experience did not meet expectations, women tended to
show signs of depression and a poorer adjustment to parenthood. Even
though most mothers now work outside the home, women spend more
time on child care. Married mothers spent more hours in a week on child
care than single parent and single mothers. Many people delay
parenting until a time when they want to spend time with their children.
Families are smaller and parents tend to have more financial resources
to invest in their children. Also, social norms have changed; today‘s
parents feel more pressure to invest time and energy in child rearing.
And they feel a need to keep a closer eye on their children because of
concerns about crime, violence and other negative influences.
Fathers today are more involved in their children‘s lives and in
child care and housework than ever before. Nonetheless, most fathers
are not as involved as mothers are. The time fathers spend with children
is more nearly equal to mothers‘ on weekends and increases as children
get older. Besides time spent in direct child care, fatherhood may
change other aspects of men‘s lives. Fathers living with their dependent

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children were less involved in their own outside social activities than
those whoa no children but were more likely to be engaged in school-
related activities, church groups, and community service organizations.
The most involved fathers are more satisfied with their lives.
10.3.7Parenthood and Marital Satisfaction

Marital satis faction typically declines during the child-raising

years. Parents report lower marital satisfaction than nonparents do, and
the more children, the less satisfied parents are with their marriage. The
difference is most striking among mothers of infants probably due to
restriction on mothers‘ freedom and the need to adjust to a new role.
Young couples who have babies report a small but steady decline in
marital satisfaction, while couples who remain childless do not.

The Swiss psychologist Carl Jung held that healthy midlife

development calls for individuation, the emergence of the true self
through balancing or integrating conflicting parts of the personality,
including those parts that previously have been neglected. Until about
age 40 adults concentrate on obligations to family and society and
develop aspects of personality that will help them reach external goals.
Women emphasize expressiveness and nurturance; men are primarily
oriented toward achievement. At midlife, people shift their preoccupation
to their inner, spiritual, selves. Both men and women seek a union of
opposites by expressing their previously disowned aspects. Two
necessary but difficult tasks of midlife are giving up the image of youth
and acknowledging mortality. The need to acknowledge mortality
requires a search for meaning within the self. This inward turn may be
unsettling; as people question their commitments, they may temporarily
lose their moorings. Yet, people who avoid this transition and do not
reorient their lives appropriately miss the chance for psychological
growth.
Erik Erikson: Generativity versus Stagnation

In contrast to Jung, who saw midlife as a time of turning inward,

Erikson described an outward turn. Erikson saw the years around age
40 as the time when people enter their seventh normative stage,
generativity versus stagnation. Generativity,as Erikson defined it, is the
concern of mature adults for establishing and guiding the next
generation, perpetuating oneself through one‘s influence on those to
follow. People who do not find an outlet for generativity, become self-
absorbed, self-indulgent or stagnant (inactive or lifeless).The virtue of
this period is care: ―a widening commitment to take care of the persons,
the products, and the ideas one has learned to care for‖. Inner desires

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for symbolic immortality, or a need to be needed, combine with external
demands(increased expectations and responsibilities) to producea
conscious concern for the next generation. This concern, together with
what Erikson called ―belief in the species, ―leads to generative
commitments and actions. Generativity tends to be associated with
prosocial behavior.
Generativity, Age, and Gender

Generativity, according to Erikson, is ―a sign of both

psychological maturity and psychological health. It typically emerges
during midlife because the demands of work and family during this
period call for generative responses. Highly generative parents tend to
be more involved in their children‘s schooling than those who are less
generative and tend to have authoritative parenting styles. Using such
techniques as behavioral checklists and self-reports, researchers have
found that middle-aged people do tend to score higher on generativity
than younger and older ones. However, generativity is not limited to
middleage. The age at which individuals achieve generativity varies, as
does its strength atany particular time. Furthermore, some people are
more generative than others. Women typically report higher levels of
generativitythan men, but this difference fades in late adulthood.
Forms of Generativity

As the central challenge of the middle years, generativity can be

expressed, not only through parenting and grand parenting, but also
through teaching or mentorship, productivity or creativity, and self-
generation, or self-development. It can extend to the world of work, to
politics, to religion, to hobbies, to art, music, and other spheres-or to, as
Erikson called it, ―maintenance of the world‖. Volunteering for community
service or a political cause is an expression of generativity. Relief from
primary family and work responsibilities may free middle-aged and older
adults to express generatively on abrader scale. Generativity, then, may
derive from involvement in multiple roles. Such involvement has been
linked to well-being and satisfaction both in midlife and in later life,
perhaps through the sense of having contributed meaningfully to society.
Again, however, because these findings are correlational,we cannot be
sure that generativity causes well-being; it may be that people who are
happy with their lives are more likely to be. At midlife there comes a
tendency for men to become more nurturing and expressive. Likewise
men at midlife became less obsessed with personal achievement any
more concerned with relationships; and they show generativity by
becoming mentors to younger people.

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 In the forties, many of the men abandoned the compulsive,
unreflective busywork of their occupational apprenticeships and once
more become explorers of the world within. For men, the transition to
middle adulthood is stressful enough to be considered a crisis. In their
fifties, the best-adjusted men were the most generative, as measured by
their responsibility for other people at work, their gifts to charity, and the
accomplishments of their children.
Timing of Events: The Social Clock

According to the timing-of-events model introduced, adult

personality development hinges less on age than on important life
events. Middle age often brings a restructuring of social roles: launching
children, becoming grandparents, changing jobs or careers, and
eventually, retirement. The occurrence and timing of such major events
were fairly predictable. Today, lifestyles are more diverse, and the
boundaries of middle adulthood have blurred, erasing the old definitions
of the ‗social clock‘. When occupational patterns were more stable and
retirement at age is almost universal, the meaning of work at midlife for
both men and women may have been different from its current meaning
in a period of frequent job changes, downsizing, and early or delayed
retirement.
When women‘s lives revolved around bearing and rearing
children, the end of the reproductive years meant something different
from what it means now, when so many middle-aged women have
entered the workforce. When people died earlier, middle-aged survivors
felt old, realizing that they too were nearing the end of their lives. Many
middle-aged people now find themselves busier and more involved than
ever-some still raising young children while others redefine their roles as
parents to adolescents and young adults and often as caregivers to
aging parents. Yet despite the multiple challenges and variable events of
midlife, most middle-aged adults seem well able to handle them.
10.1.4The Self at Midlife

Many people feel and observe personality change occurring at

midlife. Whether we look at middle-aged people objectively, in terms of
their outward behavior, or subjectively, in terms of how they describe
themselves, certain issues and themes emerge. Changes in personality
and lifestyle during the early to middle forties are often attributed to the
midlife crisis, a supposedly stressful period triggered by review and
reevaluation of one‘s life. The midlife crisis was conceptualized as a
crisis of identity. Indeed, it has been called a second adolescence. What
brings it on is awareness of mortality. Many people now realize that they

124
will not be able to fulfill the dreams of their youth, or that fulfillment of
their dreams has not brought the satisfaction they expected. They know
that if they want to change direction, they must act quickly. Midlife
turmoil is inevitable as people struggle with the need to restructure their
lives. Some middle-aged people may experience crisis or turmoil, but
others feel at the peak of their powers. Still others may fall somewhere in
between-with neither a peak nor a crisis-or may experience both crisis
and competence at different times or in different domains of life.
The onset of middle age may be stressful, but no more so than
some events of young adulthood. Indeed, some researchers have
proposed the occurrence of a quarter life crisis in the mid-twenties to
early thirties, as emerging adults seek to settle into satisfying work and
relationships. Apparently, midlife is just one of life‘s turning points-
psychological transitions that involve significant change or
transformation in the perceived meaning, purpose, or direction of a
person‘s life. Turning points may be triggered by major life events,
normative changes, or a new understanding of past experience, either
positive or negative, and they may be stressful. However, many
individuals experience positive growth from successful resolution of
stressful situations.
Turning points often involve an introspective review and
reappraisal of values and priorities. The midlife review can be a time of
stocktaking, yielding new insights into the self and spurring midcourse
corrections in the design and trajectory of one‘s life. Along with
recognition of the finiteness of life, a midlife review may bring regret over
failure to achieve a dream or keener awareness of developmental
deadlines -time constraints on, say, the ability to have a child or to make
up with an estranged friend or family member. Whether a turning point
becomes a crisis may depend less on age than on individual
circumstances and personal resources. People high in neuroticism are
more likely to experience midlife crises. People with ego-resiliency-the
ability to adapt flexibly and resourcefully to potential sources of stress-
and those who have a sense of mastery and control are more likely to
navigate the midlife crossing successfully. For people with resilient
personalities, even negative events, such as an unwanted divorce, can
become springboards for positive growth.
10.1.5Identity Development

Although Erikson defined identity formation as the main concern

of adolescence, he noted that identity continues to develop. Indeed, the
process of identity formation is the central issue of adulthood. Most

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middle-aged adults have a well-developed sense of self and can cope
well with change.
In middle age identity is made up of accumulated perceptions of
the self. Perceived physical characteristics, cognitive abilities, and
personality traits are incorporated into identity schemas. These self-
perceptions are continually confirmed or revised in response to incoming
information, which can come from intimate relationships, work-related
situations, community activities, and other experiences.
People interpret their interactions with the environment by means
of two processes, identity assimilation and identity accommodation.
Identity assimilation is an attempt to hold on to a consistent sense of self
in the face of new experiences that do not fit an existing schema; identity
accommodation is adjustment of the schema to fit new experiences.
Identity assimilation tends to maintain continuity of the self; identity
accommodation tends to bring about needed change. Overuse of either
assimilation or accommodation is unhealthy. People who constantly
assimilate are inflexible and do not learn from experience. People who
constantly accommodate are weak and highly vulnerable to criticism;
their identity is easily undermined. Most healthy is identity balance,
which enables a person to maintain a stable sense of self while adjusting
the self-schemas to incorporate new information, such as the effects of
aging.
People deal with physical, mental, and emotional changes
associated with the onset of aging much as they deal with other
experiences that challenge the identity schema. People who overuse
assimilation may seek, perhaps unrealistically, to maintain a youthful
self-image and ignore what is going on in their bodies. This process of
denial may make it harder for them to confront the reality of aging when
it can no longer be ignored. People who are overly accommodative may
overreact to early signs of aging, such as the first gray hair. They may
feel hopeless, and pessimism may hasten their physical and cognitive
declines.
People who use identity balance can recognize the changes that
are occurring and respond flexibly; they seek to control what can be
controlled and accept what cannot stronger, more stable identity enables
them to resist negative self-stereotyping, seek help when needed, and
face the future without panic or undue anxiety. Midlife adults are more
likely to accommodate and less likely to assimilate to age-related
changes than are older adults. However, cohort influences the way
people respond to signs of aging. The baby boom generations, now in

126
middle age, have set high standards for youthfulness and beauty and
may be overly alarmed by the changes they see in their bodies that are
beyond their control. Gender also makes a difference. Middle-aged
women are more likely than men that age to use identity
accommodation, whereas men are more likely to use identity
assimilation.
10.2 SOCIAL ISSUES IN ADULTHOOD

According to social convoy theory, people move through life

surrounded by social convoys: circles of close friends and family
members of varying degrees of closeness, on whom they can rely for
assistance, well-being, and social support, and to whom they in turn also
offer care, concern, and support. Characteristics of the person (gender,
race, religion, age, education, and marital status)together with
characteristics of that person‘s situation (role expectations, life events,
financial stress, daily hassles, demands, and resources) influence the
size and composition of the convoy, or support network; the amount and
kinds of social support a person receives; and the satisfaction derived
from this support. All of these factors contribute to health and well-being.

Generally, the size of the social network peaks in young

adulthood and declines thereafter. The declines in size are primarily
seen in friendship networks; the size of the family network remains
relatively stable over time. This decline in friendship networks is due to
changing circumstances (e.g., the increase in time demands of work and
family life) or motivational goals (e.g., staying most close to people who
help us regulate emotions). Other relationships, such as those with
coworkers or neighbors, tend to be important during particular times. For
example, when changing jobs or moving, people in the social network
may drop out or new people may be included. Late in adulthood, if family
demands decline, women are more likely than men to add new social
network members.

Socio emotional selectivity theory assumes we select our friends

based on their ability to meet our goals. Social interaction has three
main goals: (1) it is a source of information;(2) it helps people develop
and maintain a sense of self; and (3) it is a source of emotional well-
being. In infancy, the third goal, the need for emotional support, is
paramount. From childhood through young adulthood, information-
seeking comes to the fore. By middle age, although information-seeking
remains important, the original, emotion-regulating function of social
contacts begins to reassert itself. In other words, middle-aged people
increasingly seek out others who make them feel good. For instance,

127
although their social networks are smaller than those of younger adults,
older adults describe their social network members more positively and
less negatively. In other words, older adults chose to limit their
interactions to those people whom they find to be emotionally fulfilling
and supportive.
10.2.1 Relationships, Gender and Quality of Life

For most middle-aged adults, relationships are key to well-being.

For example, social support from spouses, and to a lesser extent from
children and friends, is related to well-being in older adults and social
support is related to life satisfaction atall ages. Having a partner and
being in good health were the biggest factors in well-being for women in
their fifties. Being single, divorced, or widowed, however, was
associated with depression, loneliness, and decreases in happiness.
Having a tense relationship with a spouse, mother, or sibling, is also
associated with a risk of depression, especially for women. However,
relationships can also present stressful demands, which tend to fall most
heavily on women. A sense of responsibility and concern for others may
impair a woman‘s well-being when problems or misfortunes beset
others; men are less likely to be affected in this way. Thus, men tend to
benefit more from relationships than women do. Their greater concern
for the welfare of others may help explain why middle-aged women tend
to be unhappier with their marriages than are men.
10.3 PARENTHOOD
People in industrial societies typically have fewer children today
than in earlier generations, and they start having them later in life, in
many cases because they spend their emerging adult years getting an
education and establishing a career. The percentage of women who give
birth for the first time in their late thirties and even in their forties and
fifties has increased dramatically, often with the help of fertility
treatments. The aging of the population as well as delays in marriage
and childbearing may be due to couples‘ choice to remain childless.
Some see marriage primarily as a way to enhance their intimacy, not as
an institution dedicated to the bearing and raising of children. Others
may be discouraged by the financial burdens of parenthood and the
difficulty of combining parenthood with employment. Better child care
and other support services might help couples make truly voluntary
decisions.

128
10.3.1 Parenthoods a Developmental Experience

A first baby marks a major transition in parents‘ lives. This totally

dependent newsperson changes a man and woman and changes their
relationship. As children develop, parents do, too. Along with feeling
excitement, wonder, and awe, most new parents experience some
anxiety about the responsibility of caring for a child, the commitment of
time and energy it entails, and the feeling of permanence that
parenthood imposes on a marriage. Pregnancy and the recovery from
childbirth can affect a couple‘s relationship, sometimes increasing
intimacy and sometimes creating barriers.
10.3.2Parenting Grown Children

Even after the years of active parenting are over and children
have left home for good, parents are still parents. The midlife role of
parent to young adults raises new issues and calls for new attitudes and
behaviors on the part of both generations. Middle-aged parents
generally give their children more help and support than they get from
them as the young adults establish careers and families. Parents give
the most help to children who need it most, typically those who are
single or are single parents. At the same time, adult children‘s problems
reduce their parents‘ well-being. Some parents have difficulty treating
their offspring as adults, and many young adults have difficulty accepting
their parents‘ continuing concern about them. In a warm, supportive
family environment, such conflicts can be managed by an open airing of
feelings. Most young adults and their middle-aged parents enjoy each
other‘s company and get along well. However, intergenerational families
do not all fit one mold. Adult children tend to be closer to their mothers
than to their fathers.
10.3.3Adolescent Children: Issues for Parents
Ironically, the people at the two times of life popularly linked with
emotional crises-adolescence and midlife-often live in the same
household. It is usually middle-aged adults who are the parents of
adolescent children. While dealing with their own special concerns,
parents have to cope daily with young people who are undergoing great
physical, emotional, and social changes. Although research contradicts
the stereotype of adolescence as a time of inevitable turmoil and
rebellion, some rejection of parental authority is necessary. An important
task for parents is to accept maturing children as they are, not as what
the parents had hoped they would be.

129
 Theorists from a variety of perspectives have described this
period as one of questioning, reappraisal, or diminished well-being for
parents. However, this too is not inevitable. Being a parent is associated
with more psychological distress than being child-free but also brings
greater psychological wellness and generativity, especially to men. For
some parents, especially white-collar and professional men with sons, a
child‘s adolescence bring increased satisfaction, well-being, and even
pride. For most parents, the normative changes of adolescence elicit a
mixture of positive and negative emotions. This is particularly true of
mothers with early adolescent daughters, whose relationships tend to be
both close and conflict-filled. Parents tend to compensate for lack of
acceptance and warmth in mother-son and father-daughter relationships
by increasing their emotional involvement with work and, in the case of
fathers, spending more time there.
10.3.4The Empty Nest

The empty nest is a supposedly difficult transition, especially for

women that occur when the youngest child leaves home. Although some
women, heavily invested in mothering, do have problems in adjusting to
the empty nest, they are far outnumbered by those who find the
departure liberating. For some women, the empty nest may bring relief
from chronic emergency of parenthood. They can pursue their own
interests as they bask in their grown children‘s accomplishments. Today,
the refilling of the nest by grown children returning home may be far
more stressful. The effects of the empty nest on a marriage depend on
its quality and length. In a good marriage, the departure of grown
children may usher in a second honeymoon. The empty nest may be
harder on couples whose identity is dependent on the parental role, or
who now must face marital problems they had previously pushed aside
under the press of parental responsibilities. The empty nest does not
signal the end of parenthood. It is a transition to a new stage: the
relationship between parents and adult children.
10.3.5 Prolonged Parenting

Since the 1980s, more and more adult children have delayed
leaving home until the late twenties or beyond-a phenomenon called
failure to launch. Furthermore, the revolving door syndrome, sometimes
called the boomerang phenomenon, has become more common:
Increasing numbers of young adults, especially men, return to their
parents‘ home, sometimes more than once, and sometimes with their
own families. Prolonged parenting may lead to intergenerational tension
when it contradicts parents‘ normative expectations. As children move

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from adolescence to young adulthood, parents typically expect them to
become independent, and children expect to do so. An adult child‘s
autonomy is a sign of parental success.
As the timing-of-events model would predict, then, a grown
child‘s delayed departure from the nest or return to it may produce family
stress. Parents and adult children tend to get along best when the young
adults are employed and living on their own. When adult children live
with parents, relations tend to be smoother when the parents see the
adult child moving toward autonomy. However, the non-normative
experience of parent-child co residence is becoming less so, especially
for parents with more than one child. Rather than an abrupt leave-taking,
the empty nest transition is coming to be seen as a more prolonged
process of separation, often lasting several years. Co residence with
adult children may be seen as an expression of family solidarity, an
extension of the normative expectation of assistance from parents to
young adult children. The presence of adult children seems to have no
effect on the parents ‗marital happiness, on the amount of marital
conflict, or on the amount of time couples had with each other.
10.3.6Men’s and Women’s Involvement in Parenthood
Most women‘s expectations about parenthood and its influence
on their well-being are matched or exceeded by their experience. When
the parenting experience did not meet expectations, women tended to
show signs of depression and a poorer adjustment to parenthood. Even
though most mothers now work outside the home, women spend more
time on child care. Married mothers spent more hours in a week on child
care than single parent and single mothers. Many people delay
parenting until a time when they want to spend time with their children.
Families are smaller and parents tend to have more financial resources
to invest in their children. Also, social norms have changed; today‘s
parents feel more pressure to invest time and energy in child rearing.
And they feel a need to keep a closer eye on their children because of
concerns about crime, violence and other negative influences.
Fathers today are more involved in their children‘s lives and in
child care andhousework than ever before. Nonetheless, most fathers
are not as involved as mothers are. The time fathers spend with children
is more nearly equal to mothers‘ on weekends and increases as children
get older. Besides time spent in direct child care, fatherhood may
change other aspects of men‘s lives. Fathers living with their dependent
children were less involved in their own outside social activities than
those who had no children but were more likely to be engaged in school-

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related activities, church groups, and community service organizations.
The most involved fathers are more satisfied with their lives.
10.3.7Parenthood and Marital Satisfaction

Marital satis faction typically declines during the child-raising

years. Parents report lower marital satisfaction than nonparents do, and
the more children, the less satisfied parents are with their marriage. The
difference is most striking among mothers of infants probably due to
restriction on mothers‘ freedom and the need to adjust to a new role.
Young couples who have babies report a small but steady decline in
marital satisfaction, while couples who remain childless do not.

New parents are likely to experience stressors, which may affect

their health and state of mind. They may feel isolated and lose sight of
the fact that other parents are going through similar problems. The
division of household tasks between the man and the woman can
become an issue, for example, if the woman was working outside the
home before becoming mother, are now staying home, and the burden
of housework and child care falls mostly on her. Something as simple as
a baby‘s crying, which keeps the parents up at night, can lessen marital
satisfaction during the first year of parenthood.
Parents who participate in professionally led couples discussion
groups about parenting issues and relationships, beginning in the last
trimester of pregnancy, report significantly smaller declines in
satisfaction. Such discussions can help new parents take stock of the
way the changes in their lives are affecting their relationships with each
other and with their babies and can encourage them to search frothier
own solutions.
LET US SUMP UP
Emerging adulthood is often a time of experimentation before
assuming adult roles and responsibilities. Identity development in
emerging adulthood may take the form of reentering, the gradual
development of a stable adult identity. Four theoretical perspectives on
adult personality development are normative-stage models, the timing-of
events model, trait models, and typological models. Today women in
industrialized societies are having fewer children and having them later
in life, and an increasing number choose to remain childless. Fathers
are usually less involved in child raising than mothers, but more so than
in previous generations. Marital satisfaction typically declines during the
childbearing years.

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CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1) In adulthood personality development much depends on
___________.
2) The major concept Self Actualization was proposed by
____________.
3) Big Five trait groupings were proposed by ________________.
4) Children delayed leaving home until the late twenties or
beyond is called ____________.
5) Marital satisfaction typically ________ during the child-raising
years.
KEY WORDS

Normative-stage models Social clock Five-factor

model
Empty nest Parenthood Quality of
Life
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
 ego development
 Abraham Maslow
 Costa and McCrae
 failure to launch
 declines
GLOSSARY
Empty nest: Transitional phase of parenting following the last child‘s
leaving the parents‘ home.
Generativity: According toErikson, is ―a sign of both psychological
maturity andpsychological health.
Identity schemas: Perceived physical characteristics, cognitiveabilities,
and personality traits.
Individuation: the emergence of the true self through balancing or
integratingconflicting parts of the personality.
Social convoys:circles of close friends and family members of varying
degrees of closeness.
Socio-emotional selectivity theory:A theory stating that we select
ourfriends based on their ability to meet our goals.

133
MODEL QUESTIONS

1) Describe the nature of personality development in adulthood.

2) Bring out the social issues in adulthood.
3) Write a short note on Empty Nest Period.
4) What are the adolescent issues for parents in adulthood?
5) How parenthood affects marital satisfaction?
SUGGESTED READINGS
 Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Developmental Psychology – A Life Span
Approach,
 Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing co. Ltd., New Delhi.
 Zubek J.P. and Solberg, P.A., Human Development, New York,
McGraw Hill
 Book Co. Ltd., 1954.
 Papalia, Diane E and Old, Human Development V Ed 1992,
Tata McGraw
 Hill Publishing Co., Ltd.
New parents are likely to experience stressors, which may affect
their health and state of mind. They may feel isolated and lose sight of
the fact that other parents are going through similar problems. The
division of household tasks between the man and the woman can
become an issue, for example, if the woman was working outside the
home before becoming mother, are now staying home, and the burden
of housework and child care fallsmostly on her. Something as simple
asa baby‘s crying, which keeps the parents up at night, can lessen
marital satisfaction during the first year of parenthood.
Parents who participate in professionally led couples discussion
groups about parenting issues and relationships, beginning in the last
trimester of pregnancy, report significantly smaller declines in
satisfaction. Such discussions can help new parents take stock of the
way the changes in their lives are affecting their relationships with each
other and with their babies and can encourage them to search frothier
own solutions.
LET US SUMP UP

Emerging adulthood is often a time of experimentation before

assuming adult roles and responsibilities. Identity development in
emerging adulthood may take the form of reentering, the gradual
development of a stable adult identity. Four theoretical perspectives on
adult personality development are normative-stage models, the timing-of
events model, trait models, and typological models. Today women in

134
industrialized societies are having fewer children and having them later
in life, and an increasing number choose to remain childless. Fathers
are usually less involved in child raising than mothers, but more so than
in previous generations. Marital satisfaction typically declines during the
childbearing years.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1) In adulthood personality development much depends on

___________.
2) The major concept Self Actualization was proposed by
____________.
3) Big Five trait groupings were proposed by ________________.
4) Children delayed leaving home until the late twenties or beyond
is called ____________.
5) Marital satisfaction typically ________ during the child-raising
years.
KEY WORDS
Normative-stage models Social clock Five-factor
model
Empty nest Parenthood Quality of
Life
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1) ego development
2) Abraham Maslow
3) Costa and McCrae
4) failure to launch
5) declines
GLOSSARY

Empty nest: Transitional phase of parenting following the last child‘s

leaving the parents‘ home.
Generativity: According toErikson, is ―a sign of both psychological
maturity andpsychological health.
Identity schemas: Perceived physical characteristics, cognitiveabilities,
and personality traits.
Individuation: the emergence of the true self through balancing or
integratingconflicting parts of the personality.
Social convoys:circles of close friends and family members of varying
degrees of closeness.

135
Socio-emotional selectivity theory:A theory stating that we select
ourfriends based on their ability to meet our goals.
MODEL QUESTIONS

1) Describe the nature of personality development in adulthood.

2) Bring out the social issues in adulthood.
3) Write a short note on Empty Nest Period.
4) What are the adolescent issues for parents in adulthood?
5) How parenthood affects marital satisfaction?
SUGGESTED READINGS
 Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Developmental Psychology – A Life
Span Approach,
 Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing co. Ltd., New
Delhi.
 Zubek J.P. and Solberg, P.A., Human Development, New
York, McGraw Hill
 Book Co. Ltd., 1954.
 Papalia, Diane E and Old, Human Development V Ed 1992,
Tata McGraw
 Hill Publishing Co., Ltd.

136
UNIT: 11

CAREER PLANNING AND

INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS
STRUCTURE

Overview
Learning objectives
11.1. Career planning

11.1.1 Establishing a career

11.2. Intimate relationships and personal lifestyles
11.2.1 Marriage

11.2.2 Cohabitation
11.2.3 Divorce
11.2.4 Friendships
11.2.5 Relationships with maturing children
11.2.6 Relationships with aging parents
11.2.7Becoming a caregiver for aging parents
11.2.8Relationships with siblings
11.2.9Grandparenthood
11.2.10 Raising Grandchildren

Let us sum up
Check your progress
Key words

Answers to check your progress

Glossary
Model questions

Suggested readings

OVERVIEW

In the adulthood years the individual stabilizes himself/herself

with career choice and reaches the peak of career success. The adult
become established in career life. Besides, the adult life involves

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establishing strong relationships with spouses and family members. The
life of adult is full of establishing quality relationship with others and this
helps them find meaning in their life. We, in this unit, discuss the nature
of career planning and intimate relationships during adulthood.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit you will be able to:

 To understand the nature of career planning in adulthood
period.
 To know how an adult establishes his career during this period.
 To comprehend the dynamics of intimate relationships in
adulthood.
 To know how an adult form relationship with aging parents.
 To aware the nature of grandparenthood during adulthood
years.
11.1 CAREER PLANNING

Generally, adults revise important life decisions as they develop

and vocational development, which is an outgrowth of an individual‘s
self-concept and personality. After much experimenting in early
adulthood, people settle into chosen occupations in their 30s and strive
for success. Ultimately, they prepare for the end of their careers, make
the transition into retirement, and attempt to establisha satisfying lifestyle
during their ―golden years‖.
11.1.1 Establishing a Career
Early adulthood is a time for exploring vocational possibilities,
launching careers, making tentative commitments, revising them if
necessary, seeking advancement, and establishing oneself firmly in
what one hopes is a suitable occupation. Mentors can be of great help in
getting young adults‘ careers launched, butit often takes time and
involves false starts. Young adults progress from wide-open exploration
of different career possibilities to tentative or trial commitments to a
stabilization of their choices. Even in their mid-30s, about a third of
adults exploring what they wanted to be when they grew up. The
average man holds seven full-time jobs or training positions between
age 18 and age 36. The picture for women is similar. After their relatively
unsettled 20s and decision-making 30s, adults often reach the peaks of
their careers in their 40s. They often have major responsibilities and
define themselves in terms of their work. The days of one employeror
even one career for life are gone. Many workers, even in their 40s and

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beyond, find themselves recycling through the process of career
exploration and choice and changing jobs.
Personality is an important influence on how careers go. Job
performance is consistently correlated with the Big Five dimensions of
conscientiousness, extraversion, and emotional stability. Person-
environment fit can becritical, too: people tend to perform poorly and
become open to changing jobs when the fit between their personality
and aptitudes and the demands of their job or work place is poor.
Gender is another significant influence on vocational development.
Although women are entering a much wider range of fields today than
they were a few decades ago, most administrative assistants, teachers,
and nurses are still women. It is probably caused by both the influence
of gender-role norms on the choices women make and by discrimination
in the workplace.
Traditional gender-role norms have prompted many women to
subordinate career goals to family goals. Women often interrupt their
careers, drop down to part-time work, take less demanding jobs, and
decline promotions that would involve transferring to a new location so
that they can bear and raise children. Both giving birth and moving to a
new residence (sometimes in connection with having children)result in a
drop in women‘s earnings for several years. The hours mothers spend
on homemaking and childcare tasks when their children are young often
reduce their productivity at work; meanwhile, young fathers may become
more productive at work in order to provide for their new families. In the
process, women end up with lower odds of rising to higher paid, more
responsible positions. Meanwhile, the women who make it to the top of
the career ladder, especially in male-dominated fields, sometimes
achieve this success by remaining single, divorcing, or limiting their
childbearing.
On average, women without children achieve more in their
careers than women with children. Women are also less likely than men
to enjoy the career boost that comes from having anon-working partner
supporting one‘s career. In addition to family taking priority over career,
discrimination can limit women‘s vocational development. For example:
Traditionally ―female‖ jobs pay less than ―male‖ jobs even when the
intellectual demands of the work are similar. Women who enter jobs with
the same management degrees and salaries as men, and receive equal
performance ratings, still do not rise as far in the organization or earn as
much as their male peers. Women earn about 20% less than men even

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controlling for the tendency of women to work less, step out of the work
force more, and enter lower-paying occupations.
So, although adults make preliminary vocational choices as
adolescents, they remain open to making new choices as young adults
and take some time to settle on careers that fit their personalities and
gender roles. The choices matter: for example, people whose work is
complex and intellectually challenging are stretched by the intellectual
stimulation they receive, becoming more able to handle intellectual
problems adeptly and more self-confident. Perhaps most importantly,
work becomes an important part of their identities. As a result, becoming
unemployed can be a significant cause of family stress, depression, and
other psychological problems.
11.2 INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS AND PERSONAL LIFESTYLES

We now examine intimate relationships in the middle years. We look first

at relationships with spouses, cohabiting partners, homosexual partners,
and friends; next at bonds with maturing children; and then at ties with
aging parents, siblings, and grandchildren.
11.2.1 Marriage

Midlife marriage is very different from what it used to be. When

life expectancies were shorter, couples who remained together for 25,
30, or 40 years were rare. The most common pattern was for marriages
to be broken by death and for survivors to remarry. People had many
children and expected them to live at home until they married. It was
unusual for a middle-aged husband and wife to be alone together.

Today, more marriages end in divorce, but couples who stay

together can often look forward to 20 or more years of married life after
the last child leaves home. During the first 20 to 24 years of marriage,
the longer couples have been married, the less satisfied they tend to be.
Then the association between marital satisfaction and length of marriage
begins to turn positive. At 35 to 44years of marriage, a couple tends to
be even more satisfied than during the first four years. Marital
satisfaction generally hits bottom early in middle age, when many
couples have teenage children and are heavily involved in careers.
Satisfaction usually reaches a height when children are grown; many
people are retired or entering retirement, and a lifetime accumulation of
assets helps ease financial worries. On the other hand, these changes
may produce new pressures and challenges. Sexual satisfaction affects
marital satisfaction and stability and those who were satisfied with their

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sexlives tended to be satisfied with their marriages, and better marital
quality lead to longer marriages for both men and women.
11.2.2 Cohabitation

Although cohabitation has increased greatly, it is only half as

common in midlife as in young adulthood. With the aging of the baby
boom generation, however, it is becoming more so. Cohabiting men (but
not cohabiting women) were more likely to be depressed than their
married counterparts, even when such variables as physical health,
social support, and economic resources were controlled. Indeed,
cohabiting men were about as likely to be depressed as men without
partners-widowed, divorced, separated, or never married. It may be that
men and women view their relationships differently. Women, like men,
may want an intimate companion but may be able to enjoy that
companionship without the commitment of formal marriage-a
commitment that, in middle age, may come to mean the possibility of
having to care for an infirm husband. Aging men, by the same token,
may need or anticipate needing the kind of care that wives traditionally
provide and may worry about not getting it.
11.2.3 Divorce
Divorce in midlife is relatively unusual, though it is becoming
more common than in the past. Still, for people who go through a divorce
at midlife, when they may have assumed their lives were settled, the
breakup can be traumatic and more emotionally devastating than losing
a job and about as devastating as a major illness, though less
devastating than a spouse‘s death. Midlife divorce seems especially
hard for women, who are more negatively affected by divorce at any age
than men are. Long-standing marriages may be less likely to break up
than more recent ones because as couples stay together they build
marital capital, financial and emotional benefits of marriage that become
difficult to give up. College education decreases the risk of separation or
divorce after the first decade of marriage, perhaps because educated
couples tend to have accumulated marital assets and may have too
much to lose financially from divorce.

Middle-aged divorcees, especially women, who do not remarry

tend to be less financially secure than those who remain married and
may have to go to work, perhaps for the first time. Loss of financial
security is a major concern of people in their forties who divorce and
need to show they can get on with their lives. However, people in their
fifties have the most difficulty with midlife divorce, perhaps because they

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worry more about their chances of remarriage and, unlike older
divorcees, are more concerned about their future.
The number one reasons for middle-aged people divorce are
partner abuse-verbal, physical, or emotional. Other frequent reasons
were differing values or lifestyles, infidelity, alcohol or drug abuse, and
simply falling out of love. Most middle-aged divorced people bounce
back eventually. The sense of violated expectations may be diminishing
as midlife divorce becomes more common. This change appears to be
due largely to women‘s growing economic independence.

Divorce rates among aging baby boomers that are now in their
fifties, many of whom married later and had fewer children than in
previous generations, are projected to continue to rise. Even in long
marriages, the increasing number of years that people can expect to live
in good health after child rearing ends may make the dissolution of a
marginal marriage and the prospect of possible remarriage a more
practical and attractive option. Indeed, divorce today may be less a
threat to well-being in middle age than in young adulthood. Middle-aged
people show more adaptability than younger people in the face of
separation or divorce, despite their more limited prospects for
remarriage.
11.2.4 Friendships

Social networks tend to become smaller and more intimate at

midlife. Still, friendships persist and are a strong source of emotional
support and well-being, especially for women. Friendships often revolve
around work and parenting; others are based on neighborhood contacts
or on association in volunteer organizations. The quality of midlife
friendships often makes up for what they lack in quantity of time spent.
Especially during a crisis, such as a divorce or a problem with an aging
parent, adults turn to friends for emotional support, practical guidance,
comfort, companionship, and talk. Conflicts with friends often center on
differences in values, beliefs, and lifestyles; friends usually can talk out
these conflicts while maintaining mutual dignity and respect. The
importance of friendships can vary from time to time. Friends are more
important to women‘s well-being in early middle age, but to men‘s well-
being in late middle age.
11.2.5 Relationships with Maturing Children

Parenthood is a process of letting go, and this process usually

approaches or reaches its climax during the parents‘ middle age. Most
parents in the early part of middle age must cope with a different set of

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issues, which arise from living with children who will soon be leaving
home. Once children become adults and have their own children, the
intergenerational family multiplies in number and in connections. It is
middle-aged parents, usually women, who tend to be the family kin
keepers, maintaining ties among the various branches of the extended
family. Increasingly, middle-aged parents have to deal with an adult
child‘s continuing to live in the family home or leaving it only to return.
One thing, though, has not changed: Parents‘ well-being tends to hinge
on how their children turn out. Fortunately, the parent-child relationship
often improves with age.
Other Kinship Ties

Except in times of need, ties with the family of origin-parents and

siblings-tend to recede in importance during young adulthood, when
work, spouses or partners, and children take precedence. At midlife,
these earliest kinship ties may reassert themselves in a new way, as the
responsibility for care and support of aging parents may begin to shift to
their middle-aged children. In addition, a new relationship typically
begins at this time of life: grandparenthood.
11.2.6 Relationships with Aging Parents
The middle years may bring dramatic, though gradual, changes
in parent-child relationships. Many middle-aged people look at their
parents more objectively than before, seeing them as individuals with
both strengths and weaknesses. Even when they do not live close to
each other, most middle-aged adults and their parents have warm,
affectionate relationships based on frequent contact, mutual help,
feelings of attachment, and shared values. Daughters and older mothers
tend to be especially more intimate.

Positive relationships with parents contribute to a strong sense of

self and to emotional well-being at midlife. Bonds are stronger when
middle-aged adults and their parents have similar educational levels and
similar work experiences or attitudes toward work. Mostly, help and
assistance continue to flow from parents to child, especially in times of
crisis, until quite late in life. But although most older adults are physically
fit, vigorous, and independent, some seek their children‘s assistance in
making decisions and may depend on them for daily tasks and financial
help. There may even be a role reversal; a parent, especially after the
death of a spouse, now becomes the one who needs help from the child.

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 With the lengthening of the life span, some developmental
scientists have proposed a new life stage called filial maturity, when
middle-aged children ―learn to accept and to meet their parents‘
dependency need. This normative development is seen as the healthy
outcome of a filial crisis, in which adults learn to balance love and duty to
their parents with autonomy within two-way relationship. Most middle-
aged people willingly accept their obligations to their parents. However,
family relations in middle and late adulthood can be complex. With
increasing longevity, middle-aged couples with limited emotional and
financial resources may need to allocate them among two sets of aging
parents as well as provide for their own (and possibly their own adult
children‘s) needs.
11.2.7Becoming a Caregiver for Aging Parents

Adults typically get along best while parents are healthy and
vigorous. When older people become infirm—especially if they undergo
mental deterioration or personality changes-the burden of caring for
them may strain the relationship. Given the high cost of nursing homes
and older people‘s reluctance to enter and stay in them, many
dependent elders receive long-term care in their own home or that of a
caregiver. Generally all over the world care giving is typically a female
function. When an ailing mother is widowed or a divorced woman cans
no longer manage alone, it is most likely that a daughter will take on the
care giving role. Sons do contribute to care giving, especially if they are
not employed, but they are less likely to provide primary, personal care.
Strains of Care giving
Care giving can be stressful. Many caregivers find the task a
physical, emotional, and financial burden, especially if they work full-
time, have limited financial resources, or lack support and assistance. It
is hard for women who work outside the home to assume an added care
giving role, and reducing work hours or quitting a job to meet care giving
obligations can increase financial stress. Flexible work schedules and
family and medical leave could help alleviate this problem. Emotional
strain may come not only from care giving itself but from the need to
balance it with the many other responsibilities of midlife. Elderly parents
may become dependent at a time when middle-aged adults need to
launch their children or, if parenthood was delayed, to raise them.
Members of this generation in the middle, sometimes called the
sandwich generation may be caught in a squeeze between these
competing needs and their limited resources of time, money, and
energy. Also, a middle-aged child, who may be preparing to retire, can ill

144
afford the additional costs of caring for a frail older person or may have
health problems of his or her own.
Caring for a person with physical impairments is hard. It can be
even more difficult to care for someone with dementia, who, in addition
to being unable to carry on basic functions of daily living, may be
incontinent, suspicious, agitated or depressed, subject to hallucinations,
likely to wander about at night, dangerous to self and others, and in
need of constant supervision. Spending hours on end with an elderly,
demented parent who may not even recognize her caregiver can be
agonizingly isolating, and the relationship between the two may
deteriorate.
Sometimes the caregiver becomes physically or mentally ill
under the strain. Because women are more likely than men to give
personal care, their mental health and well-being may be more likely to
suffer. Sometimes the stress created by the incessant, heavy demands
of care giving is so great as to lead to abuse, neglect, or even
abandonment of the dependent elderly person. A result of these and
other strains may be caregiver burnout, a physical, mental, and
emotional exhaustion that can affect adults who care for aged relatives.
Even the most patient, loving caregiver may become frustrated, anxious,
or resentful under the constant strain of meeting an older person‘s
seemingly endless needs. Often families and friends fail to recognize
that caregivers have a right to feel discouraged, frustrated, and put
upon. Caregivers need a life of their own, beyond the loved one‘s
disability or disease. Sometimes other arrangements, such as
institutionalization, assisted living, or a division of responsibilities among
siblings, must be made.

Community support programs can reduce the strains and

burdens of caregiving, prevent burnout, and postpone the need for
institutionalization of the dependent person. Support services may
include meals and housekeeping; transportation and escort services;
and adult day care centers, which provide supervised activities and care
while caregivers work or attend to personal needs. Respite care
(substitute supervised care by visiting nurses or home health aides)
gives regular caregivers some time off, whether for a few hours, a day, a
weekend, or a week. Temporary admission of the patient to a nursing
home is another alternative. Through counseling, support, and self-help
groups, caregivers can share problems, gain information about
community resources, and improve skills. Community support may
improve caregivers‘ morale and reduce stress.

145
 If a caregiver deeply loves an infirm parent, cares about family
continuity, looks at caregivingas a challenge, and has adequate
personal, family, and community resources to meet that challenge,
caregiving can be an opportunity for personal growth in competence,
compassion, self-knowledge, and self-transcendence.
11.2.8Relationships with Siblings

Sibling ties are the longest-lasting relationships in most people‘s

lives. Sibling relationships over the lifespan look like an hourglass, with
the most contact at the two ends-childhood and middle to late adulthood-
and the least contact during the child-raising years. After establishing
careers and families, siblings may renew their ties. Sibling conflict tends
to diminish with age-perhaps because siblings who do not get along see
each other less. Relationships with siblings who remain in contact can
be central to psychological well-being in midlife. As in young adulthood,
sisters tend to be closer than brothers. Dealing with the care of aging
parents can bring siblings closer together but also can cause resentment
and conflict. Disagreements may arise over the division of care or over
an inheritance; especially if the sibling relationship has not been good.
11.2.9Grandparenthood
Often grandparenthood begins before the end of active
parenting. Adults become grandparents on average around age 45. With
lengthening life spans, many adults spend several decades as
grandparents and live to see grandchildren become adults. Most
grandparents now have fewer grandchildren than their parents or
grandparents did. With the rising incidence of midlife divorce, about 1 in
5 grandparents is divorced, widowed, or separated, and many are step
grandparents. Middle-aged grandparents tend to be married, active in
their communities, and employed and thus less available to help out with
their grandchildren. They also are likely to be raising one or more
children of their own.
On the other hand, early retirement frees some grandparents to
spend more time with their grandchildren. Many grandparents still have
living parents, whose care they must balance with grandchildren‘s
needs. And grandparents in both developed and developing countries
often provide part-time or primary care for grandchildren. The
grandparent‘s role in many developing societies extended-family
households predominate, and grandparents play an integral role in child
raising and family decisions.

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 When children grow up, they typically leave home and establish
new, autonomous nuclear families wherever their inclinations,
aspirations, and job hunts take them. However, distance does not
necessarily affect the quality of relationships with grandchildren. In
general, grandmothers have closer, warmer, more affectionate
relationships with their grandchildren (especially granddaughters) than
grandfathers do, and see them more. Grandparents, who have frequent
contact with their grandchildren, feel good about grandparenthood,
attribute importance to the role, and have high self-esteem and tend to
be more satisfied with being grandparents.
About 15 percent of grandparents provide child care for working
parents. Indeed, grandparents are almost as likely to be childcare
providers as organized child care centers or preschools; 30 percent of
children under age 5 with employed mothers are under a grandparent‘s
care while the mothers are at work.
Grand parenting after Divorce and Remarriage
One result of the rise in divorce and remarriage is a growing
number of grandparents and grandchildren whose relationships are
endangered or severed. After a divorce, because the mother usually has
custody, her parents tend to have more contact and stronger
relationships with their grandchildren and the paternal grandparents tend
to have less. A divorced mother‘s remarriage typically reduces her need
for support from her parents, but not their contact with their
grandchildren. For paternal grandparents, however, the new marriage
increases the likelihood that they will be displaced or that the family will
move away, making contact more difficult.
11.2.10 Raising Grandchildren

Many grandparents are their grandchildren‘s sole or primary

caregivers. One reason is the migration of rural parents to urban areas
to find work. These skip-generation families exist in all regions of the
world. Many of these caregiver grandparents are divorced or widowed
and live on fixed incomes. Unexpected surrogate parenthood can be a
physical, emotional, and financial drain on middle-aged or older adults.
They may have to quit their jobs, shelve their retirement plans,
drastically reduce their leisure pursuits and social life, and endanger
their health. Most grandparents do not have as much energy, patience,
or stamina as they once had and may not be up on current educational
and social trends. Most grandparents who take on the responsibility to
raise their grandchildren do it because they do not want their
grandchildren placed in a stranger‘s foster home. However, the age

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difference can become a barrier, and both generations may feel cheated
out of their traditional roles.
At the same time, grandparents often have to deal with a sense
of guilt because the adult children they raised have failed their own
children, and also with the rancor they feel toward these adult children.
For some caregiver couples, the strains produce tension in their
relationship. And, if one or both parents resume their normal roles, it
may be emotionally wrenching to return the child. Grandparents
providing kinship care who do not become foster parents orgain custody
have no legal status and no more rights than unpaid babysitters.
However, grandparents can be sources of guidance, companions
in play, links to the past, and symbols of family continuity. They express
generativity, a longing to transcend mortality by investing themselves in
the lives of future generations. Men and women who do not become
grandparents may fulfill generative needs by becoming foster
grandparents or volunteering in schools or hospitals. By findingways to
develop what Erikson called the virtue of care, adults prepare
themselves to enter the culminating period of adult development.
LET US SUM UP
Young adults seek intimacy in relationships with peers and
romantic partners. Self-disclosure is an important aspect of intimacy.
Most young adults have friends but have increasingly limited time to
spend with them. Women‘s friendships tend to be more intimate than
men‘s. Cohabitation in midlife may negatively affect men‘s but not
women‘s well-being. Divorce at midlife is relatively uncommon but is
increasing; it can be stressful and life-changing. Marital capital tends to
dissuade midlife divorce. Relationships between middle-aged adults and
their parents are usually characterized by a strong bond of affection. The
two generations generally maintain frequent contact and offer and
receive assistance. Aid flows mostly from parents to children. Care
giving can be a source of considerable stress but also of satisfaction.
Community support programs can help prevent caregiver burnout.
Although siblings tend to have less contact at midlife than before and
after, most middle-aged siblings remain in touch, and their relationships
are important to well-being.

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CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1) Job performance is consistently correlated with the

___________ dimensions.
2) Positive relationships with parents contribute to
_____________.
3) _________________ programs can reduce the strains and
burdens of care giving.
4) Adults become grandparents on average around _____.
5) As couples stay together they build _______________.
KEY WORDS

Career Planning Midlife marriage Cohabitation

Divorce partner abuse infidelity

Social networks lifestyles extended family

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1) Big Five
2) a strong sense of self
3) Community support
4) age of 45
5) marital capital
GLOSSARY
Filial maturity: Middle-aged children learning to accept and to meet
their parents‘ dependency need.
Filial crisis: Adults learning to balance love and duty to their parents
with autonomy within two-way relationship.
Respite care: Substitute supervised care by visiting nurses or home
health aides.

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Virtue of care: Adults preparing themselves to enter the culminating
period of adult development.
Sandwich generation: Adults caught in a squeeze between competing
needs and their limited resources of time, money, and energy.
MODEL QUESTIONS
1) How career planning takes place in adulthood?
2) Write a short note on cohabitation.
3) Why adults divorce? Explain.
4) Bring out the nature of adult relationship with aging parents.
5) Write an essay on grand parenting.
SUGGESTED READINGS
1) Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Developmental Psychology – A Life
Span Approach,
2) Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing co. Ltd., New
Delhi.

3) Zubek J.P. and Solberg, P.A., Human Development, New

4) York, McGraw Hill
5) Book Co. Ltd., 1954.

6) Papalia, Diane E and Old, Human Development V Ed 1992,

Tata McGraw
7) 6.Hill Publishing Co., Ltd.

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UNIT: 12

WORKLIFE, PERSONAL RELATION

SHIP IN FAMILY AND WORK LIFE
STRUCTURE

OVERVIEW
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
12.1. EDUCATION AND WORK

12.1.1 ENTERING THE WORLD OF WORK

12.2.2 COGNITIVE GROWTH AT WORK
12.3 S MOOTHING THE TRANSITION TO THE WORKPLACE

THE AGING WORKER

12.4 PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP IN FAMILY AND WORKLIFE
12.4.1ESTABLISHING MARRIAGE
12.4.2 MARITAL RELATIONSHIPS
12.4.3 SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS
12.4.4 PARENT–CHILD RELATIONSHIPS
12.4.5 ADULT RELATIONSHIPS AND ADULT DEVELOPMENT
LET US SUMP UP
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

KEY WORDS
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
GLOSSARY

MODEL QUESTIONS
SUGGESTED READINGS
OVERVIEW

Work life undergoes drastic changes during adulthood due to

developmental and personal reasons. Many of the adults become more
experiences and successful during this time in their work life. At the
same time, they need to establish and maintain good personal
relationship in their family and in work spot. For some adults these tasks
are relatively easy while for others difficult. In this section, we discuss

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about the nature of adult work life and their relationship with family
members and coworkers.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 To understand the changing work life in adulthood
 To comprehend the way in which adults establish the
relationship with their family members
 To know how individuals maintain relationship with their
coworkers
 To analyze the nature of intimate relationship adults have
during this time
12.1 EDUCATION AND WORK

Unlike young people in past generations, who typically could

expect to move directly from school to work and financial independence,
many emerging adults today do not have a clear career path. Some
alternate between education and work; others pursue both at the same
time. Most of those who do not enroll in postsecondary education, or do
not finish, enter the job market, but many return later for more schooling.
Some, take a year off from formal education or the workplace-a gap
year-to gain new skills, do volunteer work, travel, or study abroad. And
some combine college with marriage and child rearing. Many emerging
adults who are in school or living in their parents‘ homes are financially
dependent.
Educational and vocational choices after high school may
present opportunities for cognitive growth. Exposure to a new
educational or work environment offers the opportunity to hone abilities,
question long-held assumptions, and try out new ways of looking at the
world. For the increasing number of students of nontraditional age (age
25 and up), college or workplace education is rekindling intellectual
curiosity, improving employment opportunities, and enhancing work
skills.
12.2 ENTERING THE WORLD OF WORK

By their mid twenties, most emerging adults have moved out of

their parents‘ households and are either working or pursuing advanced
education. Those who enter the workforce face a rapidly changing
picture. The nature of work is changing, and work arrangements are
becoming more varied and less stable. Manufacturing jobs have virtually
disappeared. More and more adults are self-employed, working at home,
telecommuting, on flexible work schedules, or acting as independent
contractors. These changes, together with a more competitive job

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market and the demand for a highly skilled workforce, make education
and training more vital than ever before.
Higher education expands employment opportunities and earning
power and enhances long-term quality of life for adults worldwide. Adults
with advanced degrees earn four times more than those with less than a
high school diploma. For adults without higher education, unemployment
rates are high and it may be difficult to earn enough to establish an
independent household. Women in their late twenties and early thirties
are doing better than before, but still not as well as men their age. Still,
workers in their twenties, especially their early twenties, tend to be
concentrated in low-wage, low-skilled positions and frequently change
jobs.
12.2.2 COGNITIVE GROWTH AT WORK

People change as a result of the kind of work they do. People

seem to grow in challenging jobs, the kind that are becoming
increasingly prevalent today. There is a reciprocal relationship between
the substantive complexity of work-the degree of thought and
independent judgment it requires-and a person‘s flexibility in coping with
cognitive demands.
Brain research casts light on how people deal with complex work.
Full development of the frontal lobes during young adulthood may equip
people to handle several tasks at the same time. Magnetic resonance
imaging shows that the most frontward part of the frontal lobes has a
special function in problem solving and planning. This portion of the
brain springs into action when a person needs to put an unfinished task
on hold and shift attention to another task. It permits a worker to keep
the first task in working memory while attending to the second-for
example, to resume reading a report after being interrupted by the
telephone.
Cognitive growth need not stop at the end of the workday.
According to the spillover hypothesis, cognitive gains from work carry
over to nonworking hours. Studies support that substantive complexity of
work strongly influences the intellectual level of leisure activities.
12.3 SMOOTHING THE TRANSITION TO THE WORKPLACE

Although some emerging adults successfully navigate the worlds

of education and work, others flounder or sink. Successful transition
from school to work is determined by four key factors: (1) competence
(in general and at work); (2) personal characteristics such as initiative,

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flexibility, purposefulness, and a sense of urgency; (3) positive personal
relationships; and (4) links between schooling and employment.
Some developmental scientists suggest measures to strengthen
the links between work and educational institutions, especially
community colleges.
 Improve dialogue between educators and employers.
 Modify school and work schedules to adapt to the needs of
working students.
 Let employers help design work-study programs.
 Increase availability of temporary and part-time work.
 Relate better what students learn at work and in school.
 Improve training of vocational guidance counselors.
 Make better use of study and support groups and tutoring
and mentoring programs.
 Provide scholarships, financial aid, and health insurance to
part-time as well as full-time students and employees.
Work affects day-to-day life, not only on the job but at home, and it
brings both satisfaction and stress.
THE AGING WORKER
The job performance of workers in their 50s and 60s is largely
similar overall to that of younger workers. Age is largely unrelated to
quality of task performance and creativity on the job. Older workers
actually outperform younger workers in areas such as good citizenship
and safety and had fewer problems with counterproductive behavior,
aggression, substance use on the job, tardiness, and absenteeism.
The performance of older workers is not hurt by some of the age-
related physical and cognitive declines. These declines typically do not
become significant until people are in their 70s and 80s, long after they
have retired, and even then they do not affect everyone. Older workers
have often accumulated a good deal of on-the-job expertise that helps
them continue to perform well. The strategies that aging adults use to
cope with aging will help them to work as productively as the younger
workers.

Older people can best cope with aging, and people in general
can best cope with the challenges of living, through the strategy they call
selective optimization with compensation, or SOC. Three processes
are involved: selection (focus on a limited set of goals and the skills most
needed to achieve them), optimization (practice those skills to keep
them sharp), and compensation (develop ways around the need for

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other skills). Using selective optimization with compensation, an
overworked 60-year-old lawyer might, for example, avoid spreading
herself too thin by focusing on her strongest specialty area and
delegating other types of assignments to younger workers (selection);
put a lot of time into staying up-to-date in her main area of specialization
(optimization); and make up for her failing memory by taking more notes
at meetings (compensation). For pianist Arthur Rubenstein, maintaining
excellence in old age meant playing fewer different pieces (selection),
practicing them more (optimization), and compensating for loss of speed
by increasing the contrast between the slower and faster parts of a piece
to make the faster parts sound faster. Especially those with highly
stressful jobs, heavy reliance on selective optimization with
compensation help workers maintain a high level of performance and
achieve their goals at work.
12.4 PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP IN FAMILY AND WORKLIFE

We will look at the establishment of a marriage, new parenthood,

child rearing, empty nest, and grandparenthood phases of family life
during adulthood.
12.4.1 Establishing Marriage
Adults choose to marry at some point in their lives, most choose
partners who are similar to themselves and whom they love. Although
love and marriage go together in most modern societies today, in many
traditional societies marriages are not formed on the basis of love. They
are arranged by leaders of kin groups who are concerned with acquiring
property, allies, and the rights to any children the marriage produce.
Marriage is a significant life transition for most adults: it involves taking
on a new role (as husband or wife) and adjusting to life as a couple. We
rejoice at weddings and view newlyweds as supremely happy beings.
Indeed, they feel on top of the world, their self-esteem rises, and some
develop a more secure orientation toward attachment relationships as a
result of marrying. Yet individuals who have just been struggling to
achieve autonomy and assume adult roles soon find that they must
compromise with their partners and adapt to each other‘s personalities
and preferences.
Perceptions of the marital relationship became less favorable
and marital satisfaction decline during the first year after the wedding.
Behavior change as well. Although partners spend only slightly less
time together, more of that time is devoted to getting tasks done and
less to having fun or just talking. Although most couples are far more

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satisfied than dissatisfied with their relationships after the ―honeymoon‖
is over, adapting to marriage clearly involves strains. Blissfully happy
relationships evolve into still happy but less idealized ones. Whether this
happens because couples begin to see ―warts‖ that they did not notice
before marriage, stop trying to be on their best behavior, have run-ins as
an inevitable part of living together, or start to take each other for
granted, it is normal.
The quality of a couple‘s relationship early in their marriage has
implications for their later marital adjustment. It is not the case that all
marriages start out blissfully happy and then some turn sour; some start
out sour and stay sour. Even couples who divorced did not usually
experience escalating conflict over time; rather, they lost their positive
feelings for each other. So the establishment phase of the family life
cycle involves some loss of enthusiasm for most couples. Some couples
are already on a path to long-term marital satisfaction, whereas others
are headed for divorce or for staying in a marriage that will continue to
be less than optimal. Couples seem best off when they can maintain a
high level of positive and supportive interactions to help them weather
the conflicts that inevitably arise in any relationship.
12.4.2 MARITAL RELATIONSHIPS
Marital satisfaction dips somewhat after the honeymoon period is
over, dips still lower in the new-parenthood phase, continues to drop as
new children are added to the family, and recovers only when the
children leave the nest, especially for women. The character of marital
relationships also changes over the years. Frequency of sexual
intercourse decreases, but psychological intimacy often increases. The
love relationship often changes from one that is passionate to one that is
companionate, more like a best-friends relationship. Elderly couples are
often even more affectionate than middle-aged couples, have fewer
conflicts, and are able to resolve their conflicts without as much venting
of negative emotions. Even when they disagree, elderly couples seem
less upset than middle-aged couples by the negative behavior of their
partners. Overall, however, knowing what stage of the family life cycle
an adult is in does not tell us much about how satisfied that person is
with his marriage. Personality is far more important. Happily married
people have more pleasant personalities than unhappily married people;
for example, they are more emotionally stable and vent negative feelings
less often. Moreover, in happy marriages, the personalities of marriage
partners are similar and are likely to remain similar or even become

156
more similar over the years, as each partner reinforces in the other the
traits that brought them together.
In the end, partners affect each other‘s development. If a
husband had good memory skills, his wife was less likely to suffer a
decline in memory performance. If a wife was depressed, her husband
was likely to experience increased symptoms of depression and
decreased memory performance. Studies show that we really do lead
linked lives-that we influence and are influenced by our partners in close
relationships. In addition, the marital relationship is affected by the other
relationships partners have. Couples fare best when both partners can
count on a good network of relatives and friends to support rather than
to interfere with their relationship.

Marriages face new challenges when one of the partners

becomes seriously ill or impaired and needs care. As our upcoming
discussion of caregiver burden suggests, wives may suffer poor physical
and mental health and feel socially isolated when they must care for a
dying husband. However, they generally manage to cope with their
spouse‘s death and rebuild their lives, often feeling afterward that they
have grown. Without question, the marital relationship is centrally
important in the lives and development of most adults. Overall, married
adults tend to be ―happier, healthier, and better off financially‖ than other
adults and are likely to remain so if they can weather bad times in their
marriages.
12.4.3 SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS

The sibling relationship is typically the longest-lasting relationship

we have, linking us to individuals who share many of our genes and
experiences. It is a relationship that can be close, conflicted, or, for most
of us, both. Sibling relationships involve not only biological siblings but
often half siblings, stepsiblings, and adoptive siblings. Relationships
between siblings often change for the better once they no longer live
together in the same home and once their age differences do not matter
as much as they did in childhood.
Conflict and rivalry diminish and relationships often become
warmer and more equal in adulthood. Siblings often grow even closer in
old age. Most adult siblings are in frequent contact and have positive
feelings toward one another. They do not often discuss intimate
problems or help one another, but they usually feel that they can count
on one another in a crisis. Some of the ambivalence that characterizes
sibling relationships during childhood carries over into adulthood,
however. Siblings may compete with one another as they build their

157
lives. And whereas siblings who enjoyed a close relationship during
childhood are likely to be drawn closer after significant life events such
as a parent‘s illness or death, siblings who had poor relationships during
childhood may clash in response to the same life events-for example,
bickering about who is doing more to help an ailing parent or how a
deceased parent‘s property should be divided.
Parents can help forge close sibling relationships in adulthood by
not favoring one child over another. Adult siblings who perceive that their
parents played favorites when they were children or play favorites
currently do not get along as well as those who believe their parents
have treated them equitably.
12.4. 4 PARENT–CHILD RELATIONSHIPS

Parent and child generations in most families are in close contact

and enjoy affectionate give-and-take relationships throughout the adult
years. When aging parents eventually need support, children are there
to help. Parent–child relationships in adulthood take many forms-some
are strained or conflictual, some are built more on obligation than love,
and some are very close and fiendlike. Usually the quality of a particular
parent-child relationship stays much the same as adolescents become
adults. Even after emerging adults have left the nest, there are likely to
be some tensions in most parent-adult child relationships.
Parents can become stressed when their children have problems or
when they are asked to help solve those problems; children can become
irritated if their parents try to meddle in their lives or demand more of
them than they want to give. Parents and children are at different points
in the life cycle, and parents may be more invested in maintaining a
strong parent-child relationship than children who are building their own
families are. Yet adults have an opportunity to negotiate a new phase of
their relationship with their parents in which they move beyond playing
out roles as child and parent, see their parents as ―real people, ―
understand them better, and become more like friends. A more mutual,
fiendlike relationship is especially likely to develop if parents were
supportive, authoritative parents earlier in the child‘s life.

When children are middle-aged and their parents are elderly, the two
generations typically continue to care about, socialize with, and help
each other. Aging mothers enjoy closer relations and more contact with
their children, especially their daughters, than aging fathers do. Most
elderly people prefer to live close to but not with their children; they
enjoy their independence and do not want to burden their children when
their health fails. Typically, relationships between the generations are

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not only close and affectionate but equitable: each generation gives
something, and each generation gets something in. It is rare for aging
families to experience a ―role reversal‖ in which the parent becomes the
needy, dependent one and the child becomes the caregiver. Only when
parents reach advanced ages and begin to develop serious physical or
mental problems does the parent-child relationship sometimes become
lopsided like this.
12.4.5 ADULT RELATIONSHIPS AND ADULT DEVELOPMENT

Close attachments to other people are essential to normal cognitive,

social, and emotional development. Adults are better off in many ways
when they enjoy meaningful social relationships. The quality rather than
the quantity of an individual‘s social relationships is most closely related
to that person‘s sense of well-being or life satisfaction. Similarly,
perceived social support is more important than the social support
actually received. Just as people can feel lonely despite being
surrounded by other people, adults can feel deprived of social support
even though they receive a lot of it-or they can have restricted social
networks yet be highly satisfied with their relationships.
The size of an adult‘s social network is not nearly as important as
whether it includes at least one confidant-a spouse, relative, or friend to
whom the individual feels especially attached and with whom thoughts
and feelings can be shared. For most married adults in our society,
spouses are the most important confidants, and the quality of an adult‘s
marriage is one of the strongest influences on overall satisfaction with
life. Men are particularly dependent on their spouses; women rely more
than men on friends, siblings, and children for emotional support.

Also important to life satisfaction is whether interacting with close

companions is rewarding or stressful. Perhaps because of their
personality traits, people who have positive (or negative) interactions in
one relationship tend to have similar experiences in other relationships-
creating a constellation of supportive (or stressful) relationships.
Relationships with spouses, children, or other significant companions
can undermine rather than bolster emotional wellbeing if they involve
mostly negative exchanges.
So a small number of close, harmonious, and supportive relationships
can improve the quality of an adult‘s life, whereas negative relationships
(or none) can make life unpleasant. It is more than that, however: Social
support, especially from family members, has positive effects on the

159
cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune systems; improves the body‘s
ability to cope with stress and illness; and contributes to better physical
and cognitive functioning and a longer life, especially in old age.
Humans have evolved to be with other people and that isolation and
loneliness wear the body down, affecting genes, stress hormones, and
the brain in ways that speed the aging process. Special programs can
help reduce the loneliness of socially isolated elderly adults.
Whatever our ages, our well-being and development hinge considerably
on the quality of our ties to our fellow humans-particularly on having a
close emotional bond with at least one person.
LET US SUMP UP

Adult social networks shrink with age, possibly because of increased

socio emotional selectivity. Evolved preferences and various filters may
be involved in mate selection; choices are based mainly on homogamy,
with complementarity a lesser consideration. Adults have secure,
preoccupied, dismissing, or fearful internal working models that appear
to be rooted in their early attachment experiences and that affect their
romantic relationships, approaches to work, attachments with their own
children, and adjustment. Although adults are highly involved with their
spouses or romantic partners, they continue to value friendships,
especially long-lasting and equitable ones. Having at least one confidant
has beneficial effects on life satisfaction, as well as on physical health
and cognitive functioning.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. Educational and vocational choices after high school may
present opportunities for __________.
2. People change as a result of the kind of __________they
do.
3. Complexity of work strongly influences the _________level
of leisure activities.
4. _____is largely unrelated to quality of task performance and
creativity on the job.
5. ___________is a significant life transition for most adults.

160
KEY WORDS

Workplace education Manufacturing jobs skilled workforce

Cognitive demands cognitive decline couple‘s relationship

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. cognitive growth
2. work
3. intellectual
4. Age
5. Marriage
GLOSSARY
Spillover hypothesis: An assumption stating that cognitive gains from
work carry over to nonworking hours.
Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC): A strategy older
people use to best cope with aging, and challenges of living.
Sibling relationships: Relationship with biological siblings and also
half siblings, stepsiblings, and adoptive siblings.
Role reversal: Life stage in which the parent becomes the needy,
dependent one and the child becomes the caregiver.
Confidant: A spouse, relative, or friend to whom the individual feels
especially attached and with whom thoughts and feelings can be shared.
MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Explain the cognitive growth at work.
2. List the measures to strengthen work and educational
institutions.
3. Write on the family relationship during adulthood.
4. Explain the nature of sibling relationship during adulthood.
5. How adult relationship contribute to their development? Examine.
SUGGESTED READINGS
 Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Developmental Psychology – A Life
Span Approach,
 Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing co. Ltd., New
Delhi.

161
 Zubek J.P. and Solberg, P.A., Human Development, New
York, McGraw Hill
 Book Co. Ltd., 1954.
 Papalia, Diane E and Old, Human Development V Ed 1992,
Tata McGraw
 Mill Publishing Co., Ltd

162
Block – V: ISSUES IN OLD AGE

UNIT: 13 OLD AGE

UNIT: 14 HEALTH PROBLEMS, MEMORY CHANGES IN OLD
AGE

UNIT: 15 ADJUSTMENT, RELATIONSHIPS AND DEATH IN

OLD AGE

163
UNIT: 13

OLD AGE
STRUCTURE

Overview

Learning objectives
13.1. Old age today
13.1.1 The graying of the population

13.1.2 Young old to oldest old

13.1.3 Longevity and aging
13.1.4 Trends and factors in life expectancy

13.1.5 Gender and demographic differences in life expectancy

13.2. Why people age?
13.2.1 Genetic-programming theories
13.2.2 Variable-rate theories
13.2.3 How far can the life span be extended?
13.3 Physical Changes
13.3.1 Organic and Systemic Changes
13.3.2 The aging brain
13.4 Sensory and Psychomotor Functioning

13.5 Health and Fitness

13.5.1 Health status
13.5.2 Sleep

13.5.3 Sexual Functioning

Let us sum up
Check your progress

Key words
Answers to check your progress
Glossary

Model questions
Suggested readings

164
OVERVIEW

People worldwide are living longer. Today most people can

expect to live into their sixties and beyond. Every country in the world is
experiencing growth in both the size and the proportion of older persons
in the population. In this unit we discuss about the physical changes that
takes place during old age and reasons for the aging. We also discuss
the patterns of basic physiological processes and ways of extending life
span.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit you will be able to:

 To discuss the causes and impact of the aging population.
 To characterize longevity and discuss biological theories of
aging.
 To describe physical changes in late adulthood.
 To identify factors that influence health and well-being in
late adulthood.
13.1 OLD AGE TODAY

In some countries, old age is a status symbol; travelers checking

into hotels are often asked their age to ensure that they will receive
proper deference. In some other countries, by contrast, aging is
generally seen as undesirable. In research, the most consistent
stereotypes that have emerged regarding the elderly are that while older
people are generally seen as warm and loving, they are incompetent
and of low status. These stereotypes about aging, internalized in youth
and reinforced for decades by societal attitudes, may become self-
stereotypes, unconsciously affecting older people‘s expectations about
their behavior and often acting as self-fulfilling prophecies.

Today, efforts to combat ageism prejudice or discrimination

based on age are making headway, thanks to the growing visibility of
active, healthy older adults. Reports about aging achievers appear
frequently in the media. On television, older people are less often
portrayed as dotards and more often as level-headed, respected, wise,
or cunning, a shift that may be important in the reduction of negative
stereotypes about the elderly. We need to look beyond distorted images
of age to its true, multifaceted reality.
13.1.1 The Graying Of the Population

The global population is aging and by 2050, the total population

in the age group of 65 or older is projected to reach 1.6 billion. Aging

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populations result from declines in fertility accompanied by economic
growth, better nutrition, healthier lifestyles, and improved control of
infectious disease, safer water and sanitation facilities, and advances in
science, technology, and medicine. Different countries have met the
increased needs of their aging populations with varying levels of
success.
13.1.2 Young Old to Oldest Old

The economic impact of a graying population depends on the

proportion of the population that is healthy and able-bodied. In this
regard, the trend is encouraging. Many problems that we used to think
were the result of age have been determined to be due to lifestyle
factors or disease.
Primary aging is a gradual, inevitable process of bodily
deterioration that begins early in life and continues through the years
irrespective of what people do to stave it off. In this view, aging is an
unavoidable consequence of getting older. Secondary aging results
from disease, abuse, and disuse-factors that are often within a person‘s
control. These two philosophies of aging can be likened to the familiar
nature-nurture debate. Primary aging is a nature process governed by
biology. Secondary aging is the result of nurture, the environmental
insults that accrue over the course of a lifetime.
Today, social scientists who specialize in the study of aging refer
to three groups of older adults: the ―young old,‖ ―old old,‖ and ―oldest
old.‖ These terms represent social constructions similar to the concept of
adolescence. Chronologically, young old generally refers to people ages
65 to 74, who are usually active, vital, and vigorous. The old, ages 75 to
84, and the oldest old, age 85 and above, are more likely to be frail and
infirm and to have difficulty managing activities of daily living (ADLs).
As a result, the oldest old consume a disproportionate number of
resources such as pensions or health care costs given their population
size. A more meaningful classification is functional age: how well a
person functions in a physical and social environment in comparison
with others of the same chronological age. For example, a person of 90
who is still in good health and can live independently may be functionally
younger than a 75-year-old suffering the effects of dementia.
The use of these terms and age distinctions has arisen out of
research and service needs. Gerontology is the study of the aged and
aging processes. Gerontologists are interested in differences between
elderly people because these differences can influence outcomes.
Likewise, researchers and service providers in geriatrics, the branch of

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medicine concerned with aging, are concerned with differences among
the elderly. Understanding differences among the elderly has underlined
the need for support services that people in age groups such as the
oldest old may need. For example, some in this age group have outlived
their savings and cannot pay for their own care.
13.1.3 Longevity and Aging

Life expectancy is the age to which a person born at a certain

time and place is statistically likely to live, given his or her current age
and health status. Life expectancy is based on the average longevity, or
actual length of life, of members of a population. Gains in life expectancy
reflect declines in mortality rates, or death rates (the proportions of a
total population or of certain age groups who die in a given year). The
human life span is the longest period that members of our species can
live. The longest documented life span thus far is that of Jeanne
Clement, a French woman who died at 122 years of age.
13.1.4 Trends and Factors in Life Expectancy
Much of the increase in life expectancy can be attributed to the
influence of antibiotics, vaccination programs, and improved sanitary
practices. Life expectancy rates then began to be affected more by
deaths from chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer, and
while it continued to rise in the middle of the twentieth century, the
change was less dramatic. Most recently, life expectancy has shown a
slight decline, in part because of increased death rates for unintentional
drug overdoses. Globally, life expectancy is projected to continue to rise
in industrialized countries.
13.1.5 Gender and Demographic Differences in Life Expectancy

Nearly all over the world, women live longer and have lower
mortality rates at all ages than men. By the age of 65, there are
approximately 80.3 men for every 100 women; by age 85, there are only
50 men for every 100 women; and by age 100, women outnumber men
by 4 to 1. The gender gap is widest in high-income industrialized
nations, where female mortality dropped sharply with improvements in
prenatal and obstetric care. In fact, forecasting models predict there is
more than a 50 percent probability that women‘s life expectancy will
surpass 90 years of age by 2030. Women‘s longer lives also have been
attributed to their greater tendency to take care of themselves and to
seek medical care, the higher level of social support they enjoy, and the
rise in women‘s socioeconomic status in recent decades. Further, men
are more likely to smoke, drink, and be exposed to dangerous toxins.

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 Income and geography also affect life expectancy. Higher
socioeconomic status is associated with an increase in life expectancy,
and the degree of disparity in life expectancy across income groups has
increased in the last decade. It is likely these regional differences are
related to health behaviors including smoking, obesity, and exercise
rather than differential access to health care.
A new way to look at life expectancy is in terms of the number of
years a person can expect to live in good health, free of disabilities.
Globally, healthy life expectancy (HLE) is 62 years for men and 64.8
years for women.
13.2 Why People Age

As we get older, we may feel the effects of various chronic

conditions or diseases. This process is known as senescence, the
decline in body functioning associated with aging. Why does
senescence occur? Why do we grow old? Most theories about biological
aging fall into one of two categories: genetic-programming theories and
variable-rate theories.
13.2.1 Genetic-Programming Theories

Genetic-programming theories propose that people‘s body‘s age

according to instructions built into the genes and that aging is a normal
part of development. Twin studies have shown that genetic differences
account for about one-fourth of the variance in the adult human life span.
The genetic influences on aging appear to become stronger over time,
especially after age 60. With the exception of some rare genetic
disorders, there is not ―a‖ gene for aging. Rather, aging in typical people
involves many gene variants, each with small effects.
Aging also may be influenced by specific genes ―switching off,‖
after which age-related losses (such as declines in vision, hearing, and
motor control) occur. This process, broadly described as epigenesist,
involves genes being turned on and off by molecular ―tags,‖ or
instructions. Epigenetic changes do not involve changes in the
underlying genetic code; rather, they involve changes in how genes are
expressed. The accumulation of epigenetic changes is partly responsible
for aging. Because epigenetic changes are dynamic and modifiable by
environmental influences, positive interventions may be able to combat
the effects of aging. For example, diet and lifestyle changes can change
our epigenetic expression and slow the rate of decline.
Another cellular process involves telomeres, the repetitive
fragments of DNA on the tips of chromosomes. Every time a cell divides,

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replicating its genetic code, the telomeres become shorter. Some
theorists argue that cells can divide only a fixed number of times-
eventually, they run out of telomeres. It is found that human cells will
divide in the laboratory no more than 50 times, a number now known as
the Hay flick limit. Once cells can no longer replicate, the body loses its
ability to repair damaged tissue and thus begins to age. In support of this
theory, research shows that telomeres shorten with age and that the rate
of telomere shortening is related to the rate of aging. Shorter telomeres
result in accelerated aging and risk of early death, and they are
associated with increased risk of cancer, stroke, diabetes, dementia,
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and skin disorders.
The rate of telomere change is genetically influenced and
interacts with environmental influences in a complex fashion over the
course of the life span. Environmental factors that are known to be
associated with disease and mortality, such as stress, smoking, alcohol
use, and physical inactivity, can all affect the rate of telomere shortening.
According to endocrine theory, the biological clock acts through
genes that control hormonal changes. Loss of muscle strength,
accumulation of fat, and atrophy of organs may be related to declines in
hormonal activity. For example, mutations in the genes that code for
hormones involved in the regulation of blood sugar have been linked in
other species to either increased or decreased life span, and it is likely
they function similarly in humans. Immunological theory proposes a
similar process; certain genes may cause problems in the immune
system that then lead to an increased susceptibility to diseases,
infections, and cancer.
According to the evolutionary theory of aging, reproductive
fitness is the primary aim of natural selection. Therefore, natural
selection acts most strongly on the young, who have many years of
potential reproduction ahead of them. If a trait favoring reproductive
output in the young is present, it will spread throughout the population,
even if the effects are later damaging to the individual. Moreover, natural
selection results in energy resources being allocated to protect and
maintain the body until reproduction but not necessarily after. After
reproduction has ceased, the molecular integrity of the body cells and
systems eventually deteriorates beyond the body‘s ability to repair them.
This deterioration occurs because there is no selective pressure to
prevent it once genes have been passed on to the next generation.

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13.2.2 Variable-Rate Theories

According to variable-rate theories, aging is the result of random

processes that vary from person to person. They are also called error
theories because these processes often involve damage due to chance
errors in, or environmental assaults on, biological systems.
One such theory, wear-and-tear theory, holds that the body ages as a
result of accumulated damage to the system at the molecular level. Like
an old car, the parts of the body eventually wear out. Some theorists
have argued that while this sounds commonsensical, there is no
fundamental reason bodies could not be made to continually regenerate,
as they do in youth.
Another theory of aging, known as the free-radical theory, proposes that
aging results from the formation of free radicals, a by-product of
metabolic processes. Free radicals are molecules with unpaired
electrons. This makes them very reactive because they seek to pair their
electrons and will ―steal‖ electrons from neighboring atoms. This process
can ultimately damage cell membranes, structures and proteins, fats,
carbohydrates, and even DNA. Moreover, free-radical damage
accumulates with age and has been associated with cardiovascular
disease, cancer, inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, heart disease,
neurological disorders such as Parkinson‘s disease and Alzheimer‘s
disease, gastric ulcers, and many others.
The free-radical theory was expanded to the mitochondrial theory of
aging. Mitochondria tiny organisms that generate chemical energy for
cells and tissues play an important role in helping cells survive under
stress and powering the body. However, when mitochondria generate
energy, they also create free radicals as by-products. These free
radicals can negatively affect surrounding tissues, including their own
mitochondrial DNA. This leads to even more free radical release, more
damage, and the aging process.

Free radicals, while potentially damaging, may also play a signaling role
by helping regulate genes necessary for cell growth and differentiation.
Some researchers argue their role in the aging process has been
overstated.
The rate-of-living theory postulates that there is a balance between
metabolism, or energy use, and life span. The faster a body‘s
metabolism, the shorter its life spans, and vice versa. So, for example, a
hummingbird would be predicted to have a shorter life than a sloth.
While this theory is useful in describing some phenomena, for example,

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when broadly comparing small and large animals to each other, it does
not explain many aspects of aging. For example, exercise, which
increases metabolic activity, would be predicted to shorten life span. In
reality, it has the opposite effect.
Genetic-programming and variable-rate theories have practical
implications. If human beings are programmed to age at a certain rate,
they can do little to retard the process. If, on the other hand, aging is
variable, then lifestyle practices may influence it. Some researchers
have suggested that rather than focusing on how to extend the human
life span, it makes more sense to consider how we can improve human
health while aging. Controllable environmental and lifestyle factors may
interact with genetic factors to determine how long a person lives and in
what condition.
13.2.3 How far can the life span be extended?

Most people understand that more people survive to the age of 40 than
to 60 and that more people survive to the age of 60 than to 80. When
translated into statistical terms, this concept is known as a survival
curve. A survival curve represents the percentage of people or animals
alive at various ages. With respect to humans, the curve currently ends
roughly at age 100, meaning few people survive past this age.
Scientists have extended the healthy life spans of worms, fruit flies, and
mice through slight genetic mutations. In human beings, of course,
genetic control of a biological process may be far more complex.
Because no single gene or process seems responsible for senescence
and the end of life, we are less likely to find genetic quick fixes for
human aging. Moreover, techniques that show promise in shorter-lived
species may not apply to humans.

Optimists, however, point to data showing continued increases in

longevity. Data show that while different dynamics are playing out in
different countries, the increase in longevity is not uncommon.
Interestingly, death rates actually decrease after 100. People at 110 are
no more likely to die in a given year than people in their eighties. In other
words, people hardy enough to reach a certain age are likely to go on
living a while longer.
When people who live to be very old are examined, it appears that
morbidity or being in a state of disease is being compressed. In other
words, these people are reaching old age in relatively good health.
However, once they begin to deteriorate, they do so very quickly. So,
while the overall rate of aging is unchanged, the process of aging itself

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seems to have been postponed, presumably because of good health.
Given this finding, the question then becomes: Can we postpone aging
even more, delay aging until even later, and thus increases the life
span? This has been termed the longevity riddle.
While the answer to this question remains to be seen, it raises important
issues. It suggests that increasing the healthy life span-a goal worthy in
itself-may itself increase life expectancy. It also suggests the most fruitful
area for longevity interventions should be focused on risk reduction and
living a healthy lifestyle. There are possible economic benefits to this
approach. Morbidity compression could lead to people living longer lives,
while simultaneously decreasing medical costs because of the
compression of poor health at the tail end of the life span.

One line of research inspired by rate-of-living theories that view energy

use as the crucial determinant of aging is on dietary restriction. Drastic
caloric reduction has been found to greatly extend life in worms, fish,
and monkeys-in fact, in nearly all animal species on which it has been
tried. Calorie restriction can have beneficial effects on human aging and
life expectancy. Calorie-restricted monkeys also show less of the brain
atrophy that sometimes accompanies aging, a finding that may have
implications for brain health. Additionally, one study demonstrated that at
least over the short term, a 25 percent calorie restriction intervention
promoted positive changes in markers related to disease risk and aging
in humans.
Given that a very-low-calorie diet takes great discipline to maintain and
is unrealistic for most people, there is increasing interest in developing
drugs that mimic the effects of caloric restriction. Intermittent fasting,
where food is eaten only during some hours of the day, holds some
promise. Research suggests it may exert a similar effect on metabolic
processes as calorie restriction while being easier to maintain. Last, a
more general and holistic approach to aging, with medications used
before the advent of aging-related disease, might show more promise for
extending life in humans.
13.3 PHYSICAL CHANGES

Some physical changes typically associated with aging are obvious to a

casual observer. Older skin tends to become paler and less elastic, and,
as fat and muscle shrink, the skin may wrinkle. Varicose veins may
appear on the legs. The hair on the head thins and turns gray and then
white, and body hair becomes sparser. Older adults become shorter as
the disks between their spinal vertebrae atrophy. In addition, the
chemical composition of the bone‘s changes, creating a greater risk of

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fractures. Less visible but equally important changes affect internal
organs and body systems; the brain; and sensory, motor, and sexual
functioning.
13.3.1 Organic and Systemic Changes

Changes in organic and systemic functioning are highly variable. Some

body systems decline rapidly, others hardly at all. There are, however,
typical age-related declines in most people. The lungs, for example,
become less effective because of reductions in lung volume, atrophy in
the muscles involved with breathing, and reductions in the ability of cilia
(hair like structures that clear mucus and dirt out of the lungs) to function
effectively. While there are normative age-related declines in immune
system functioning, stress can exacerbate this process, making older
people more susceptible to respiratory infections.
Heart health suffers as well. Elderly adults are more likely to suffer from
arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), the muscle walls of the heart may
thicken, and the valves that control the flow of blood in and out of the
heart may no longer open completely. These heart changes result in
impaired capacity for pumping blood and thus decreases in
cardiovascular fitness. Chronic stress in older adults is also related to
chronic low-grade inflammation, making older adults more vulnerable to
disease. Problems with swallowing food, gastric reflux, indigestion,
irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, and reduced absorption of
nutrients become more common with age.
This puts elderly people at higher risk of malnutrition, especially if they
have chronic diseases or are dependent on others for assistance in daily
activities. Reserve capacity is the backup capacity that helps body
systems function to their utmost limits in times of stress. With age,
reserve levels tend to drop, and many older people cannot respond to
extra physical demands as they once did.
13.3.2 The Aging Brain

As people become older, there are declines in the brain‘s ability to

process information rapidly, in executive functioning, and in episodic
memory. However, in normal, healthy people, changes in the aging brain
are generally subtle and make little difference in functioning. This is
because the brain retains a significant degree of plasticity and can
compensate for the challenges of aging by reorganizing neural circuitry
and working around the problem. Thus, the declines seen in the aging
brain are not as severe. For example, there are age-related changes in
functional connectivity, the ways in which different areas of the brain

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coordinate with each other during a task. In general, imaging studies
have found reduced functional connectivity during tasks. However, there
is more diffuse activation (more brain areas are used for completing
tasks) to compensate. This is particularly true when tasks are
challenging.
Some areas of the brain compensate by becoming more active with age.
For example, there are increases in prefrontal activity (associated with
effortful, controlled tasks) with age. This results in a shift toward ―somatic
zed cognition‖ in older adults. In other words, older adults utilize their
vast store of knowledge to strategically bolster their diminishing
processing capacities, allowing them to compensate with slower,
although often better decision-making.

In late adulthood, the brain gradually diminishes in volume and weight,

particularly in the frontal and temporal regions. The hippocampus the
seat of memory also shrinks. There is also a reduction in cortical
thickness. This gradual shrinkage was formerly attributed to a loss of
neurons (nerve cells). However, most researchers now agree that-
except in certain specific brain areas, such as the cerebellum, which
coordinates sensory and motor activity-neuronal loss is not substantial
and does not affect cognition. When the pace of these brain changes
increases, however, cognitive declines are increasingly likely.
Another typical change is a decrease in the number, or density, of
dopamine neurotransmitters due to losses of synapses (neuronal
connections). Dopamine receptors are important as they help in
regulating attention. This decline generally results in slowed response
time. Beginning in the mid-fifties, the myelin sheathing that enables
neuronal impulses to travel rapidly between brain regions begins to thin.
This deterioration of the brain‘s myelin, or white matter, is associated
with cognitive and motor declines.
Postmortem examinations of brain tissue have found significant DNA
damage in certain genes that affect learning and memory in most very
old people and some middle-aged people. Such changes are associated
with neurodegenerative disorders and dementia. Although adults over
the age of 90 years are more than 25 times more likely to develop
dementia than adults age 65 to 69 years, such deterioration is not
inevitable. Not all changes in the brain are destructive. Researchers
have discovered that older brains can grow new nerve cells from stem
cells-something once thought impossible.
Evidence of cell division has been found in the hippocampus, a portion
of the brain involved in learning and memory. It appears likely that in

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humans, physical activity paired with cognitive challenges may be most
effective in promoting the growth of new cells. Moreover, those older
adults who maintain a sense of purpose later in life retain a larger
volume of gray matter in their insular cortex when compared to adults
without this orientation. Findings such as these highlight the plasticity
and possibility for positive change in the aging brain even late in life.
13.4SENSORY AND PSYCHOMOTOR FUNCTIONING

\Individual differences in sensory and motor functioning increase with

age. Some older people experience sharp declines; others find their
abilities virtually unchanged. Visual and hearing problems may deprive
them of social relationships and independence, and motor impairments
may limit everyday activities.

Vision and Hearing Older eyes need more light to see, are more
sensitive to glare, and may have trouble locating and reading signs.
Thus, driving may become hazardous, especially at night. Older adults
may have difficulty with depth or color perception or with such daily
activities as reading, sewing, shopping, and cooking.
Losses in visual contrast sensitivity can cause difficulty reading very
small or very light print. Vision problems also can cause accidents and
falls. Many community-dwelling older adults report difficulty with bathing,
dressing, and walking around the house, in part because they are
visually impaired. People with moderate visual losses often can be
helped by corrective lenses or changes in the environment. Women are
about a third more likely to have a visual impairment than men are.

Cataracts, cloudy or opaque areas in the lens of the eye, are common in
older adults and eventually cause blurred vision. Surgery to remove
cataracts is one of the most frequent operations among older and is
generally quite successful. Cataract surgery is associated with a
reduction in mortality risk of up to 60 percent. Presumably the reduction
in mortality risk results from a number of factors tied to vision, such as
greater ease and accuracy in taking medications, greater likelihood of
staying physically active, and lower accident risk. The leading cause of
visual impairment in older adults is age-related macular degeneration.

The macula is a small spot in the center of the retina that helps us keep
objects directly in our line of sight in sharp focus. In the most common
form of macular degeneration, the retinal cells in this area degenerate
over time, and the center of the retina gradually loses the ability to
sharply distinguish fine details. Activities such as reading and driving
become extremely problematic, as the exact area in which a person

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focuses becomes blurry. In some cases, treatments using antioxidant
and zinc supplements and drugs that block the growth of abnormal blood
vessels under the retina can prevent further vision loss but cannot
reverse loss that has already occurred. For people with severe
degeneration, implantation of a tiny ―telescope‖ that magnifies and
focuses central retinal content to other areas of the retina that are still
healthy can be used. Glaucoma is irreversible damage to the optic nerve
caused by increased pressure in the eye.
Globally, about 466 HILL ion adults have disabling hearing loss-a
permanent hearing loss in the better ear of more than 40 decibels. About
17 percent of adults age 45 to 64 have trouble hearing. By 65 to 74
years, the proportion of affected adults rises to 30 percent, then 45.7
percent for people 75 and older. Men are approximately twice as likely to
experience a hearing impairment.
Generally, aging results in a variety of changes related to
physical abilities, including increases in body fat and declines in muscle
strength, aerobic capacity, flexibility, and agility. Generally, the loss of
strength is greater for lower than for upper limbs. The average loss in
strength for older adults is approximately 1 to 2 percent annually, a rate
that likely increases after age 75 in the absence of physical activity.
Flexibility also declines, although less so for women than for men. The
declines are related to aging as well as to decreases in physical activity.
These physical changes contribute to falls. Falls, the most
common cause of fractures, become increasingly common with age. At
age 65 to 74, the rate of fractures is approximately 9 per 1,000 adults.
By 85 years of age and older, the rate of fractures reaches 51 per 1,000
adults. Many falls are preventable by eliminating hazards commonly
found in the home. Additionally, some physical changes of age
contributing to falls can be reversed or slowed. Exercise interventions
using multiple-component exercises, resistance training, balance
training, and endurance training reduce the risk of falls and improve
balance, endurance, and elderly people‘s ease of walking.
The World Health Organization has made the promotion of
functional ability a priority and global fitness trends show increased
interest in functional fitness training. Functional fitness training refers to
exercises or activities that improve daily activity. While it has implications
for all ages, it is perhaps most relevant to elderly adults, who may have
increasing difficulty in performing the activities of daily living necessary
for independence. Levels of functional fitness decline with age in concert
with physical activity in a bidirectional fashion. In other words, becoming

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less physically active over time results in declines in functional fitness.
Those functional fitness declines then lead to reductions in physical
activity as movements become harder to execute.
While intervention programs using resistance training in the
elderly have shown that it is possible to increase muscle strength, there
is limited data on how simple increases in strength transfer to everyday
movements. Research does show that strength training interventions
can help active older adults improve balance and mobility. However,
functional fitness interventions that specifically mimic desired actions
show more practical success. For example, rather than using a seated
leg press, an elderly person might be coached by being asked to sit
down and rise from a chair while wearing a weighted vest. Such
programs are effective in increasing performance in everyday life and
that they are more effective than merely focusing on muscle strength.
Part of the reason for these gains is that the primary factor in
older adults is likely to be a training-induced adaptation in the brain‘s
ability to coordinate motor and brain activity. For example, vacuuming
requires muscle strength in the arms and legs, dynamic balance, control
of range of motion, gross and fine motor movements, and the
coordination of all movements together. Thus, functional fitness is as
much cognitive as it is physical. Currently, a large literature exists
documenting the positive effects of exercise on cognition. Exercise
improves cognitive health in chronically ill adults, helps prevent cognitive
declines in healthy adults, and appears to do so regardless of when
started and what particular type of exercise is done.
13.5 HEALTH AND FITNESS

Increasing life expectancy is raising pressing questions about the

relationship between longevity and health, both physical and mental.
How healthy are older adults today, and how can they stave off declines
in health?
13.5.1 Health Status

Poor health is not an inevitable consequence of aging. About 78

percent of adults age 65 and older consider themselves in good to
excellent health. As earlier in life, poverty is strongly related to poor
health and to limited access to and use of health care. For instance,
poverty is related to a higher incidence of arthritis, diabetes, high blood
pressure, heart disease, depression, and stroke in the elderly. Adults
who live in poverty are less likely to engage in such healthy behaviors as

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leisure-time physical activity, avoidance of smoking, and maintenance of
appropriate body weight.
13.5.2 Sleep

Older people tend to sleep and dream less than before. Their
hours of deep sleep are more restricted, and they may awaken more
easily and earlier in the morning. To some extent, this is driven by
normative changes in circadian (daily) rhythms. However, the
assumption that sleep problems are normal in old age can be
dangerous. Poor sleep quality or chronic insomnia can contribute to
depression, neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia, and
cognitive declines. Either too much sleep or too little sleep is associated
with an increased risk of mortality.
13.5.3 Sexual Functioning

Contrary to stereotypes, a sizable number of adults remain

sexually active late into adulthood. Men retain more sexual desire;
however, both men and women report a decline in sexual desire with
age, and women report a greater decline in sexual activity. Ageism and
stereotypes about the elderly may negatively influence sexual desire,
although more recent cohorts report a more positive attitude about
sexuality in old age, higher satisfaction in their sex lives, less sexual
dysfunction, and higher rates of sexual activity than previous cohorts.
Sex is different in late adulthood from what it was earlier. Men
typically take longer to develop an erection and to ejaculate, may need
more manual stimulation, may experience longer intervals between
erections, or may have difficult achieving an erection. Women report
more difficulties with becoming aroused and experiencing orgasm,
breast engorgement and other signs of sexual arousal are less intense
than before, and they may experience issues with lubrication. Health
problems are more likely to affect the sex life of women than men, but
poor mental health and relationship dissatisfaction are associated with
sexual dysfunction in both men and women.
Housing arrangements and care providers should consider the
sexual needs of elderly people. Satisfaction with life, cognitive
functioning, and psychological well-being are all strongly related to
interest in and having sex. However, the most consistent predictors are
health status and the presence of a relationship partner. Physicians
should avoid prescribing drugs that interfere with sexual functioning if
alternatives are available and, when such a drug must be taken, should
alert the patient to its effects. Because they rarely use condoms, sexual

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health and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections should be
discussed with sexually active older adults.
LET US SUM UP

Most people are living in old age throughout the world and there
are a number of physical changes in old age. The longevity of life is
extended in the contemporary world and we find gender differences in
life span longevity. Many explanations are given on why people age and
most of them support genetic programming. The recent focus shifted on
extending the life span of the individuals. In old age the sensory and
psychomotor functioning decline.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. _________ is the branch of medicine concerned with aging.
2. The ________ is the longest period that members of our
species can live.
3. Human cells will divide in the laboratory no more than 50
times, a number now known as_________.
4. According to______, reproductive fitness is the primary aim
of natural selection.
5. In old age, _____________may appear on the legs.

KEY WORDS

Aging Life span Activities of daily living

Gerontology Sensory changes Free-radical theory
Physical health Sexual functioning Arrhythmia

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Geriatrics

2. Human life span

3. The Hayflick limit
4. The evolutionary theory of aging

5. Varicose veins

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GLOSSARY
Epigenesist: Process involving genes being turned on and off by
molecular ―tags,‖ or instructions.
Life expectancy: The age, to which a person born at a certain time and
place is statistically likely to live, given his or her current age and health
status.
Primary aging: A gradual, inevitable process of bodily deterioration that
begins early in life and continues through the years irrespective of what
people do to stave it off.
Secondary aging: Aging that results from disease, abuse, and disuse-
factors that are often within a person‘s control.
Telomeres: The repetitive fragments of DNA on the tips of
chromosomes.
MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Write about physical changes in old age.

2. Why people age? Examine the theories.
3. Explain the sensory and psychomotor functioning in old age.
4. Write an account on sexual functioning in old age.
5. Can the life span be extended? Examine.

SUGGESTED READINGS
 Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Developmental Psychology – A Life
Span Approach,
 Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing co. Ltd., New
Delhi.
 Zubek J.P. and Solberg, P.A., Human Development, New
York, McGraw Hill
 Book Co. Ltd., 1954.
 Papalia, Diane E and Old, Human Development V Ed 1992,
Tata McGraw
 Hill Publishing Co., Ltd.

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UNIT: 14

HEALTH PROBLEMS, MEMORY

CHANGES IN OLD AGE
STRUCTURE

Overview
Learning objectives
14.1. Health problems

14.2. Mental and behavioral problems

14.3. Memory changes
14.4 work and retirement

Let us sum up
Check your progress
Key words
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model questions
Suggested readings

OVERVIEW

In this unit we discuss some of the long lasting physical and mental
health problems in old age. Life style of the aged people plays a vital
role in determining their physical and mental health. We also discuss
memory changes and one of the important diseases, Alzheimer‘s
disease, with its nature, causes, and impact and treatment methods.
Finally, we understand the nature of work and retirement in old age.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 To identify the chronic conditions and disabilities in old age.
 To know how lifestyle determines the longevity of aged people.
 To recognize the mental health issues in old age.
 To understand the memory changes in old age.

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14.1 HEALTH PROBLEMS

It is common to have health problems in old age and people with

chronic health conditions are likely to have a lower quality of life and are
at risk of disability and death. Heart disease, cancer, chronic lower
respiratory disease, stroke, Alzheimer‘s disease, and diabetes are
chronic conditions causing problems among the aged. Worldwide, the
leading causes of death at age 50 to 69 and older are heart disease,
cancers, diabetes, blood and endocrine disorders, chronic pulmonary
disease, and liver disease. By 70 years and older, dementia becomes
the fourth leading cause of death. Hypertension affects about 55
percent of men and 58 percent of women. Hypertension, which can
affect blood flow to the brain, is related to declines in attention, learning,
memory, executive functions, psychomotor abilities, and visual,
perceptual, and spatial skills and is a risk factor for stroke. In the
presence of chronic conditions and loss of reserve capacity, even a
minor illness or injury can have serious repercussions.
14.2 MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS

Generally, aged people have some form of mental or behavioral

problem, and only 3 percent of them seek professional help.
i) Depression
Rates of reported depressive Symptomatology have stayed
relatively stable and older men and 16 percent of older women report
symptoms of clinical depression. Heredity has been estimated to
account for 37 percent of the risk for major depression; however, genetic
influences seem to be more important in women than in men.
Vulnerability seems to result from the influence of multiple genes
interacting with environmental factors. For instance, one consistently
identified risk factor for depression in adulthood, more than doubling the
risk, is childhood abuse or neglect. Special risk factors in late adulthood
include chronic illness or disability, cognitive decline, and divorce,
separation, or widowhood. Depression plays a more pervasive role in
mental functional status, disability, and quality of life than do physical
ailments such as diabetes or arthritis.
ii) Dementia

Dementia is the general term for physiologically caused cognitive

and behavioral decline sufficient to interfere with daily activities.
Cognitive decline becomes increasingly common with advanced age,
affecting men and women.

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 Although there are about 50 causes of dementia of known origin,
the vast majority of cases (about two-thirds) are caused by Alzheimer‘s
disease, a progressive, degenerative brain disorder. Parkinson‘s
disease, the second most common disorder involving progressive
neurological degeneration, is characterized by tremor, stiffness, slowed
movement, and unstable posture. These diseases together with multi-
infarct dementia (MD), which is caused by a series of small strokes,
account for at least 8 out of 10 cases of dementia, all irreversible.
Dementia is not inevitable. A variety of factors protect people
from developing dementia. Certain personality traits, in particular,
conscientiousness and neuroticism, seem to confer protection. Cognitive
characteristics and education are also protective, as is a challenging job,
and bilingualism, even in those who are illiterate.
Impairment is more likely in people with poor health, especially
those who experience strokes or diabetes. A lack of regular physical
activity puts people at risk for later dementia, and instituting an exercise
program even late in life may help reverse some of the early signs of
cognitive impairment in otherwise healthy adults. Indeed, many of the
risk factors for dementia are modifiable. Estimates are that 35 percent of
dementia cases could be prevented by modifying a series of risk factors
including education, hearing loss, obesity and hypertension, depression,
smoking, physical inactivity, diabetes, and social isolation.
iii) Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer‘s disease (AD) is one of the most common and most
feared terminal illnesses among aging persons. It gradually robs patients
of intelligence, awareness, and even the ability to control their bodily
functions-and finally kills them. Alzheimer‘s is the sixth leading cause of
the death The classic symptoms of Alzheimer‘s disease are memory
impairment, deterioration of language, and deficits in visual and spatial
processing. The most prominent early symptom is inability to recall
recent events or take in new information. A person may repeat
questions that were just answered or leave an everyday task
unfinished. These early signs may be overlooked because they look like
forgetfulness or are interpreted as signs of normal aging.
Personality changes-for instance, rigidity, apathy, egocentricity,
and impaired emotional control-tend to occur early in the disease‘s
development. There are indications that these personality changes may
be useful in predicting which adults might be at risk of developing
dementia. More symptoms follow: irritability, anxiety, depression, and,
later, delusions, delirium, and wandering. Long-term memory, judgment,

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concentration, orientation, and speech all become impaired, and patients
have trouble handling basic activities of daily life. By the end, the patient
cannot use language, does not recognize family members, cannot eat
without help, cannot control the bowels, and loses the ability to walk.
Death usually comes within 8 to 10 years after symptoms appear.
iv) Causes and Risk Factors

Accumulation of an abnormal protein called beta amyloid peptide

appears to be the main culprit contributing to the development of
Alzheimer‘s disease. The brain of a person with AD contains excessive
amounts of neurofibrillary tangles (twisted masses of dead neurons) and
large waxy clumps of amyloid plaque (nonfunctioning tissue formed by
beta amyloid in the spaces between neurons). Because these plaques
are insoluble, the brain cannot clear them away. They may become
dense, spread, and destroy surrounding neurons, block cell-to-cell
signaling, or trigger inflammatory responses. There is evidence that
another mechanism driving the progression of neurodegenerative
disease is the breakdown of myelin, the fatty substance that coats axons
and allows neural impulses to travel more rapidly. Myelin affords our
brains some of their great complexity, but it also makes us vulnerable to
neurodegenerative disease in old age, particularly in late developing
areas of the brain.
In this theory, neurodegenerative disease results from the brain‘s
efforts to repair broken-down myelin, which result in the release of
neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques. These substances can
damage neurons directly as described above, but the brain is also
affected by the compromised myelin. When attempts to restore myelin
are successful, disease progression is slow. However, when this
process fails, neurodegenerative disease progresses.
Alzheimer‘s disease is influenced by genetics. Some rare
variants caused by dominant mutations and occurring less than 1
percent of the time are associated with early onset dementia. However,
the majority of dementia cases involve multifactorial effects, where any
one of a number of genetic variants may put people at elevated risk. The
more variants a person has and the more environmental risk factors they
accumulate over the course of a lifetime, the higher the chance of
developing AD. Epigenetic modifications that determine whether a
particular gene is turned on are important.

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14.3 MEMORY CHANGES

Failing memory is often considered a sign of aging. Loss of

memory is the chief worry reported by older people. Slightly fewer than
19 percent of adults age 65 and older have cognitive impairment without
dementia.
i) Short-Term Memory

Researchers assess short-term memory by asking a person to

repeat a sequence of numbers, either in the order in which they were
presented (digit span forward) or in reverse order (digit span backward).
Digit span forward ability holds up well with advancing age but digit span
backward performance does not. One reason for this may involve the
differentiation of sensory and working memory.

Sensory memory involves the brief storage of sensory

information. Working memory involves the short-term storage of
information being actively processed. Some theorists argue that forward
repetition requires only sensory memory, which retains efficiency
throughout life. However, backward repetition requires the manipulation
of information in working memory, which gradually shrinks in capacity
with age. A key factor in memory performance is the complexity of the
task. Tasks that require only rehearsal or repetition show very little
decline. Tasks that require reorganization or elaboration show greater
falloff.
ii) Long-Term Memory
Information-processing researchers divide long-term memory into
three major systems: episodic memory, semantic memory, and
procedural memory. Remembering what you had for breakfast this
morning is stored in episodic memory, the long-term memory system
most likely to deteriorate with age. Episodic memory is linked to specific
events; you retrieve an item by reconstructing the original experience in
your mind. Older adults are less able than younger people to do so,
perhaps because they focus less on context (where something
happened, who was there), and rely more on gist than. Because of this,
they have fewer connections to jog their memory. Also, older people
have had many similar experiences that tend to run together. When
older people perceive an event as distinctive, they can remember it
nearly as well as younger people.

Some types of long-term memories remain vigorous as people

age. Semantic memory consists of meanings, facts, and concepts
accumulated over a lifetime of learning. Semantic memory shows little

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decline with age, although infrequently used or highly specific
information may sometimes be difficult to retrieve. Indeed, some aspects
of semantic memory, such as vocabulary and knowledge of rules of
language, may even increase with age. Another long-term memory
system that remains relatively unaffected is procedural memory.
Procedural memory includes motor skills (like riding a bike) and habits
(like taking a particular street home) that, once learned, take little
conscious effort. It is relatively unaffected by age. .
iii) Speech and Memory

As people become older, they often begin to have minor

difficulties with language. However, these experiences are not generally
due to issues related to language per se but rather are the result of
problems accessing and retrieving information from memory. The core
language processes remain relatively unchanged across age. Thus, they
are considered memory problems rather than language problems. The
tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon; occurs in people of all ages but
becomes more common in late adulthood. Presumably, the TOT
phenomenon results from a failure in working memory.

Other problems in verbal retrieval include errors in naming pictures of

objects aloud, more ambiguous references and slips of the tongue in
everyday speech, more use of non-fluencies (such as ―um‖ and ―er‖) in
speech, and a tendency to misspell words (such as indict) that are
spelled differently than they sound. Older adults also may show declines
in the complexity of grammar used in speech.
iv) Memory Systems Decline and Memory Losses
Investigators have offered several hypotheses for memory
systems decline and memory losses in old age. One approach focuses
on the biological structures that make memory work. Another approach
looks at problems with the three steps required to process information in
memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Different memory systems depend on different brain structures.

Thus, a disorder that damages a particular brain structure may impair
the type of memory associated with it. For example, Alzheimer‘s disease
disrupts working memory (located in the prefrontal cortex at the front of
the frontal lobes) as well as semantic and episodic memory (located in
the frontal and temporal lobes); Parkinson‘s disease affects procedural
memory, located in the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and other areas.
The main structures involved in normal memory processing and storage
include the frontal lobes and the hippocampus. The frontal lobes are

186
active in both encoding and retrieval of episodic memories. Dysfunction
in these areas may cause false memories-―remembering‖ events that
never occurred. Specifically, changes in the prefrontal cortex and medial
temporal lobes seem to be most responsible.
The hippocampus, a small, centrally located structure deep in the
temporal lobe, seems critical to the ability to store new information in
episodic memory and is broadly important for memory processes.
Research with adults in their seventies and older has shown that better
memory is associated with larger hippocampus volume. In one study,
adults who were 75 years of age and older who performed well on
memory tests had larger hippocampus volume. The brain often
compensates for age-related declines in specialized regions by tapping
other regions to help. Younger adults are more likely to use localized
areas of the brain during challenging tasks, while older adults are more
likely to use more diffuse activation and utilize more or different brain
areas as compensatory mechanisms for declines. The brain‘s ability to
reorganize may help explain why symptoms of Alzheimer‘s disease often
do not appear until the disease is well advanced and previously
unaffected regions of the brain, which have taken over for impaired
regions, lose their own working capacity. By the time signs of damage
show, the disease has likely existed for decades.
v) Problems in Encoding, Storage and Retrieval
Episodic memory is particularly vulnerable to the effects of aging;
an effect that is aggravated as memory tasks become more complex or
demanding. Older adults seem to have greater difficulty encoding new
episodic memories, presumably because of difficulties in forming and
later recalling a coherent and cohesive episode. They tend to be less
efficient and precise than younger adults in the use of strategies to make
it easier to remember-for example, by arranging material alphabetically
or creating mental associations.

Another hypothesis is that material in storage may deteriorate to

the point where retrieval becomes difficult or impossible. A small
increase in ―storage failure‖ may occur with age. However, traces of
decayed memories are likely to remain, and it may be possible to
reconstruct them or at least to relearn the material speedily. In particular,
it appears as if memories that contain an emotional component are more
resistant to the effects of decay. For example, older adults are motivated
to preserve memories that have positive emotional meaning to them.
Thus, emotional factors need to be considered in studying memory
changes in old age.

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 Memory failures of older adults in daily life often include
prospective memory failures. Prospective memory involves
remembering to do something in the future, such as remembering to call
a friend later. Prospective memory declines with age and is a significant
issue for many older adults.
14.4 WORK AND RETIREMENT

Retirement took hold in many industrialized countries during the

late nineteenth and early twentieth century‘s. Eventually, mandatory
retirement at age 65 became almost universal. Today, compulsory
retirement has been virtually outlawed as a form of age discrimination,
and the line between work and retirement is not as clear as it used to be.
There are no longer norms concerning the timing of retirement, how to
plan for it, and what to do afterward. Often, a desire to pursue activities
other than work or to spend time with family is the impetus for
retirement.
However, within creasing age, many adults retire because of
health reasons. There are multiple interrelated issues, including marital
status, current assets and liabilities, the status of dependents, the nature
of the work and whether or not age will make that challenging, and the
current state of the job market. Only 40 percent of those older adults
who stop working in their fifties and sixties stop for good; the remainder
go back to work either part- or full-time before permanently exiting the
workforce.
i) Trends in Late-Life Work and Retirement

Most adults who can retire do retire, and, with increasing

longevity, they spend more time in retirement than in the past. However,
the proportion of workers older than 65 years of age has increased
sharply. This graying of the working population is expected to continue
to increase and is the fastest growing labor participation group.
ii) Life after Retirement

Retirement is not a single event but a dynamic adjustment

process that is best conceptualized as a form of decision making. Within
one model are five broad categories of resources that help determine
how well a person adjusts to retirement: (1) individual attributes such as
health and financial status; (2) preretirement job-related variables such
as job stress; (3) family-related variables such as marriage quality and
dependents; (4) retirement transition-related variables such as

188
retirement planning; and (5) postretirement activities such as bridge
employment and volunteer work.
Whether and how well people are able to plan for retirement
impacts their adjustment. Those people who retire earlier than planned
or against their will show declines in wellbeing, whereas the opportunity
to plan retirement is associated with well-being and life satisfaction.
Bridge employment also appears to be beneficial.
People transitioning from working to retirement are particularly
likely to volunteer and those who do volunteer are more likely to
experience high levels of well-being during retirement. Volunteering
during retirement has been positively associated with good health and
negatively associated with depression, functional limitations, and
mortality. Volunteering also predicts positive emotionality and protects
against declines in wellbeing associated with major role-identity losses
and declines in mental health. Thus, adjustment to retirement does not
depend on one factor alone, but rather upon a variety of factors.
Additionally, it is not something that happens immediately. Rather, it is a
process that occurs over time, dynamically, between a person, important
interactional partners, and the various environments a person is involved
with or seeks out.
LET US SUM UP

Most older people are reasonably healthy, especially if they

follow a healthy lifestyle. Many do have chronic conditions, but these
usually do not greatly limit activities or interfere with daily life. Exercise
and diet are important influences on health. Most older people are in
good mental health. Depression, alcoholism, and many other conditions
can be reversed with treatment; a few, such as Alzheimer‘s disease, are
irreversible. Alzheimer‘s disease becomes more prevalent with age. It is
highly heritable, but diet, exercise, and other lifestyle factors may play a
part. Cognitive activity may be protective by building up a cognitive
reserve that enables the brain to function under stress. Behavioral and
drug can slow deterioration. Mild cognitive impairment can be an early
sign of the disease, and researchers are developing tools for early
diagnosis. Retirement is not a single event but a dynamic adjustment
process in old age.

189
 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. __________ plays a more pervasive role in mental functional
status.
2. __________ appears to be the main culprit contributing to the
development of Alzheimer‘s disease.
3. ___________ memory is linked to specific events.
4. A small increase in ―storage failure‖ may occur with _______.
5. _____________ during retirement has been positively
associated with good health.
KEY WORDS

D ementia Alzheimer‘s disease Digit span forward

Parkinson‘s disease Neurofibrillary tangles Reorganization

Amyloid plaque Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon

Cognitive reserve `
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Depression
2. Beta amyloid peptide
3. Episodic
4. Age
5. Volunteering
GLOSSARY
Frontal Lobes: Brain parts active in both encoding and retrieval of
episodic memories.
Hippocampus: A small, centrally located structure deep in the temporal
lobe seems critical to the ability to store new information in episodic
memory and is broadly important for memory processes.
Parkinson’s disease: The second most common disorder involving
progressive neurological degeneration characterized by tremor,
stiffness, slowed movement, and unstable posture.
Procedural memory: Memory that includes motor skills and habits.
Semantic Memory: Memory that consists of meanings, facts, and
concepts accumulated over a lifetime of learning.

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MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Bring out the health problems in old age.

2. Discuss the mental health and behavioural problems in old age.
3. Write an account on Alzheimer‘s disease.
4. What are the memory changes in old age? Elaborate.
5. How old age people adjust to work and retirement?
SUGGESTED READINGS
 Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Developmental Psychology – A Life Span
Approach,
 Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing co. Ltd., New Delhi.
 Zubek J.P. and Solberg, P.A., Human Development, New York,
McGraw Hill
 Book Co. Ltd., 1954.
 Papalia, Diane E and Old, Human Development V Ed 1992,
Tata McGraw
 Hill Publishing Co., Ltd.

191
UNIT: 15

ADJUSTMENT, RELATIONSHIPS AND

DEATH IN OLD AGE
STRUCTURE

OVERVIEW
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
15.1. Adjustment to Old Age

15.1.1 Financial Adjustment

15.1.2 Adjustment to Living Arrangements
15.2. Personal Relationships in Late Life

15.2.1 Theories of Social Contact and Social Support

15.2.2. The Importance of Social Relationships
15.2.3 The Multigenerational Family
15.3. Death and Bereavement
15.4 Purpose and Meaning in Life
Let us sum up
Check your progress
Key words
Answers to check your progress

Glossary
Model questions
Suggested readings

OVERVIEW

This unit discusses the major adjustments in old age. Age people
have personal relations in late life and the nature of these relationships
will be dealt in detail. Death is inevitable and the meaning of death and
dying are changing forever. Facing death and loss is a significant issue
in old age and its dynamics with theoretical viewpoints will be dealt in
this section. Finally we discuss the ways of finding purpose and meaning
in life.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 To comprehend the major adjustments to old age.
 To know how aged people maintain personal and social
relationships in old age.
 To understand the nature of death in old age.
 To understand the mechanisms by which aged people
handle bereavement and death.
 To know the methods of finding meaning in life.
15.1 ADJUSTMENT TO OLD AGE

In old age the individuals need to make several adjustments due

to physical and social changes. As they have retired from work, financial
adjustment becomes very important at this age. Due to physical
deterioration and inability, the aged need to adjust to living conditions
also. In the following section we discuss the important adjustments in old
age.
15.1.1 Financial Adjustment
In many countries, Government Programmes for the Elderly
covers basic health insurance residents who are 65 or older or are
disabled have enabled today‘s older people, as a group, to live fairly
comfortably. The proportion of older adults living in poverty fell from35
percent to less than 10 percent and the poverty rate for older adult‘s
nowis lower. Women-especially if they are single, widowed, separated,
or divorced or if they were previously poor or worked only part-time in
middle age-are more likely than men to live in poverty in old age.
15.1.2 Adjustment to Living Arrangements

In developing countries, older adults typically live with adult

children and grandchildren in multigenerational households, though this
custom is declining. In developed countries, most older people live alone
or with a partner or spouse. Because of women‘s greater life
expectancy, there are about 72 percent of non-institutionalized men but
only about 42 percent of non-institutionalized women live with a spouse.
Nearly19 percent of the men and 40 percent of the women live alone,
while 9 percent of the men and 19 percent of the women live with other
relatives or nonrelatives, including partners and children. With advancing
age, the percentages of women, particularly, living with a spouse
decrease and the percentage living alone increase.

Living arrangements alone do not tell us much about older adults‘

well-being. For example, living alone does not necessarily imply lack of

193
family cohesion and support; instead, it may reflect an older person‘s
good health, economic self-sufficiency, and desire for independence. By
the same token, living with adult children tells us nothing about the
quality of relationships in the household.
Aging in Place

Older adults in industrialized countries prefer, if possible, to stay

in their own homes and communities. This option, called aging in place,
makes sense for those who can manage on their ownor with minimal
help, have an adequate income or a paid-up mortgage, can handle the
upkeep, are happy in the neighborhood, and want to be independent, to
have privacy, and to be near friends, adult children, or grandchildren.
Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs)are
neighborhoods in which a large proportion of residents happen to be
older Adults.

For older people with impairments that make it hard to get along
entirely on their own, minor support-such as meals, transportation, and
home health aides-often can help them stay put. So can ramps, grab
bars, and other modifications within the home. Most older people do not
need much help; and those who do can often remain in the community if
they have at least one person to depend on. In fact, the single most
important factor keeping people out of institutions is being married. As
long as a couple are in relatively good health, they can usually live fairly
independently and care for each other. The issue of living arrangements
becomes more pressing and institutionalization more likely when one or
both become frail, infirm, or disabled, or when one spouse dies.
Let‘s look more closely at the two most common living
arrangements for older adults without spouses-living alone and living
with adult children-and then at living in institutions and alternative forms
of group housing.
Living Alone

Because women live longer than men and are more likely to be
widowed, older women are more than twice as likely as older mento live
alone, and the likelihood increases with age. Older people living alone
are more likely than older people with spouses to be poor. The picture is
similar in most developed countries: Older women are more likely to live
alone than older men. The growth of elderly single-person households
has been spurred by greater longevity, increased benefits and pensions,
increased home ownership, more elder-friendly housing, more

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availability of community support, and reduced public assistance with
nursing home costs. It might seem that older people, who live alone,
particularly the oldest old, would be lonely. However, such factors as
personality, cognitive abilities, physical health, and a depleted social
network may play a greater role in loneliness. Social activities, such as
going to a senior center or doing volunteer work, can help an older
person living alone stay connected to the community.
Living with Adult Children

Older people in many societies could expect to live and be cared

for in their children‘s or grandchildren‘s homes, but this pattern is
changing rapidly. Most older people in developed countries, even when
in difficult circumstances, prefer not to live with their children. They are
reluctant to burden their families and to give up their freedom. It can be
inconvenient to absorb an extra person into a household, and
everyone‘s privacy-and relationships-may suffer. The parent may feel
useless, bored, and isolated from friends. If the adult child is married and
the spouse and parent do not get along well, or care giving duties
become too burdensome, the marriage may be threatened. The success
of such an arrangement depends largely on the quality of the
relationship that has existed in the past and on the ability of both
generations to communicate fully and frankly. The decision to move a
parent into an adult child‘s home should be mutual and needs to be
thought through carefully and thoroughly. Parents and children need to
respect each other‘s dignity and autonomy and accept their differences.
Living in Institutions
The use of nonfamily institutions for care of the frail elderly varies
greatly around the world. Institutionalization has been rare in developing
regions but is becoming less so in some countries, where declines in
fertility have resulted in a rapidly aging population and a shortage of
family caregivers. Comprehensive geriatric home visitation programs in
some countries have been effective in holding down nursing home
admissions.
In all countries, the likelihood of living in a nursing home
increases with age. Most older nursing-home residents worldwide and
almost 3 out of 4 are women. Most likely to be institutionalized are those
living alone, those who do not take part in social activities, those whose
daily activities are limited by poor health or disability, and those whose
informal caregivers are overburdened.

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 An essential element of good care is the opportunity for residents
to make decisions and exert some control over their lives. Among
intermediate-care nursing home residents, those who had higher self-
esteem, less depression, and greater sense of satisfaction and meaning
in life were less likely to die within four years-perhaps because their
psychological adjustment motivated them to wantto live and to take
better care of themselves.
Alternative Housing Options

Some older adults who cannot or do not want to maintain a

house, do not need special care, do not have family nearby, prefer a
different locale or climate, or want to travel move into maintenance-free
or low maintenance townhouses, condominiums, cooperative or rental
apartments, or mobile homes. A relatively new but growing segment of
the housing market is in age-qualified active adult communities. In these
communities, for people age 55and older, residents can walk out their
front door and find a variety of leisure opportunities-fitness centers,
tennis courts, golf courses-close by. For those who cannot or prefer not
to live completely independently, a wide array of group housing options
has emerged. Some of these newer arrangements enable older people
with health problems or disabilities to receive needed services or care
without sacrificing autonomy, privacy and dignity.
One popular option is assisted living, the fastest-growing form of
housing specifically for older adults. Assisted-living facilities enable
tenants to live in their own homelike space while giving them easy 24-
hour access to needed personal and health care services. In most of
these facilities a person can move, when and if necessary, from relative
independence (with housekeeping and meals provided)to help with
bathing, dressing, managing medications, and using a wheelchair to get
around. However, assisted-living facilities vary widely in
accommodations, operation, philosophy, and rates, and those offering
adequate privacy and services are generally not affordable for
moderate- and low-income persons unless they dispose of or spend
down their assets to supplement their income.
15.2 PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS IN LATE LIFE

Our stereotypes often lead us to believe that old age is a time of

loneliness and isolation. While it is true that older adults have far fewer
people in their social networks thany ounger adults do, with men‘s social
networks being even smaller than those of women, this does not mean
older adults are necessarily isolated and lonely. Loneliness remains
essentially unchanged from adolescence to old age, although there are

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some indications that it may increase in the very oldest old. Moreover,
despite their smaller social networks, older adults retain a close circle of
confidants. Furthermore, the relationships older adults do maintain are
more important to their wellbeing than ever and help keep their minds
and memories sharp.
15.2.1 Theories of Social Contact and Social Support

According to social convoy theory, aging adults maintain their

level of social support by identifying members of their social network
who can help them and avoiding those who are not supportive. As
former coworkers and casual friends drop away, most older adults retain
a stable inner circle of social convoys: close friends and family members
on whom they can rely and who strongly affect their well-being.

A somewhat different explanation of changes in social contact

comes from socio emotional electivity theory. As remaining time
becomes short, older adults choose to spend time with people and in
activities that meet immediate emotional needs. A college student may
put up with a disliked teacher for the sake of gaining needed knowledge;
an older adult may be less willing to spend precious time with a friend
who gets on her nerves.
Thus, even though older adults may have smaller social
networks than younger adults do, they tend to have as many very close
relationships and they report greater satisfaction with their relationships
than do younger adults. Their positive feelings toward old friends are as
strong as those of young adults, and their positive feelings toward family
members are stronger.
15.2.2 The Importance of Social Relationships

Most of us want and need the support and love of others around
us, and we are happier when part of a social community. Because of this
need, social isolation-or loneliness-is an important outcome variable that
affects both psychological and physical health. Indeed, strong social
relationships are as important for health and mortality as smoking, being
obese, and abusing alcohol. People who are socially isolated and lonely
tend to show more rapid physical and cognitive declines than those who
are not, even very late in life. Moreover, the feeling of being useless to
others is a strong factor for disabilities and mortality. Having a purpose
in life is associated with decreased risk of heart attack and death. To be
beneficial, however, relationships must be of good quality. If they are
marked by criticism, rejection, neglect, control, or undermining
behaviors, they can serve as chronic stressors.

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15.2.3 The Multigenerational Family

Historically, families rarely spanned more than three generations.

Today, many families in developed countries can include four or more
generations, making it possible for adperson to be both a grandparent
and a grandchild at the same time. This has led to the rise of
multigenerational families, in which grandparents, their adult children,
and grandchildren live under the same roof. The presence of so many
family members can be enriching but also can create special pressures.
While there is great variability, older adults are as a group more likely to
suffer from debilitating disease or infirmity, and their care can be
physically and emotionally draining. Given the rapid growth in the
population of adults 85 and older, many people in their late sixties or
beyond, whose own health and energy may be faltering, may find
themselves serving as caregivers. Generally, the burden of this
intergenerational care falls to women, due in part to gender role norms
of women as caregivers.
The ways families deal with these issues often have cultural roots.
People from cultures that strongly focus on familial bonds are, not
surprisingly, more receptive to the needs of their aging parents and more
likely to offer support than are people from more individualistic cultures.
For example, the nuclear family and the desire of older adults to live
apart from their children reflect dominant values of individualism,
autonomy, and self-reliance, while some cultures traditionally emphasize
lineal, or intergenerational, obligations. There are suggestions that the
accelerating pace of globalization will result in a movement away from
the more traditionally oriented family bonds found in many countries and
toward the individualistic style more characteristic of more economically
stable nations.
15.3 DEATH AND BEREAVEMENT

Death is a biological fact, but it also has social, cultural,

historical, religious, legal, psychological, developmental, medical, and
ethical aspects, and often these are closely intertwined. Although death
and loss are universal experiences, they have a cultural and historical
context. Cultural and religious attitudes toward death and dying affect
how people regard their own. Death used to come early and frequently
in the life of a family and community and was a constant household
companion. Today people in most countries live longer and death is a
less frequent and less visible occurrence. Let‘s look more closely at
death and mourning in the cultural and historical context.

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15.3.1 The Cultural Context

Customs concerning disposal and remembrance of the dead,

transfer of possessions, and even expression of grief vary greatly from
culture to culture and often are governed by religious or legal
prescriptions that reflect a society‘s view of what death is and what
happens afterward. Cultural aspects of death include care of and
behavior toward the dying and the dead, the setting where death usually
takes place, and mourning customs and rituals, at which mourners vent
their feelings and share memories of the deceased. Some cultural
conventions are codified in law.
Although there are wide variations in customs surrounding death,
there are nonetheless some commonalities in the experience across
cultures. Expressions of grief, anger, and fear are common across
cultures, and most cultures have socially sanctioned ways of expressing
these emotions within the context of mourning or funeral practices.
15.3.2 The Mortality Revolution
In all societies throughout history, death is a frequent, expected
event, sometimes welcomed as a peaceful end to suffering. Caring for a
dying loved one at home was a common experience, as it still is in some
rural communities. Great historical changes regarding death and dying
have taken place since the late nineteenth century, especially in
developed countries. Advances in medicine and sanitation, new
treatments for many once-fatal illnesses, and a better-educated, more
health conscious population have brought about a mortality revolution.
The top causes of death in the 1900s were diseases that most often
affected children and young people: pneumonia and influenza,
tuberculosis, diarrhea, and enteritis. Today, the majority of deaths occur
among people age 65 and older, primarily from diseases such as heart
disease and cancer, the top two causes of death.
Amid all this progress in improving health and lengthening life,
something important may have been lost. Looking death in the eye, bit
by bit, day by day, people growing up in traditional societies absorbed an
important truth: Dying is part of living. As death increasingly became a
phenomenon of late adulthood, it became ―invisible and abstract‖. Such
social conventions as placing the dying person in a hospital or nursing
home and refusing to openly discuss his or her condition reflected and
perpetuated attitudes of avoidance and denial of death.
Today, this picture again is changing. Hematology, the study of
death and dying, is arousing interest, and educational programs have

199
been established to help people deal with death. Because of the
prohibitive cost of extended hospital care that cannot save the terminally
ill, many more deaths are now occurring at home, as they once did the
world over.
15.3.3 Care of the Dying

Along with a growing tendency to face death more honestly,

movements have arisen to make dying more humane. Primary among
these movements is the establishment of hospice care for dying
persons. Hospice care is personal, patient- and family-centered,
compassionate care for the terminally ill. Hospice facilities generally
provide palliative care, which includes relief of pain and suffering, control
of symptoms, alleviation of stress, and attempts to maintain a
satisfactory quality of life. However, palliative care is not intended to cure
or reverse the course of disease. Hospice facilities offer a specialized
type of palliative care for people whose life expectancy is 6 months or
less. The goal is to allow the person to die in peace and dignity, while
minimizing any pain and suffering, and it often includes self-help support
groups for both dying people and their families.

Hospice care may take place at home, but such care can be
given in a hospital or another institution, at a hospice center, or through
a combination of home and institutional care. The provision of hospice
and palliative care is associated with better outcomes. For instance,
patients enrolled in hospice report greater satisfaction and pain control;
they are less likely to report difficulty breathing; they spend less time in
the hospital; and they are less likely to be admitted to the intensive care
unit and less likely to die in the hospital. Their families are more likely to
report greater satisfaction with care, higher-quality end-of-life care, and
compliance with requests about end-of-life preferences. Hospice care is
likely to have its greatest effects if it is provide dearly enough to improve
quality of life, especially for those individuals who are unlikely to benefit
from medical intervention.
Facing Death and Loss

Death is an important chapter in human development. People

change in response to death and dying, whether their own or that of a
loved one.

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15.3.4 Physical and Cognitive Changes Preceding Death

Even without any identifiable illness, people around the age of

100 tend to experience functional declines, lose interest in eating and
drinking, and die a natural death. There also appear to be changes in life
satisfaction that precede death. Such changes also have been noted in
younger people whose death is near.
Terminal drop, or terminal decline, refers specifically to a widely
observed decline in cognitive abilities shortly before death, even when
factors such as demographics and health are controlled for. Losses of
perceptual speed have been found to predict death nearly 15 years later,
although most declines start about 7.7 years before death occurs. While
more highly educated people generally perform better on cognitive tests,
they show similar rates of decline as do less educated people.
Dementia, however, accelerates the rate of decline in all people. Areas
of decline include memory capacity, perceptual speed, visuospatial
abilities, and everyday cognition.
Some people who have come close to dying report near-death
experiences (NDE), often involving a sense of being out of the body or
sucked in to a tunnel and visions of bright lights or mystical encounters.
These types of experiences have been reported in many different
cultures, both in modern times and in written and oral histories of non-
industrialized cultures. Skeptics generally interpret these reports as
resulting from physiological changes that accompany the process of
dying. Some researchers argue that near-death experiences reflect the
common bodily structures affected by the process of dying, in particular,
the oxygen deprivation that occurs in 9 out of 10 dying persons.
A variety of data from humans, including reports of NDEs in
cardiac arrest survivors and individuals undergoing anesthesia; reports
of NDE-like experiences in people under the influence of various drugs
such as ketamine,LSD, and cannabinoids or under the influence of
epilepsy or deliberately induced electrical cortical stimulation; and
experiments using mild oxygen deprivation or artificially lowered blood
pressure to induce NDE like sensations, suggest that NDE phenomena
are linked to stimulation or damage of various brain areas, most notably
in bilateral frontal and occipital areas. The commonly reported altered
sense of time, flying sensations, and light reported by some people are
theorized to originate in the right hemispheric temporal-parietal junction
(TPJ). By contrast, the spiritual dimensions often reported, along with
the sounds, music, and voices, are believed to result from the left
hemispherical TPJ. Emotions and life review, another commonly

201
experienced aspect of NDEs, are thought to originate from the
hippocampus and amygdale.
Regardless of their origin, NDEs are generally experienced as
positive, an effect that has been proposed to occur as a result of the
release of endorphins that are released during stressful experiences.
Some people who experience NDEs report spiritual growth as one
consequence, and the degree of spiritual transformation is related to the
depth of the NDE. NDEs are predicted to occur more frequently in the
coming years as survival rates continue to improve with modern
resuscitation techniques.
15.3.5 Confronting One’s Own Death

The psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, in her pioneering work

with dying people, found that most of them welcomed an opportunity to
speak openly about their condition and were aware of being close to
death, even when they had not been told. After speaking with some
terminally ill patients, Kübler outlined five stages in coming to terms with
death: (1) denial (―This can‘t be happening to me!‖);(2) anger (―Why
me?‖); (3) bargaining for extra time (―If I can only live to see my daughter
married, I won‘t ask for anything more‖); (4) depression; and
ultimately(5) acceptance. She also proposed a similar progression in the
feelings of people facing imminent bereavement.
Although the emotions she described are common, not everyone
goes through all five stages and not necessarily in the same sequence.
A person mayo back and forth between anger and depression, for
example, or may feel both at once. Dying, like living, is an individual
experience. For some people, denial or anger maybe a healthier way to
face death than calm acceptance.
15.4 PATTERNS OF GRIEVING
The death of a loved one is a difficult thing. First, there is grief,
the emotional response that generally follows closely on the heels of
death. This is followed .Bereavement is a response to the loss of
someone to whom a person feels close. But bereavement is not just an
event, and it is not just grief-it is also a process of adjustment.
Bereavement often brings about a change in role or status. For example,
a person may have to adjust to becoming a widow after previously being
a wife, or as an orphan after previously being a son or daughter. There
may be social or economic consequences as well-a loss of friends and
sometimes of income. In short, bereavement can affect practically all
aspects of a person‘s life.

202
The Classic Grief Work Model

A classic pattern of grief is three stages in which the bereaved

person accepts the painful reality of the loss, gradually lets go of the
bond with the dead person, and readjusts to life by developing new
interests and relationships. This process of grief work, the working out of
psychological issues connected with grief, often takes the following path-
though it may vary.
1. Shock and disbelief. Immediately following a death, survivors often
feel lost and confused. As awareness of the loss sinks in, the initial
numbness gives way too overwhelming feelings of sadness and frequent
crying. This first stage may last several weeks, especially after a sudden
or unexpected death.
2. Preoccupation with the memory of the dead person. In the second
stage, which may last 6 months to 2 years or so, the survivor try to come
to terms with the death but cannot yet accept it? These experiences
diminish with time, though they may recur—perhaps for years.
3. Resolution. The final stage has arrived when the be roved person
renews interest in everyday activities. Memories of the dead person
bring fond feelings mingled with sadness rather than sharp pain and
longing.
Grieving: Multiple Variations

Although the pattern of grief work is common, grieving does not

necessarily follow straight line from shock to resolution. In the recovery
pattern, the mourner goes from high to low distress. In the delayed grief
pattern, there may be moderate or elevated initial grief, and symptoms
gradually worsen over time. In the chronic grief pattern, the mourner
remains distressed for a long time. Chronic grief may be specially painful
and acceptance most difficult when a loss is ambiguous, as when a
loved one is missing and presumed dead. In the final pattern, known as
resilience, the mourner shows a low and gradually diminishing level of
grief in response to the death of allowed one.
Previously, the assumption was sometimes made that something
had to be wrong if a bereaved person showed only mild distress and
moved on quickly from the death of a loved one. However, research
suggests that over half of people can be classified as resilient.
Moreover, resilience has been associated with positive outcomes,
including reduced depression and loneliness and improved life
satisfaction. People who are resilient are generally low in neuroticism
and high in extraversion. Secure attachment and an internal locus of

203
control have also been associated with resilience. Older adults who are
resilient also tend to have had prior experience with adversity. In other
words, having had bad thing sharpen to you and having overcome them
successfully teaches you how to handle life‘s inevitable challenges more
effectively.
The knowledge that grief takes varied forms and patterns has
important implications for helping people deal with loss. It may be
unnecessary and even harmful to expect mourners to follow set pattern
of emotional reactions. While bereavement therapy may help some
people, the evidence suggests that many people will recover on their
own if given time.
SIGNIFICANT LOSSES

Especially difficult losses that may occur during adulthood are

the deaths of a spouse, a parent, or a child. The loss of a potential
offspring through miscarriage or still birth also can be painful but usually
draws less social support.
Surviving a Spouse

Because women tend to live longer than men and to be younger

than their husbands, they are more likely to be widowed. They also tend
to be widowed at an earlier age. The stress of widowhood often affects
physical and mental health. Bereavement can lead to headaches,
memory problems, difficulty with concentration, dizziness, indigestion,
loss of appetite, or chest pain. It also entails higher risks of disability,
drug use, anxiety, depression, insomnia, hospitalization, and even deat

Becoming a widowed person is associated with increase in risk

of death when compared to married people and that this risk is higher for
men than women. The risk is even higher for young adults, if the death
was unexpected, and in the early months after loss. The quality of the
marital relationship that has been lost may affect the degree to which
widowhood affects mental health. Higher relationship quality during the
marriage has been associated with greater anger, more anxiety and
depression, and feelings of yearning 6 months after the loss of the
spouse. The loss of companionship may help explain why a widowed
person, especially widower, may soon follow the spouse to the grave.
However, a more practical explanation also may apply; after the death of
a spouse, there may be no one to remind an older widow to take her pills
or to make sure a widowed man adheres to especial diet. Those who
receive such reminders tend to improve in health habits and reported
health.

204
 Widowhood creates other practical problems. For women, the
main consequences of widowhood are more likely to be economic strain,
whereas for men the chief consequences are more likely to be social
isolation and loss of emotional intimacy. Women whose husbands were
the chief breadwinners may experience economic hardship or fall into
poverty. Widowed men are more likely to become socially isolated after
the death of a spouse than are widows, whereas older widows are more
likely than older widowers to stay in touch with friends from whom they
receive social support. Ultimately, the distress of loss can be a catalyst
for introspection and growth. Widows continue to talk and think about
their deceased husband‘s decades after the loss, but these thoughts
rarely upset them. Instead, these women become stronger and more
self-confident as a result of their loss.
Losing a Parent in Adulthood

The loss of a parent at any time is difficult, even in adulthood.

The majorities of bereaved adult children still show an impact on their
well-being and experience emotional distress after 1 to 5 years,
especially following loss of a mother and most strongly in daughters
.However, the death of a parent can also be a maturing experience. It
can push adults into resolving important developmental issues:
achieving a stronger sense of self and a more pressing, realistic
awareness of their own mortality, along with a greater sense of purpose,
responsibility, commitment, and interconnectedness to others. It can
also push middle-aged adults into reevaluating their relationships with
their own grown children, a process that can increase the positive
aspects of their relationships.
Still, the road may not be easy. Although families with a history of
conflict are more likely to engage in conflict when a parent is
approaching death and important decisions must be made, when adult
parents leave instructions for the type of medical treatment they desire
at the end of life, this generally results in less stressful decision making
and reduced conflict for their children. However, regardless of the
wishes of the dying parent, if siblings disagree on the treatment
provided, this can damage their relationship. Siblings are less likely to
engage in conflict over end-of-life care when parents designate
someone outside of the family as the person who will make decisions
about such care.
The impact of a parent‘s death on siblings is equivocal. Some
research suggests that following the death of a parent, siblings tend to
grow less close. This may be because the link that bound them together

205
in their adult life-a parent-is gone, or it may be because of conflict
following parental death about such aspects as funeral arrangements or
distribution of assets. Some research suggests that parental death and
the intense emotions that elicits may draw siblings closer. A longitudinal
approach may help explain these disparate findings. Research shows
that sibling contact intensifies after a parent dies and then declines over
time. Moreover, when the second parent dies, the effect is intensified
once support is no longer needed for a surviving parent.
Losing a Child

A parent is rarely prepared for the death of a child. Such a death,

no matter at what age, comes as a cruel, unnatural shock. The parents
may feel they have failed, no matter how much they loved and cared for
the child, and they may find it hard to let go. If a marriage is strong, the
couple may draw closer, supporting each other in their shared loss. In
other cases, the loss weakens and eventually destroys the marriage.
One important factor appears to be whether or not parents grieve a
similar amount. Parents who perceive that their spouses grieving more
or less than they are report less satisfaction in the relationship than
those who perceive greater similarity in their pain.
Parents who have lost a child are at heightened risk of being
depressed or hospitalized for mental illness and show poorer health-
related quality of life. The stress of a child‘s loss may even hasten
parent‘s death. The impact of parental bereavement may vary
depending on a variety of factors. Grief rises with the age of a child (up
to 17) and the age of a parent (up to 40).
Parents whose child dies a traumatic death generally grieve more than
those whose child dies of an illness or disorder or those who experience
a stillbirth or neonatal death, and mothers tend to grieve more than
fathers. Those parents who are able to make some sense of the loss
generally show less intense grief. As time goes by, grief tends to
diminish, especially among couples who became pregnant again.
However, even decades later, most parents express lasting grief.
Many parents hesitate to discuss a terminally ill child‘s impending
death with the child, but those who do so tend to achieve a sense of
closure that helps them cope after the loss. In one study, approximately
one-third of the parents said they had talked with their children about
their impending death, and none of these parents regretted having done
so, whereas 27 percent of those who had not brought up the subject
regretted it. When asked what most helped them cope with the end of
their child‘s life, 73 percent of parents whose children died in intensive-

206
care units gave religious or spiritual responses. They mentioned prayer,
faith, discussions with clergy, or a belief that the parent-child relationship
endures beyond death. Parents also said they were guided by insight
and wisdom, inner values, and spiritual virtues such as hope, trust, and
love.
Mourning a Miscarriage

Estimates are that somewhere around 1 in 3 pregnancies ends in

miscarriage. Families, friends, and health professionals tend to avoid
talking about such losses, which often are considered insignificant
compared with the loss of a living child. Moreover, many couples do not
tell others about their pregnancy until after the first trimester, during
which miscarriage is most common. So, in many cases, friends and
family members may not even realize support is needed.
Common responses prospective parents show to cope with the
loss of a child they never knew are generally reported with greater
intensity in women include grief, depression, guilt, isolation, and
sadness. Roughly a third meets the criteria for post-traumatic stress
disorder. Generally, negative outcomes are even stronger when
pregnancy losses are recurrent. Whether married or living together,
couples who experience a miscarriage prior to20 weeks of gestation are
22 percent more likely to break up than couples who have successful
pregnancy. When the miscarriage occurs after 20 weeks, that risk is
elevated by as much as 40 percent.
15.5PURPOSE AND MEANING IN LIFE

The struggle to find meaning in life and in death has been borne
out by research. Those who saw the most purpose in life had the least
fear of death. Conversely, facing the reality of death is a key to living a
meaningful life.
Reviewing a Life

Life review is a process of reminiscence that enables person to

see the significance of his or her life. Life review can occur at any time.
However, it may have special meaning in old age, when it can foster ego
integrity-according to Erikson, the final critical task of the life span. As
the end of their journey approaches, people may look back over their
accomplishments and failures and ask themselves what their lives have
meant. Awareness of mortality may be an impetus for reexamining
values and seeing one‘s experiences and actions in a new light. Some
people find the will to complete unfinished tasks, such as reconciling

207
with estranged family members or friends, and thus to achieve a
satisfying sense of closure.
Life review therapy and reminiscence interventions can help
focus the natural process of life review and make it more conscious,
purposeful, and efficient. Such interventions have been shown to reduce
symptoms of depression and result in greater ego integrity. Methods
often used for uncovering memories in life review therapy include
recording an autobiography; constructing a family tree; spending time
with scrapbooks, photo albums, old letters, and other memorabilia;
making a trip back to scenes of childhood and young adulthood;
reuniting with former classmates or colleagues or distant family
members; describing ethnic traditions; and summing up one‘s life‘s work.
Development: A Lifelong Process

Within a limited life span, no person can realize all capabilities,

gratify all desires, explore all interests, or experience all the richness that
life has to offer. The tension between possibilities for growth and a finite
time in which to do the growing defines human life. By choosing which
possibilities to pursue and by continuing to follow themes far as possible,
even up to the very end, each person contributes to the unfinished story
of human development.
LET US SUM UP

Relationships are important to older people, even though

frequency of social contact declines in old age. According to social
convoy theory, reductions or changes in social contact in late life do not
impair well-being because a stable inner circle of social support is
maintained. According to socioemotional selectivity theory, older people
choose to spend time with people who enhance their emotional well-
being. Social interaction is associated with good health and life
satisfaction, and isolation is a risk factor for mortality. Some people who
come close to dying have ―near-death ―experiences that may result from
physiological changes. The more meaning and purpose people find in
their lives, theses they tend to fear death. Life review can help people
prepare for death and give themes last chance to complete unfinished
tasks. Even dying can be a developmental experience.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. ________ is the study of death and dying.

2. ___________is personal, patient- and family-centered,
compassionate care for the terminally ill.
3. ________ outlined five stages in coming to terms with death.

208
 4. ___________often brings about a change in role or status.
5. In the _____ grief pattern, the mourner remains distressed for
a long time.

KEY WORDS

Primary aging Secondary aging

Activities of daily living (ADLs) Functional age
Gerontology Geriatrics
Life expectancy Longevity

Genetic-programming theories Hay flick limit

Variable-rate theories Free radical
Survival curves Dementia
Alzheimer‘s disease Parkinson‘s disease
Neurofibrillary tangles Amyloid plaque
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Thanatology
2. Hospicecare
3. Kübler
4. Bereavement
5. Chronic

GLOSSARY
Aging in Place: Older adults in industrialized countries preferring, if
possible, to stay in their own homes and communities.
Assisted Living: The fastest-growing form of housing specifically for
older adults.
Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs):
Neighborhoods in which a large proportion of residents happen to be
older adults.
Near-Death Experiences (NDE): Experiences often involving a sense
of being out of the body or sucked into a tunnel and visions of bright
lights or mystical encounters.

209
Terminal Decline: widely observed decline in cognitive abilities shortly
before death.
MODEL QUESTIONS

1. What are the major adjustments to old age? Explain.

2. Describe the personal relationships in old age.
3. Write about the near-death experiences.
4. Describe the facing of death and loss.
5. Explain the ways of finding purpose and meaning in life.

SUGGESTED READINGS
 Elizabeth B. Hurlock, Developmental Psychology – A Life Span
Approach,
 Fifth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing co. Ltd., New Delhi.
 Zubek J.P. and Solberg, P.A., Human Development, New York,
McGraw Hill
 Book Co. Ltd., 1954.
 Papalia, Diane E and Old, Human Development V Ed 1992,
Tata McGraw
 Hill Publishing Co., Ltd

Web Resources

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/life-span

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-
psychology/chapter/prenatal-development

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-ss-152-
1/chapter/childbirth/

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-ss-152-1/chapter/lecture-
lesson-5/

https://www.brainkart.com/article/Late-childhood_2007/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK53420/

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-psychology/chapter/reading-
adulthood/

210
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2153971/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/mid-life

https://www.apa.org/pi/aging/resources/guides/psychology-and-aging

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-psychology/chapter/aging-
late-adulthood/

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MASTER OF SCIENCE IN PSYCHOLOGY

RESEARCH METHOD AND STATISTICS

MSYS-14 /MCPS -14

Semester - I

Department of Psychology
School of Social Sciences
Tamil Nadu Open University
577, Anna Salai, Saidapet, Chennai – 600 015.
www.tnou.ac.in
May 2022
Course Writer:
Dr. M.V. Sudhakaran
Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychology
School of Social Sciences
Tamil Nadu Open University
Chennai - 600 015

©Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences

Tamil Nadu Open University
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form,
mimeograph or any othermeans, without permission in writing from the Tamil
Nadu Open University. Further information of the Tamil Nadu Open University
Programmes may be obtained from theUniversity office at :

577, Anna Salai, Saidapet, Chennai - 600 015.

May 2022
www.tnou.ac.in
 09.05.2022

My Dear Beloved Learners!

Vanakkam,
The Tamil Nadu Open University (TNOU) that is marching towards the motto
‘Education for Anyone at Anytime’ is very much pleased to cordially invite you to
join in it’s noble educational journey.
It is impressive that every one of you can feel proud yourself for studying
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The TNOU constantly supports you for not only completion of your Programme
successfully but also for placements.

At this momentous juncture, I wish you all bright and future endeavours.

With warm regards,

(K. PARTHASARATHY)
 RESEARCH METHOD AND STATISTICS - MSYS-14

SYLLABUS

BLOCKI: Foundations of Research

Meaning – Objectives of science – Need for research – Research approaches – Steps in
research - MethodVsMethodology.GeneralPrinciples–Ethicalissues:Children,Adults,
Animal - Research problem– Sources– Criteria of good problem- Reviewing the
literature – Research article.

BLOCKII: Hypothesis, Variables and Sampling

Hypothesis: Meaning–Types–Basic concepts related to hypothesis testing–Variables –
Definition – Ways of asking questions – measuring observed variables – Scales
ofmeasurement–Sampling–Meaning–ProbabilityandNon-probabilitysampling–
Sample&effectsize.Datacollectionmethods:Observationalresearch–Surveyresearch.

BLOCKIII: Research Designs

Experimental design: Independent groups designs – Completely randomized groups
designs, randomized factorial groups design. Dependent group’s designs: Within-
participants design, matched groups design–Mixed Designs – Single-participant
design – Baseline designs - Non-experimental designs: Quasi-experiments – Time-
series design, non-equivalent groups designs, longitudinal research, Cross-sectional
research, Case-studies, Co relational research.

BLOCKIV: Statistics
Organizing data: Frequency distribution – Graphs – Descriptive statistics: Measures of
central tendency – Measures of variation – Types of distributions. Inferential statistics:
zest – t test – Analysis of Variance – Correlation– Concepts related to correlation –
Correlation coefficient– Regression.
Non-parametric statistics: Mann-Whitney test – Wilcox on Chi-square –
Spearman Rank correlation– Kruskal-Wallistest. Analysisofdata using SPSS.

BLOCKV: Report Writing and Computers in Research

WritingProposal–Plagiarism–ReferencesandIn-textcitation–APAprimer-
Presentingresearch: Researchreport– Typing guidelines – Oreland Poster presentation
–Role of Computers in research– Internet and research.
References:
1. Coaley,K.(2009).An Introduction to Psychological Assessment And
Psychometrics. New Delhi, India: Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd.
2. Coolican,H.(2009).Research Methods in Statistics i n Psychology.New
Delhi,India:Rawat Publications.
3. Evans,A.N., & Rooney,B.J.(2008).Methodsin Psychological research.
NewDelhi, India: Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd.
4. Gravette ,F.J., & Forzana,L.A.B.(2009).Research Methods for Behavioral
Sciences.Boston,MA: Wads worth Cengage learning.
5. Jackson,S.L.(2010).Research methods and statistics. New Delhi, India:
Cengage LearningIndia Pvt. Ltd.
6. Mohanty ,B.,&Misra,S.(2019).Statistics for behavioral and social sciences.
NewDelhi, India:Sage Publications.

7. Myers,J.(2008).Methods in psychological research. NewDelhi,India:Sage

Publications.
8. Ruyon,R.P,Haber,A, Pittenger,D.J.,&Coleman,K.A.(2010).Fundamentals of be
havioural statistics. NewYork, NY:McGraw Hill.
9. Singh,A.K.(2006).Tests,measure ments and research methods in behavioural
sciences.Patna, India: Bharati Bhavan Publishers.
10. C.R. Kothari, 2004, Research Methodology – Methods and Techniques, New
Age International (P) Limited Publishers, New Delhi.
 CONTENTS
Title Page
No
BLOCK – I: FOUNDATIONS OF RESEARCH 1

UNIT 1 - SCIENTIFIC METHODS IN RESEARCH 2

UNIT 2 ETHICS IN RESEARCH 16

UNIT 3 RESEARCH PROBLEMS & REVIEWS 39

BLOCK – II: HYPOTHESIS, VARIABLES AND SAMPLING 55

UNIT 4 HYPOTHESIS AND VARIABLES 56

UNIT 5 SAMPLING 77

UNIT 6 DATA COLLECTION METHODS 90

BLOCK – III: RESEARCH DESIGNS 103

UNIT 7 EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGNS 104

UNIT 8 NON-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGNS 120
BLOCK–IV: STATISTICS 133

UNIT 9 ORGANISATIN OF DATA AND PARAMETRIC STATISTICS 134

UNIT 10 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS 157

UNIT 11 NON-PARAMETRIC STATISTICS AND SPSS 178

BLOCK – V: REPORT WRTING AND COMPUTER IN RESEARCH 192

UNIT 12: WRITING RESEARCH PROPOSAL 193

UNIT 13: PRESENTING RESEARCH 209

UNIT 14: ROLE OF COMPUTERS IN RESEARCH 223

Appendix: Plagiarism Certificate 224

BLOCK I: FOUNDATIONS OF RESEARCH

UNIT 1: SCIENTIFIC METHODS IN RESEARCH

UNIT2: ETHICS IN RESEARCH

UNIT3: RESEARCH PROBLEMS & REVIEWS

1
UNIT 1

SCIENTIFIC METHODS IN RESEARCH

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
1.1 Meaning – Objective Of Science
1.2 The Three Goals Of Science
1.3 Need For Research
1.4 Research Approaches
1.4.1Quantitative approach
1.4.2 Qualitative approach
1.4.3 Mixed method research
1.5 Steps in Research
1.6 Method Vs Methodology
1.6.1 Methods
1.6.2 Methodology
1.6.3 Key differences between methods and methodology
1.7 General Principles
Let us sum up
Check Your Progress
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

People have always been curious about the natural world,

including themselves and their behavior (in fact, this is probably
why you are studying psychology in the first place). Science grew
out of this natural curiosity and has become the best way to
achieve detailed and accurate knowledge. Keep in mind that most
of the phenomena and theories that fill psychology textbooks are
the products of scientific research. In a typical introductory
psychology textbook, for example, one can learn about specific

2
cortical areas for language and perception, principles of classical
and operant conditioning, biases in reasoning and judgment, and
people’s surprising tendency to obey those in positions of
authority. And scientific research continues because what we
know right now only scratches the surface of what we can know.

OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit you will be able to:

• Describe the scientific methods

• Explain the Scientific methodology
• Discuss about the approaches in research
• List out the steps in research
• Discuss about Behavioral research
• Distinguish the methods and methodology
1.1 MEANING – OBJECTIVE OF SCIENCE

Science is defined as a systematic way of gaining knowledge.

Gaining knowledge via science, then, involves a merger of
rationalism and empiricism. Scientists collect data (make empirical
observations) and test hypotheses with these data (assess them
using rationalism). The scientific method is a process of
systematically collecting and evaluating evidence to test ideas and
answer questions. While scientists may use intuition, authority,
rationalism, and empiricism to generate new ideas they don’t stop
there. Scientists go a step further by using systematic empiricism
to make careful observations under various controlled conditions in
order to test their ideas and they use rationalism to arrive at valid
conclusions. While the scientific method is the most likely of all of
the methods to produce valid knowledge, like all methods of
acquiring knowledge it also has its drawbacks. One major problem
is that it is not always feasible to use the scientific method; this
method can require considerable time and resources. Another
problem with the scientific method is that it cannot be used to
answer all questions.

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The general scientific approach has three fundamental features
(Stanovich, 2010). The first is systematic empiricism. Empiricism
refers to learning based on observation, and scientists learn about
the natural world systematically, by carefully planning, making,
recording, and analyzing observations of it. As we will see, logical
reasoning and even creativity play important roles in science too,
but scientists are unique in their insistence on checking their ideas
about the way the world is against their systematic observations.
Notice, for example, that Mehl and his colleagues did not trust
other people’s stereotypes or even their own informal
observations. Instead, they systematically recorded, counted, and
compared the number of words spoken by a large sample of
women and men. Furthermore, when their systematic observations
turned out to conflict with people’s stereotypes, they trusted their
systematic observations.

The second feature of the scientific approach—which follows in a

straightforward way from the first—is that it is concerned
with empirical questions. These are questions about the way the
world actually is and, therefore, can be answered by systematically
observing it. The question of whether women talk more than men
is empirical in this way. Either woman really does talk more than
men or they do not, and this can be determined by systematically
observing how much women and men actually talk. Having said
this, there are many interesting and important questions that are
not empirically testable and that science is not in a position to
answer. Among these are questions about values—whether things
are good or bad, just or unjust, or beautiful or ugly, and how the
world ought to be. So although the question of whether a
stereotype is accurate or inaccurate is an empirically testable one
that science can answer, the question—or, rather, the value
judgment—of whether it is wrong for people to hold inaccurate
stereotypes is not. Similarly, the question of whether criminal
behavior has a genetic basis is an empirical question, but the
question of what actions ought to be considered illegal is not. It is

4
especially important for researchers in psychology to be mindful of
this distinction.

The third feature of science is that it creates public knowledge.

After asking their empirical questions, making their systematic
observations, and drawing their conclusions, scientists publish
their work. This usually means writing an article for publication in a
professional journal, in which they put their research question in
the context of previous research, describe in detail the methods
they used to answer their question, and clearly present their
results and conclusions. Increasingly, scientists are opting to
publish their work in open access journals, in which the articles are
freely available to all – scientists and nonscientists alike. This
important choice allows publicly-funded research to create
knowledge that is truly public.

1.2 The Three Goals of Science

The first and most basic goal of science is to describe. This goal
is achieved by making careful observations. As an example,
perhaps I am interested in better understanding the medical
conditions that medical marijuana patients use marijuana to treat.
In this case, I could try to access records at several large medical
marijuana licensing centers to see which conditions people are
getting licensed to use medical marijuana. Or I could survey a
large sample of medical marijuana patients and ask them to report
which medical conditions they use marijuana to treat or manage.
Indeed, research involving surveys of medical marijuana patients
has been conducted and has found that the primary symptom
medical marijuana patients use marijuana to treat is pain, followed
by anxiety and depression (Sexton, Cuttler, Finnell, & Mischley,
2016).

The second goal of science is to predict. Once we have observed

with some regularity that two behaviors or events are
systematically related to one another we can use that information
to predict whether an event or behavior will occur in a certain
situation. Once I know that most medical marijuana patients use

5
marijuana to treat pain I can use that information to predict that an
individual who uses medical marijuana likely experiences pain. Of
course, my predictions will not be 100% accurate but if the
relationship between medical marijuana uses and pain is strong
then my predictions will have greater than chance accuracy.

The third and ultimate goal of science is to explain. This goal

involves determining the causes of behavior. For example,
researchers might try to understand the mechanisms through
which marijuana reduces pain. Does marijuana reduce
inflammation which in turn reduces pain? Or does marijuana
simply reduce the distress associated with pain rather than
reducing pain itself? As you can see these questions tap at the
underlying mechanisms and causal relationships.

1.3 NEED FOR RESEARCH

The main purposes of research are to inform action, gather
evidence for theories, and contribute to developing knowledge in a
field of study through the application of scientific procedures. It’s a
tool for building knowledge and facilitating learning. While
exploring the problems we are able to understand issues and
increase public awareness if needed. Research in consumer
behavior helps us succeed in business. Need for the research
could be best understood by the aims and goals of research.
The main aim of research is to find out the truth which is hidden
and which has not been discovered as yet. Though each research
study has its own specific purpose, we may think of research
objectives as falling into a number of following broad groupings:
1. To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new
insights into it (studies with this object in view are termed as
exploratory or formulative research studies);
2. To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular
individual, situation or a group (studies with this object in view are
known as descriptive research studies);
3. To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with
which it is associated with something else (studies with this object
in view are known as diagnostic research studies);

6
4. To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables
(such studies are known as hypothesis-testing research studies).

1.4 RESEARCH APPROACHES

The three common approaches to conducting research are

quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. The researcher
anticipates the type of data needed to respond to the research
question. For instance, is numerical, textural, or both numerical
and textural data needed? Based on this assessment, the
researcher selects one of the three aforementioned approaches to
conduct research. Researchers typically select the quantitative
approach to respond to research questions requiring numerical
data, the qualitative approach for research questions requiring
textural data, and the mixed methods approach for research
questions requiring both numerical and textural data.

1.4.1Quantitative approach

The former involves the generation of data in quantitative form

which can be subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis in a
formal and rigid fashion. This approach can be further sub-
classified into inferential, experimental and simulation approaches
to research. The purpose of inferential approach to research is to
form a data base from which to infer characteristics or
relationships of population. This usually means survey research
where a sample of population is studied (questioned or observed)
to determine its characteristics, and it is then inferred that the
population has the same characteristics. Experimental approach is
characterized by much greater control over the research
environment and in this case some variables are manipulated to
observe their effect on other variables. Simulation approach
involves the construction of an artificial environment within which
relevant information and data can be generated. This permits an
observation of the dynamic behaviour of a system (or its sub-
system) under controlled conditions.

7
1.4.2 Qualitative approach

Qualitative approach to research is concerned with subjective

assessment of attitudes, opinions and behaviour. Research in
such a situation is a function of researcher’s insights and
impressions. Such an approach to research generates results
either in non-quantitative form or in the form which are not
subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis. Generally, the
techniques of focus group interviews, projective techniques Case
studies, grounded theory, ethnography, content analysis,
phenomenological and depth interviews are used.

1.4.3 Mixed method approach: In this approach to research,

researchers incorporate methods of collecting or analyzing data
from both the quantitative and qualitative research approaches in a
single research study. All these are explained at length in units
that follow.

1.5 STEPS IN RESEARCH PROCESS

Step 1: Identification of research problem: Any research starts with

the problem. There are various strategies in identifying the
problem.

Step 2: Review of related literature: After the identification of

research problem, with the key words review to be done in order to
understand what the researchers have found out earlier. This has
to be done in order to check if exactly the same research problem
has been addressed before or not. If yes what were the
methodologies followed, their research findings and the research
gap. Review of related literature can be done through secondary
data sources such as books, newspapers, magazines, journals,
online articles etc.

Statement of Problem

Review of literature

8
 Formulation of
Hypothesis

Methodology and
design

Data collection

Analysis of data

Results and
conclusion

Step 3: Formulation of hypothesis: With the help of reviews

hypothesis would be formulated. Formulate hypothesis is tentative
assumption made in order to draw out and test its logical or
empirical consequences. Hypothesis should be very specific and
limited to the objectives of research because it has to be tested.
The role of the hypothesis is to guide the researcher by delimiting
the area of research and to keep him on the right track.

Step 4: Methodology and design: Methodology explains about the

plan, strategy, and structure to find solution to the research
problem. It also explains about the sampling technique, sample
size operational definition of variables, and statistics used

Step 5: After deciding the procedure for date collection actual data
collection will start. Primary data can be collected through

9
Observation, personal interview, telephone interview, mailing of
questionnaires, Schedules and Google forms

Step 6: Analysis of data collected. This stage mainly include: 1.

Coding 2. Editing 3. Tabulation 4. Statistical analysis

Step 7: After the statistical analysis results will be inferred

regarding accepting or rejecting the formulated hypothesis.
Conclusion will be drawn. All the above steps will be explained in
detail in the following units.

1.6 METHOD vs METHODOLOGY

Research can be understood as the systematic and rigorous

search for appropriate information on a specific subject. It involves
enunciation of the problem, developing a hypothesis, collecting
and analyzing data and drawing conclusions, based on the facts
and data collected. And to do so, the researcher uses research
methods, during the course of conducting research. The research
methods are often confused with research methodology, which
implies the scientific analysis of the research methods, so as to
find a solution to the problem at hand. Hence, it is necessary to
clarify the differences between research method and research
methodology.

1.6.1 Methods are the specific tools and procedures which are
used to collect and analyze data (for example, experiments,
surveys, and statistical tests). In shorter scientific papers, where
the aim is to report the findings of a specific study, the researcher
might simply describe what they did in a methods section.In other
words, all those methods which are used by the researcher during
the course of studying his research problem are termed as
research methods. Since the object of research, particularly the
applied research, it to arrive at a solution for a given problem, the
available data and the unknown aspects of the problem have to be
related to each other to make a solution possible. Keeping this in
view, research methods can be put into the following three groups.

10
First group: The methods relating to data collection are covered.
Such methods are used when the existing data is not sufficient, to
reach the solution.

Second group: Incorporates the processes of analyzing data, i.e.

to identify patterns and establish a relationship between data and
unknowns.

Third group: Comprise of the methods which are used to check

the accuracy of the results obtained. Research methods falling in
the above stated last two groups are generally taken as the
analytical tools of research.

1.6.2 Methodology

Methodologyrefers to the central strategy and rationale of research

project. It involves studying the methods used in its field and the
theories or principles behind them, in order to develop an
approach that matches researchers’ objectives. In a longer or
more complex research project, such as a thesis or dissertation,
researcher will probably include a methodology section, where
they explain their approach to answering the research questions
and cite relevant sources to support your choice of methods.

It is necessary for the researcher to know not only the research

methods/techniques but also the methodology. Researchers not
only need to know how to develop certain indices or tests, how to
calculate the mean, the mode, the median or the standard
deviation or chi-square, how to apply particular research
techniques, but they also need to know which of these methods or
techniques, are relevant and which are not, and what would they
mean and indicate and why. Researchers also need to understand
the assumptions underlying various techniques and they need to
know the criteria by which they can decide that certain techniques
and procedures will be applicable to certain problems and others
will not. All this means that it is necessary for the researcher to
design his methodology for his problem as the same may differ
from problem to problem. For example, an architect, who designs
a building, has to consciously evaluate the basis of his decisions,

11
i.e., he has to evaluate why and on what basis he selects
particular size, number and location of doors, windows and
ventilators, uses particular materials and not others and the like.
Similarly, in research the scientist has to expose the research
decisions to evaluation before they are implemented. He has to
specify very clearly and precisely what decisions he selects and
why he selects them so that they can be evaluated by others also.

1.6.3 Key Differences between Research Method and

Research Methodology
Parameters of Method Methodology
Comparison
Definition Procedure or System of methods, used
technique applied by scientifically for solving
the researcher to the research problem.
undertake research.
Objective Find solution Determine the
appropriateness of a
method.
Function Used to select a tool or Analysis of all methods.
technique
Stages Applied during the Applied during the initial
later stage stage
Comprises of experiment, test, Learning various
surveys, interviews, techniques which can be
etc employed in the
performance of
experiment, test or survey

1.7 GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Whatever may be the types of research works and studies, one

thing that is important is that they all meet on the common ground
of scientific method employed by them.One expects scientific
research to satisfy certain general principles as follows
1. The purpose of the research should be clearly defined and
common concepts be used.
2. The research procedure used should be described in sufficient
detail to permit another researcher to repeat the research for
further advancement, keeping the continuity of what has already
been attained.

12
3. The procedural design of the research should be carefully
planned to yield results that are as objective as possible.
4. The researcher should report with complete frankness, flaws in
procedural design and estimate their effects upon the findings.
5. The analysis of data should be sufficiently adequate to reveal its
significance and the methods of analysis used should be
appropriate. The validity and reliability of the data should be
checked carefully.
6. Conclusions should be confined to those justified by the data of
the research and limited to those for which the data provide an
adequate basis.
7. Greater confidence in research is warranted if the researcher is
experienced, has a good reputation in research and is a person of
integrity.
LET US SUM UP

The present unit included the definition of science, methods of

science, goals of science and ethics in research. Behavioral
research is conducted by scientists who are interested in
understanding the behaviour of human beings and animals. These
scientists believe that knowledge gained through personal intuition
or the claims of others is not a sufficient basis for drawing
conclusions about behaviour. They demand that knowledge be
gained through the accumulation of empirical data, as prescribed
by the scientific method. Scientific research is often classified as
being either basic or applied.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Gaining knowledge via science, then, involves a merger of

____________
2. Empiricism refers to learning based on ____________
3. Three goals of science are _______, ________, __________
4.________ is the basic processes of collecting and organizing
data and drawing conclusions about those data.
5._______ are personal statement whereas ___________are
objective statements.

13
ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. rationalism and empiricism

2. observation
3. describe, predict, explain
4. scientific method
5. values, facts
GLOSSARY
Action research - Action research may also be called a cycle of
action or cycle of inquiry, since it typically follows a predefined
process that is repeated over time.

Applied research - Applied research refers to scientific study and

research that seeks to solve practical problems.

Science- Science is the pursuit and application of knowledge and

understanding of the natural and social world following a
systematic methodology based on evidence.
Scientific method - it is the technique used in the construction
and testing of a scientific hypothesis.

MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Describe scientific method

2. What are the goals of science?
3. Describe the various approaches to research.
4. Explain the Scientific methodology.
5. Discuss about the approaches in research.
6. Enumerate the steps in research.
7. Distinguish the methods and methodology.
SUGGESTED READINGS
• https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&sourc
e=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjHyePal-
j2AhUYILcAHexqCF4QFnoECBsQAw&url=https%3A%2F
%2Fclutejournals.com%2Findex.php%2FJBER%2Farticle
%2Fdownload%2F2532%2F2578%2F10126&usg=AOvVa
w1eHUm17jICkiktQpVqyJ3q

14
• C.R. Kothari, 2004, Research Methodology – Methods and
Techniques, New Age International (P) Limited Publishers,
New Delhi.
• https://www.scribbr.com/frequently-asked-
questions/method-vs-methodology/
• https://askanydifference.com/difference-between-method-
and-methodology/
• https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-research-
method-and-research-methodology.html
• Research Methods and Statistics ( PDFDrive.com ).pdf

• https://www.forskningsetikk.no/en/guidelines/science-and-

technology/ethical-guidelines-for-the-use-of-animals-in-

research

• ttps://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-

resources/briefings/research-with-children-ethics-safety-

avoiding-harm#article-top

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2606083/#

• Research Methods and Statistics ( PDFDrive.com ).pdf

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3558218/

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3267294/

15
UNIT- 2

ETHICS IN RESEARCH

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
2.1. Ethics – Orientation
2.2 Ethical Guidelines
2.3 Ethical Standards in Research with Adults
2.4 Ethical Standards in Research with children
2.5 Ethical Standards in Research with animals
2.5.1 Guidelines especially for research with animals
2.6 Ethical standards in research with vulnerable population
Let us sum up
Check Your Progress
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

Developments in the field of social science in recent years have been

accompanied by a growing awareness of the attendant moral issues
implicit in the work of social researchers and of their need to meet their
obligations with respect to those involved in, or affected by, their
investigations. This awareness, focusing chiefly, on the subject matter and
methods of research in so far as they affect the participants, is reflected in
the growth of relevant literature and in the appearance of regulatory codes
of research practice formulated by various agencies and professional
bodies. In this unit, we will discuss about the

16
OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit you will be able to:

• Describe the Ethics in research

• Discuss about the Ethical Guidelines
• Explain the Ethical Standards in Research with adults
• Explain the Ethical Standards in Research with children
• Explain the Ethical Standards in Research with animals
• List out the Guidelines especially for research with animals
• Explain the Ethical considerations for vulnerable population

2.1ETHICS – ORIENTATION

Ethical issues may stem from the kinds of problems investigated by social
scientists and the methods they use to obtain valid and reliable data. In
theory at least, this means that each stage in the research sequence may
be a potential source of ethical problems. Thus, they may arise from the
nature of the research project itself (ethnic differences in intelligence, for
example); the context for the research (a remand home); the procedures
to be adopted (producing high levels of anxiety); methods of data
collection (covert observation); the nature of the participants (emotionally
disturbed adolescents); the type of data collected (highly personal
information of a sensitive kind); and what is to be done with the data
(publishing in a manner that causes the participants embarrassment).

2.2 ETHICAL GUIDELINES

Researchers shall work on the basis of basic respect for human

dignity.

While research can help promote the value of human life, it can
also threaten it. Researchers must show respect for human dignity
in their choice of topic, in relation to their research subjects, and in
reporting research results. This implies that research processes
must be held to certain standards:

• ensure freedom and self-determination

• safeguard against harm and unreasonable suffering
• protect privacy and close relationships

17
Researchers shall respect their subjects’ integrity, freedom and right
to participate.

• Individuals need to be able to influence what happens to them in

important areas of their lives. Being subject to observation and
interpretation by others can be experienced as degrading. Due
caution is required, especially when:
• Self-respect or other values of importance to the individual are at
stake;
• The research subjects have little chance to avoid participating in
the research process,
• E.g. when the research is being done as field work in an institution;
• An individual actively helps furnish information, e.g. by agreeing to
be observed or interviewed;
• An individual is identifiable, e.g. when individuals and groups can
be recognised in research reports;
• The individual has limited or no ability to look after his or her own
needs and interests.
Researchers have a responsibility to prevent research subjects from
being submitted to harm or other suffering

The dangers for those being studied by cultural and social science
research are less dramatic than in medical research since the risk of
physical injury is minimal. By the same token, possible injuries are more
difficult to define and measure and it can be difficult to assess long-term
effects, if any. Researchers bear a responsibility for ensuring that their
research subjects are not exposed to suffering. However, the risk of
causing minor suffering must be weighed against research’s quest for the
truth and its critical function. Informants should be given an opportunity to
deal with any problems that might arise as a result of their participation in
the project.

Researcher has the responsibility to inform research subjects about

the consequences of participating in the research project

Subjects should be given general information about the project such as its
purpose, the methods to be used, and the practical and other
consequences of participation.3 Information about the project must be
based on knowledge of the informants’ cultural background. It is also

18
important that the information be given in a language that is understood.
In some research projects, it might be necessary to use an interpreter to
provide the necessary information. Observations conducted in public
places, on streets and squares, can usually be carried out without
informing those concerned. However, the registration of behaviour using
technical equipment (camera, video, tape recorders, etc.) implies that the
observation material will be stored, and thus possibly serve as the basis
for a personal data register. For the purpose of such registration, people
must generally be informed that recordings are being made, how long the
material will be stored and who will be using it. As a general rule, research
projects that include individuals can be initiated only after securing
participants’ free and informed consent. The informants have the right to
withdraw from participation at any time, without this entailing any negative
consequences for them.

Researchers should consider and anticipate effects on third parties

that are not directly included in the research

Interviews, archival studies and observations often result in the scientist

gaining access to information about far more individuals than those who
are the focus of the study in question, or that the research may have an
impact on the privacy and close relationships of individuals not included in
the research, but who are drawn in as parties closely related to the
informants. Qualitative investigations often take place in small,
transparent communities. The protection of third parties is especially
important in such studies. Special consideration should be given to
potential negative consequences when children are indirectly involved in
the research.

When children and young people participate in research, they are

entitled to special protection that should be commensurate with their
age and needs

Research on children and their lives and living standards are valuable and
important. Children and young people are key contributors to this
research. Their needs and interests can be protected in ways different
from those in connection with research on adult participants. Children are
individuals under development, and they have different needs and abilities

19
in various phases. Scientists must know enough about children to be able
to adapt their methods and the substance of their research to the age of
the participants. Parental consent is usually required when children under
the age of 15 will be taking part in research. When there is a question
about including a child in research, it is nonetheless important to see the
child as an individual subject. 10 In addition to parental consent, children’s
own consent is required from the time they are old enough to express an
opinion. Accordingly, age-specific information shall be provided about the
project and its consequences, and they must be informed that
participation is voluntary and that they can withdraw from the study at any
time. Using informed voluntary consent is more difficult for research on
children than research on adult participants. Children are more often
willing to obey authority than adults are, and they often feel that they
cannot protest. Nor are they always able to see the consequences of
giving researchers information. The requirement regarding confidentiality
also applies when children are informants for research purposes. By the
same token, situations can arise in which researchers are either legally or
ethically required to provide information to and possibly have contact with
the child’s parents, adult helpers or child welfare services. This applies,
for example, in the event a researcher finds out that a child is being
exposed to mistreatment or abuse. There can also be conflicts of interest
between children and their parents or guardians. In the event, it is
important to clarify the child’s opportunity for taking an independent
decision about participating in research.

Researchers shall show due respect for an individual’s privacy.

Informants are entitled to be able to check whether confidential
information about them is accessible to others.

Respect for privacy aims at protecting individuals against unwanted

interference and exposure. This applies not only to emotional issues, but
also to questions that involve sickness and health, political and religious
opinions, and sexual orientation. Researchers should be especially
compassionate when they ask questions that involve intimate issues and
they should avoid placing informants under pressure. What is perceived
as sensitive information can vary from one individual or group to the next.
Distinguishing between the private and public spheres can sometimes be

20
difficult when it comes to information about behaviour that is
communicated and stored on the Internet. 11 When using material from
such interactions, researchers must pay sufficient attention to the fact that
people’s understanding of what is private and what is public in such media
can vary.

Caution shall be exercised when deceased people are the subject of

research.

The fact that the deceased can no longer raise objections does not reduce
the requirement for meticulous documentation. Out of respect for the
deceased and their surviving relatives, researchers must choose their
words with care. Graves and human remains must be treated with the
utmost respect where research is concerned.

2.3 ETHICAL STANDARDS IN RESEARCH WITH ADULTS

i) Informed consent

Much social research necessitates obtaining the consent and co-operation

of subjects who are to assist in investigations and of significant others in
the institutions or organizations providing the research facilities. In some
cultures, informed consent is absolutely essential whenever participants
are exposed to substantial risks or asked to forfeit personal rights.

Informed consent has been defined by Diener and Crandall as ‘the

procedures in which individuals choose whether to participate in an
investigation after being informed of facts that would be likely to influence
their decisions’ (Diener and Crandall, 1978).

ii) Access and acceptance

The relevance of the principle of informed consent becomes apparent at

the initial stage of the research project—that of access to the institution or
organization where the research is to be conducted and acceptance by
those whose permission one needs before embarking on the task.
Permission to carry out an investigation must always be sought at an early
stage. As soon as you have an agreed project outline and have read
enough to convince yourself that the topic is feasible, it is advisable to
make a formal, written approach to the individuals and organization
concerned, outlining your plans. Achieving goodwill and co-operation is

21
especially important where the proposed research extends over a period
of time: days, perhaps, in the case of an ethnographic study; months (or
perhaps years!) where longitudinal research is involved.

Once this preliminary information has been collected, researchers are

duly prepared for the next stage: making actual contact in person,
perhaps after an introductory letter, with appropriate people in the
organization with a view to negotiating access. If the research is college-
based, they will have the support of their college and course supervisors.
Festinger and Katz (1966) consider that there is real economy in going to
the very top of the organization or system in question to obtain assent and
cooperation. This is particularly so where the structure is clearly
hierarchical and where lower levels are always dependent on their
superiors.

iii) Privacy

For the most part, individual ‘right to privacy’ is usually contrasted with
public ‘right to know’ (Pring, 1984) and this has been defined in the Ethical
Guidelines for the Institutional Review Committee for Research with
Human Subjects as that which:

"Extends to all information relating to a person’s physical and mental

condition, personal circumstances and social relationships which is not
already in the public domain. It gives to the individual or collectivity the
freedom to decide for themselves when and where, in what circumstances
and to what extent their personal attitudes, opinions, habits, eccentricities,
doubts and fears are to be communicated to or withheld from others.
(Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 1981)

iv) Anonymity

The essence of anonymity is that information provided by participants

should in no way reveal their identity. The obverse of this is, as we saw
earlier, personal data that uniquely identify their supplier. A participant or
subject is therefore considered anonymous when the researcher or
another person cannot identify the participant or subject from the
information provided. Where this situation holds, a participant’s privacy is
guaranteed, no matter how personal or sensitive the information is. Thus

22
a respondent completing a questionnaire that bears absolutely no
identifying marks—names, addresses, occupational details, or coding
symbols — are ensured complete and total anonymity.

v) Confidentiality

The second way of protecting a participant’s right to privacy is through the

promise of confidentiality. This means that although researchers know
who has provided the information or are able to identify participants from
the information given, they will in no way make the connection known
publicly; the boundaries surrounding the shared secret will be protected.
The essence of the matter is the extent to which investigators keep faith
with those who have helped them. It is generally at the access stage or at
the point where researchers collect their data that they make their position
clear to the hosts and/or subjects.

vi) Deception

The use of deception in social psychological and sociological research

has attracted a certain amount of adverse publicity. In social psychological
research, the term is applied to that kind of experimental situation where
the researcher knowingly conceals the true purpose and conditions of the
research, or else positively misinforms the subjects, or exposes them to
unduly painful, stressful or embarrassing experiences, without the
subjects having knowledge of what is going on. The deception lies in not
telling the whole truth. Advocates of the method feel that if a deception
experiment is the only way to discover something of real importance, the
truth so discovered is worth the lies told in the process, so long as no
harm comes to the subject.

23
To Conclude

• It is important for the researcher to reveal fully his or her

identity and background.
• The purpose and procedures of the research should be fully
explained to the subjects at the outset (Debriefing )
• The research and its ethical consequences should be seen
from the subjects’ and institution’s point of view.
• Ascertain whether the research benefits the subjects in any
way (beneficence).
• Where necessary, ensure the research does not harm the
subjects in any way (non-maleficence).
• Possible controversial findings need to be anticipated and
where they ensue, handled with great sensitivity.
• The research should be as objective as possible. This will
require careful thought being given to the design, conduct and
reporting of research.
• Informed consent should be sought from all participants. All
agreements reached at this stage should be honoured.
• Sometimes it is desirable to obtain informed consent in
writing.
• Subjects should have the option to refuse to take part and
know this; and the right to terminate their involvement at any
time and know this also.
• Arrangements should be made during initial contacts to
provide feedback for those requesting it. It may take the form
of a written résumé of findings.
• The dignity, privacy and interests of the participants should be
respected. Subsequent privacy of the subjects after the
research is completed should be guaranteed (non-
traceability).
• Deceit should only be used when absolutely necessary.
• When ethical dilemmas arise, the researcher may need to
consult other researchers.

24
2.4 ETHICAL STANDARDS IN RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN

Special considerations arise in research studies that use children

as participants. For example, how does informed consent work
with children, and how do researchers properly debrief a child?
Informed consent must be obtained from the parents or legal
guardians for all persons under the age of 18. However, with
children who are old enough to understand language, the
researcher should also try to inform them of the nature of the
study, explain what they will be asked to do during the study, and
tell them that they do not have to participate and can request to
end their participation at any time. The question remains, however,
whether children really understand this information and whether
they would feel comfortable exercising these rights. Thus, when
doing research with children, the researcher must be especially
careful to use good judgment when deciding whether to continue
collecting data from an individual or whether to use a particular
child in the research project.

Research in children poses important challenges with regard to

informed consent and assent, vulnerability and potential conflicts
of interest (COI). Pediatric health researchers should advocate for
research participation by children, while being attentive to
mitigating risks.

Research in children is recognized as a moral duty based on

several ethical principles. These principles include distributive
justice in making high-quality health care available to all
populations, including vulnerable ones; beneficence in providing
evidence-based care and no maleficence in avoiding harmful
therapies, adopted either without evidence or extrapolated from
experience with adults.

Conducting research with children can help us understand what

they think about the issues that affect them. But any research
involving children must balance the aims of the research with the
safety and wellbeing of the participants.By providing the right

25
support and knowing when to take appropriate action, researchers
can ensure that children feel respected and can participate safely.

There are three main ways of gathering information about children

and the issues that affect their lives.

• Asking children about their feelings, opinions and

experiences:
Either in face-to-face interviews with children or by
questionnaire.

• Observing children's behaviour: Using monitored

experiments or activities or observing children in an
uncontrolled environment to see how they react during
specific situations.

• Analyzing information contained in files about children:

Reviewing information held in documents like social care case
records, case reviews or school files.

In research about people's experiences there are four key factors

that can influence whether a participant suffers harm:

i) Past experiences

When selecting participants, it's important to take personal

histories into account. Consider how participants are likely to cope
with being asked to talk about their past experiences. Children
who have been abused can be particularly vulnerable to
retraumatisation and you must take extra measures to protect
them. Being sensitive to past experiences can help minimise
distress. If you don’t need to know details about past experiences
for your research, don’t ask about them. Make sure that children
understand the remit of your research.

ii) Unexpected topics

Qualitative research methods (such as in-depth interviews) often

go into more detail than quantitative methods (such as surveys).
This allows you to build up more of a rapport with participants and
provides opportunities to discuss issues that neither of you were

26
expecting. Structure your interview schedule so that difficult topics
are given enough time and aren't crammed in at the end. Be
aware of the signs that someone might be uncomfortable
discussing a particular topic and move on or take a break as
needed.

iii) Confidentiality and reporting concerns

Discuss confidentiality at the beginning of the process. Explain that

you will not share anything discussed in research sessions with
anyone else outside of the research team. However, you should
make it clear that you will break confidentiality when necessary, for
instance if a child or adult at risk is at risk of harm and action
needs to be taken to protect them.

iv) Adult to child ratios

It’s best practice for more than one adult to be present when
working with a child. If you cannot avoid being alone with a child,
you should always put safeguards in place.

Researchers should make sure they seek the views and ideas of
people from a wide range of backgrounds. Not every study can
include a complete cross-section of society. But there are simple
actions that can open up a research project to wider social and
cultural groups and improve the quality of the study. This might
include:

• adapting research tools to meet the needs and abilities of

participants
• translating supporting documents into other languages
• Providing an easy read version.
When you ask for permission for a child to be involved in your
research, ensure that young people and their parents or carers
fully understand what is being asked of them. This is known as
informed consent.

When can a child give consent?

When practitioners are deciding whether a child is mature enough

to make decisions about things that directly affect them, they often

27
talk about whether the child is ‘Gillick competent’. Gillick
competency means a young person is mature enough to fully
understand what they are agreeing to.

Right to withdraw consent

Giving informed consent isn't a one-off process but continues for

as long as anyone is involved in the research. This means that a
child who agrees to be part of a study can change their mind and
withdraw consent at any time or their parent or carer can withdraw
consent if they no longer wish for their child to take part. This
should be made clear at the beginning of the process and
researchers should regularly check with young people and their
families to make sure they are still happy to take part.

Requesting and recording consent

You should use a consent form to record that consent has been
given before the research starts.

Personal information

Participant’s personal information should be kept confidential

Incentives

You may want to thank participants for their time by offering some
form of appreciation such as rewards and incentives. Make sure
parents and carers know in advance about any incentives you are
offering to children and young people.Any incentives you offer
should be ethical and age-appropriate.

Complaints procedure

It's good practice to have a complaints procedure when conducting

any research. If children are involved, this should include a way for
them to be able to make a complaint and be adequately
represented. You should make the complaints procedure available
when obtaining consent.

28
2.5 ETHICAL STANDARDS IN RESEARCH WITH ANIMALS

Using animals in research has become a controversial issue.

Some people believe that no research should be conducted on
animals; others believe that research with animals is
advantageous but that measures should be taken to ensure
humane treatment. Taking the latter position, the APA has
developed Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in the Care and Use of
Animals (1996). These guidelines are presented below Developed
by the APA’s Committee on Animal Research and Ethics (CARE)

Research using animals should be undertaken with a clear

scientific purpose which would increase the understanding of the
species under study and provide results that benefit the health or
welfare of humans or animals. Psychologists should act on the
assumption that procedures that would produce pain in humans
will also do so in animals. The psychologist should always
consider the possibility of using other species, non animal
alternatives, or procedures that minimize the number of animals in
research, and should be familiar with the appropriate literature.
The psychologist should monitor the research and the animals’
welfare throughout the course of an investigation to ensure
continued justification for the research.

All procedures carried out on animals are to be reviewed by a local

animal care committee to ensure that the procedures are
appropriate and humane. The committee should have
representation from within the Institution and from the local
community. Psychologists should make every effort to ensure that
those responsible for transporting the animals to the facility
provide adequate food, water, ventilation, space, and impose no
unnecessary stress on the animals. Animals taken from the wild
should be trapped in a humane manner and in accordance with
applicable federal, state, and local regulations. Endangered
species should be used only with full attention to required permits
and ethical concerns.

29
Field research, because of its potential to damage sensitive ecosystems
and ethologies, should be subject to animal care committee approval.
Psychologists conducting field research should disturb their populations
as little as possible—consistent with the goals of the research. Every
effort should be made to minimize potential harmful effects of the study on
the population and on other plant and animal species in the area.
Research conducted in populated areas should be done with respect for
the property and privacy of the inhabitants of the area. Particular
justification is required for the study of endangered species. Such
research on endangered species should not be conducted unless animal
care committee approval has been obtained, and all requisite permits are
obtained.

Pain and distress cannot always be properly assessed in animals and

researchers must assume that animals experience pain in a manner
similar to humans. Investigators must be familiar with the normal behavior
patterns of the animal species chosen. Avoid repeated use of animals in
experiments: any animals should not be used in more than one
experiment, either in the same or different projects. Experimental duration
should be limited to that just sufficient to achieve the purpose of the
experiment. When it is necessary to kill an animal appropriate euthanasia
method, must be used. These procedures must avoid distress, be reliable
and produce rapid loss of consciousness without pain until death occurs.

The ethical assessments related to the use of animals in research are

wide-ranging. It is generally thought that it may be necessary to use
laboratory animals in some cases in order to create improvements for
people, animals or the environment. At the same time, the general opinion
is that animals have a moral status, and that our treatment of them should
be subject to ethical considerations. Such views are reflected in the
following positions:

(i) Animals have an intrinsic value which must be respected.

(ii) Animals are sentient creatures with the capacity to feel pain, and the
interests of animals must therefore be taken into consideration.

30
(iii) Our treatment of animals, including the use of animals in
research, is an expression of our attitudes and influences us as
moral actors.

2.5.1 Guidelines

1. Respect for animals' dignity

Researchers must have respect for animals' worth, regardless of

their utility value, and for animals' interests as living, sentient
creatures. Researchers must be respectful when choosing their
topic and methods, and when disseminating their research.
Researchers must provide care that is adapted to the needs of
each laboratory animal.

2. Responsibility for considering options (Replace)

Researchers are responsible for studying whether there are

alternatives to experiments on animals. Alternative options must
be prioritized if the same knowledge can be acquired without using
laboratory animals. If no good options are available, researchers
should consider whether the research can be postponed until
alternative methods have been developed. When
justifying experiments on animals, researchers therefore must be
able to account for the absence of options and the need to acquire
knowledge immediately.

3. The principle of proportionality: responsibility for

considering and balancing suffering and benefit

Researchers must consider the risk that laboratory animals

experience pain and other suffering and assess them in relation to
the value of the research for animals, people or the environment.
Researchers are responsible for considering whether the
experiment may result in improvements for animals, people or the
environment. The possible benefits of the study must
be considered, substantiated and specified in both the short and
the long term. The responsibility also entails an obligation to
consider the scientific quality of the experiments and whether the
experiments will have relevant scientific benefits. Suffering can

31
only be caused to animals if this is counterbalanced by a
substantial and probable benefit for animals, people or the
environment.

4. Responsibility for considering reducing the number

of animals (Reduce)

Researchers are responsible for considering whether it is possible

to reduce the number of animals the experiment plans to use and
must only include the number necessary to maintain the scientific
quality of the experiments and the relevance of the results. This
means, among other things, that researchers must conduct
literature studies, consider alternative experiment designs and
perform design calculations before beginning experiments.

5. Responsibility for minimizing the risk of suffering and

improving animal welfare (Refine)

Researchers are responsible for assessing the expected effect on

laboratory animals. Researchers must minimise the risk of
suffering and provide good animal welfare. Suffering includes pain,
hunger, thirst, malnutrition, abnormal cold or heat, fear, stress,
injury, illness and restrictions on the ability to behave
normally/naturally.

A researcher's assessment of what is considered acceptable

suffering should
be based on the animals that suffer the most. If there are any
doubts regarding perceived suffering, consideration of the animals
must be the deciding factor.

Researchers must not only consider the direct suffering that may
be endured during the experiment itself, but also the risk of
suffering before and after the experiment, including trapping,
labelling, anaesthetizing, breeding, transportation, stabling and
euthanizing. This means that researchers must also take account
of the need for periods of adaptation before and after the
experiment.

32
6. Responsibility for maintaining biological diversity

Researchers are responsible for ensuring that the use of

laboratory animals does not endanger biological diversity. This
means that researchers must consider the consequences to the
stock and to the ecosystem as a whole. The use of
endangered and vulnerable species must be reduced to an
absolute minimum. When there is credible, but uncertain,
knowledge that the inclusion of animals in research or the use of
certain methods may have ethically unacceptable consequences
for the stock and the ecosystem as a whole, researchers must
observe the precautionary principle.

7. Responsibility when intervening in a habitat

Researchers are responsible for reducing disruption and any

impact on the natural behaviour of individual animals, including
those that are not direct subjects of research, as well as of
populations and their surroundings. Certain research
and technology-related projects, like those regarding
environmental technology and environmental surveillance, may
impact on animals and their living conditions, for example as a
result of installing radar masts, antennas or other
measurement instruments. In such cases, researchers must seek
to observe the principle of proportionality and minimise the
possible negative impact.

8. Responsibility for openness and sharing of data and

material

Researchers are responsible for ensuring that there is

transparency about research findings and facilitating the sharing of
data and material from experiments on animals. Such
transparency and sharing are important in order to avoid
unnecessary repetition of experiments. Transparency is also
important in order to ensure that the public are informed and is
part of researchers' responsibility for dissemination.

33
In general, the negative results of experiments on animals should be
public knowledge. Disclosing negative results may give other researchers
information about which experiments are not worth pursuing, shine a light
on unfortunate research design, and help reduce the use of animals in
research.

9. Requirement of expertise on animals

Researchers and other parties who handle live animals must have
adequately updated and documented expertise on animals. This includes
specific knowledge about the biology of the animal species in question,
and a willingness and ability to take care of animals properly.

10. Requirement of due care

There are national laws and rules and international conventions and
agreements regarding the use of laboratory animals, and both
researchers and research managers must comply with these. Any person
who plans to use animals in experiments must familiarize themselves with
the current rules.

2.6ETHICAL STANDARDS IN RESEARCH WITH VULNERABLE

POPULATION

Persons who are relatively or absolutely incapable of protecting their own

interests are termed as vulnerable research population. The very poor,
illiterate patients, children, individuals with questionable capacity to give
consent (including psychiatric patients), prisoners, foetuses, pregnant
women, terminally ill patients, students, employees, comatose patients,
tribals and the elderly are examples of vulnerable population. It is the
responsibility of the Ethical committee (EC) to see whether the inclusion of
vulnerable populations in the study is justifiable or the population is just
being exploited to generate clinical data. To prevent even minor
exploitation the EC should consult the representative of vulnerable
population that is to be researched upon while reviewing the protocol.

Vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals and groups will not always be

equipped to defend their own interests in respect of researchers.
Accordingly, researchers cannot take it for granted that ordinary
procedures for eliciting information and consent will ensure individuals’

34
self-determination or protect them from unreasonable suffering.
Furthermore, vulnerable groups may not want to be subject to research
for fear of being viewed by the general public in an unfavourable light. In
such cases, the requirements concerning information and consent are
particularly important. On the other hand, society has a legitimate interest
in surveying living conditions, for instance, to gauge the effectiveness of
social welfare schemes, and to learn more about the ways in and out of
destructive and anti-social behaviour. Protecting a vulnerable group can
sometimes be counter-productive. In reality, such efforts may serve to
protect society at large from gaining insight into processes that lead to
discrimination and rejection.

Researchers who collect information about the characteristics and

behaviour of individuals and groups should avoid using classifications or
designations that give rise to unreasonable generalization, resulting in
practice in the stigmatization of particular social groups.

LET US SUM UP

Ethical issues may stem from the kinds of problems investigated by social
scientists and the methods they use to obtain valid and reliable data.
Informed consent protects the individual’s freedom of choice and respect
for the individual’s autonomy and is given voluntarily to participate in
research or not. The second way of protecting a participant’s right to
privacy is through the promise of confidentiality. Deception, kind of
experimental situation where the researcher knowingly conceals the true
purpose and conditions of the research, or else positively misinforms the
subjects, or exposes them to unduly painful, stressful or embarrassing
experiences, without the subjects having knowledge of what is going on.
Moreover ethical guidelines should be followed while conducting research
with vulnerable population

35
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. --------------- is defined as the procedures in which individuals choose

whether to participate in an investigation after being informed of facts
that would be likely to influence their decisions.

2. A participant or subject is therefore considered --------------when the

researcher or another person cannot identify the participant or subject
from the information provided.

3. Persons who are relatively or absolutely incapable of protecting their

own interests are termed as ---------

4. The way of protecting a participant’s right to privacy is through the

promise of ------------

5. The term --------- is applied to that kind of experimental situation where

the researcher knowingly conceals/ misinforms the true purpose and
conditions of the research.

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Informed consent
2. Anonymous
3. Vulnerable research population.
4. Confidentiality.
5. Deception

GLOSSARY
Anonymity - that information provided by participants should in no way
reveal their identity.

Ethics in research - The term research ethics refers to a wide variety of

values, norms, and institutional arrangements that help constitute and
regulate scientific activities.

Informed consent - the procedures in which individuals choose whether

to participate in an investigation after being informed of facts that would
be likely to influence their decisions

Vulnerable population - Persons who are relatively or absolutely

incapable of protecting their own interests are termed as vulnerable
research population.

36
MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Explain the ethical principles of research.

2. Explain the difference between the terms methods and

methodology in research
3. Discuss the ethical considerations to be followed while
conducting research with animal, children and adults.
4. List out the ethical considerations to be followed while
conducting research with animals.
5. List out the ethical considerations to be followed while
conducting research with children.
6. List out the ethical considerations to be followed while
conducting research with adults.

SUGGESTED READINGS
• https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source
=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjHyePal-
j2AhUYILcAHexqCF4QFnoECBsQAw&url=https%3A%2F
%2Fclutejournals.com%2Findex.php%2FJBER%2Farticle
%2Fdownload%2F2532%2F2578%2F10126&usg=AOvVa
w1eHUm17jICkiktQpVqyJ3q
• C.R. Kothari, 2004, Research Methodology – Methods and
Techniques, New Age International (P) Limited Publishers,
New Delhi.
• https://www.scribbr.com/frequently-asked-
questions/method-vs-methodology/
• https://askanydifference.com/difference-between-method-
and-methodology/
• https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-research-
method-and-research-methodology.html
• Research Methods and Statistics ( PDFDrive.com ).pdf

• https://www.forskningsetikk.no/en/guidelines/science-and-

technology/ethical-guidelines-for-the-use-of-animals-in-

research

37
• ttps://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-

resources/briefings/research-with-children-ethics-safety-

avoiding-harm#article-top

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC260608

3/#

• Research Methods and Statistics (PDFDrive.com).pdf

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC355821

8/

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC326729
4/

38
UNIT 3

RESEARCH PROBLEM & REVIEWS

STRUCTURE

Overview
Objectives
3.1 Definition of Research
3.2 Research Problem – Nature
3.3 Components ofa Research Problem
3.4 Sources of Research Problem
3.5 Criteria fora Good Research Problem
3.6 Technique Involved In Defining a Problem
3. 7 Reviewing the Research Literature
3.7.1 Research articles
3.7.2. Scholarly books
3.8 Literature Search Strategies
3.8.1 Using Psyc INFO and Other Databases
3.8.2 Using Other Search Techniques
Let us sum up
Check Your Progress
Key Words
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

As human beings we always try to seek knowledge or rather tries

to gain knowledge. In the process of gaining knowledge we use
research as a method. In this unit let us look into the definitions of
research, criteria for good research and research process. Also let
us understand the identification of research problem and the how
to conduct the research reviews.

39
OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit you will be able to:

Define Research
Explain the nature of Research Problem
List out the Components of a Research Problem
Identify the Sources of Research Problem
List out the Criteria for a Good Research Problem
Explain the process of Reviewing the Research Literature
Discuss about Research articles
Explain the Literature Search Strategies
3.8.1 Using Psyc INFO and Other Databases
3.8.2 Using Other Search Techniques
3.1 DEFINITION OF RESEARCH

Research - research, means searching again and again until we get

solution to the problem and adds new knowledge.There are various
definitions given by various researchers.

• Grinnell (1993) defines research as a careful, systematic, patient

study and investigation in some field of knowledge, undertaken to
establish facts or principles.
• Research is a scientific method consists of systematic observation,
clarification and interpretation of data (Lundberg, 1942).
• Burns (1997) claims that research is systematic investigation to find
answers to a problem.
• Kerlinger (1986) says scientific research is a systematic, controlled,
empirical and critical investigation of propositions about the presumed
relationship about various phenomena.

3.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM - NATURE

In research process, the first and foremost step happens to be that of

selecting and properly defining a research problem. A researcher must
find the problem and formulate it so that it becomes susceptible to
research. Like a medical doctor, a researcher must examine all the
symptoms (presented to him or observed by him) concerning a problem

40
before he can diagnose correctly. To define a problem correctly, a
researcher must know: what a problem is? Good research must begin
with a good research question. Yet coming up with good research
questions is something that novice researchers often find difficult and
stressful. One reason is that this is a creative process that can appear
mysterious—even magical—with experienced researchers seeming to pull
interesting research questions out of thin air

3.3 Components of a research problem

(i) There must be an individual or a group which has some difficulty or the
problem.

(ii) There must be some objective(s) to be attained at. If one wants

nothing, one cannot have a problem.

(iii) There must be alternative means (or the courses of action) for
obtaining the objective(s) one wishes to attain. This means that there
must be at least two means available to a researcher for if he has no
choice of means, he cannot have a problem.

(iv) There must remain some doubt in the mind of a researcher with
regard to the selection of alternatives. This means that research must
answer the question concerning the relative efficiency of the possible
alternatives.

(v) There must be some environment(s) to which the difficulty pertains.

Thus, a research problem is one which requires a researcher to find out
the best solution for the given problem, i.e., to find out by which course of
action the objective can be attained optimally in the context of a given
environment.

There are several factors which may result in making the problem
complicated. For instance, the environment may change affecting the
efficiencies of the courses of action or the values of the outcomes; the
number of alternative courses of action may be very large; persons not
involved in making the decision may be affected by it and react to it
favourably or unfavourably, and similar other factors. All such elements
(or at least the important ones) may be thought of in context of a research
problem

41
3.4SOURCES OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

Research questions often begin as more general research ideas—usually

focusing on some behavior or psychological characteristic: talkativeness,
learning, depression, and bungee jumping, and so on. Before looking at
how to turn such ideas into empirically testable research questions, it is
worth looking at where such ideas come from in the first place. Three of
the most common sources of inspiration are informal observations,
practical problems, and previous research.

Informal observations include direct observations of our own and others’

behavior as well as secondhand observations from non-scientific sources
such as newspapers, books, blogs, and so on. For example, you might
notice that you always seem to be in the slowest moving line at the
grocery store. Could it be that most people think the same thing? Or you
might read in a local newspaper about people donating money and food to
a local family whose house has burned down and begin to wonder about
who makes such donations and why. Some of the most famous research
in psychology has been inspired by informal observations. Stanley
Milgram’s famous research on obedience to authority, for example, was
inspired in part by journalistic reports of the trials of accused Nazi war
criminals—many of whom claimed that they were only obeying orders.
This led him to wonder about the extent to which ordinary people will
commit immoral acts simply because they are ordered to do so by an
authority figure (Milgram, 1963).

Practical problems can also inspire research ideas, leading directly to

applied research in such domains as law, health, education, and sports.
Does a taking lecture note by hand improve students’ exam performance?
How effective is psychotherapy for depression compared to drug therapy?
To what extent do cell phones impair people’s driving ability? How can we
teach children to read more efficiently? What is the best mental
preparation for running a marathon?

Probably the most common inspiration for new research ideas, however,
is previous research. Recall that science is a kind of large-scale
collaboration in which many different researchers read and evaluate each

42
other’s work and conduct new studies to build on it. Of course,
experienced researchers are familiar with previous research in their area
of expertise and probably have a long list of ideas. This suggests that
novice researchers can find inspiration by consulting with a more
experienced researcher (e.g., students can consult a faculty member). But
they can also find inspiration by picking up a copy of almost any
professional journal and reading the titles and abstracts. In one typical
issue of Psychological Science, for example, you can find articles on the
perception of shapes, anti-Semitism, police lineups, the meaning of death,
second-language learning, people who seek negative emotional
experiences, and many other topics. If you can narrow your interests
down to a particular topic, (e.g., memory) or domain (e.g., health care),
you can also look through more specific journals, such as Memory &
Cognition or Health Psychology.

3.5CRITERIA FOR A GOOD RESEARCH PROBLEM

1. It is systematic
2. It is logical
3. It is empirical
4. It is replicable
5. Problem must be clearly defined
6. Should provide solution to the problem
7. It is objective
8. It is verifiable

A good research question (RQ) forms backbone of a good research,

which in turn is vital in unraveling mysteries of nature and giving insight
into a problem. RQ identifies the problem to be studied and guides to the
methodology. It leads to building up of an appropriate hypothesis (Hs).
Hence, RQ aims to explore an existing uncertainty in an area of concern
and points to a need for deliberate investigation. A good RQ helps support
a focused arguable thesis and construction of a logical argument. Hence,
formulation of a good RQ is undoubtedly one of the first critical steps in
the research process, especially in the field of social and health research,
where the systematic generations of knowledge that can be used to

43
promote, restore, maintain, and/or protect health of individuals and
populations. Basically, the research can be classified as action, applied,
basic, clinical, empirical, administrative, theoretical, or qualitative or
quantitative research, depending on its purpose. Research plays an
important role in developing clinical practices and instituting new health
policies. Hence, there is a need for a logical scientific approach as
research has an important goal of generating new claims.

3.6 TECHNIQUE INVOLVED IN DEFINING A PROBLEM

Let us start with the question: What does one mean when he/she wants
to define a research problem? The answer may be that one wants to state
the problem along with the bounds within which it is to be studied. In other
words, defining a problem involves the task of laying down boundaries
within which a researcher shall study the problem with a pre-determined
objective in view. How to define a research problem is undoubtedly a
herculean task. However, it is a task that must be tackled intelligently to
avoid the perplexity encountered in a research operation. The usual
approach is that the researcher should himself pose a question (or in case
someone else wants the researcher to carry on research, the concerned
individual, organisation or an authority should pose the question to the
researcher) and set-up techniques and procedures for throwing light on
the question concerned for formulating or defining the research problem.
But such an approach generally does not produce definitive results
because the question phrased in such a fashion is usually in broad
general terms and as such may not be in a form suitable for testing.
Defining a research problem properly and clearly is a crucial part of a
research study and must in no case be accomplished hurriedly. However,
in practice this frequently overlooked which causes a lot of problems later
on. Hence, the research problem should be defined in a systematic
manner, giving due weightage to all relating points.

The technique for the purpose involves the undertaking of the following
steps generally one after the other:

(i) Statement of the problem in a general way;

(ii) Understanding the nature of the problem;

44
(iii) Surveying the available literature

(iv) Developing the ideas through discussions; and

(v) Rephrasing the research problem into a working proposition. A

brief description of all these points will be helpful.

(i) Statement of the problem in a general way: First of all the

problem should be stated in a broad general way, keeping in view
either some practical concern or some scientific or intellectual
interest. For this purpose, the researcher must immerse himself
thoroughly in the subject matter concerning which he wishes to
pose a problem. In case of social research, it is considered
advisable to do some field observation and as such the researcher
may undertake some sort of preliminary survey or what is often
called pilot survey. Then the researcher can himself state the
problem or he can seek the guidance of the guide or the subject
expert in accomplishing this task. Often, the guide puts forth the
problem in general terms, and it is then up to the researcher to
narrow it down and phrase the problem in operational terms. In
case there is some directive from an organisational authority, the
problem then can be stated accordingly. The problem stated in a
broad general way may contain various ambiguities which must be
resolved by cool thinking and rethinking over the problem. At the
same time the feasibility of a particular solution has to be
considered and the same should be kept in view while stating the
problem.

(ii) Understanding the nature of the problem: The next step in

defining the problem is to understand its origin and nature clearly.
The best way of understanding the problem is to discuss it with
those who first raised it in order to find out how the problem
originally came about and with what objectives in view. If the
researcher has stated the problem himself, he should consider
once again all those points that induced him to make a general
statement concerning the problem. For a better understanding of
the nature of the problem involved, he can enter into discussion
with those who have a good knowledge of the problem concerned

45
or similar other problems. The researcher should also keep in view
the environment within which the problem is to be studied and
understood.

(iii) Surveying the available literature: All available literature

concerning the problem at hand must necessarily be surveyed and
examined before a definition of the research problem is given. This
means that the researcher must be well-conversant with relevant
theories in the field, reports and records as also all other relevant
literature. He must devote sufficient time in reviewing of research
already undertaken on related problems. This is done to find out
what data and other materials, if any, are available for operational
purposes. This would also help a researcher to know if there are
certain gaps in the theories, or whether the existing theories
applicable to the problem under study are inconsistent with each
other, or whether the findings of the different studies do not follow
a pattern consistent with the theoretical expectations and so on.
Studies on related problems are useful for indicating the type of
difficulties that may be encountered in the present study as also
the possible analytical shortcomings. At times such studies may
also suggest useful and even new lines of approach to the present
problem.

(iv) Developing the ideas through discussions: Discussion

concerning a problem often produces useful information. Various
new ideas can be developed through such an exercise. Hence, a
researcher must discuss his problem with his colleagues and
others who have enough experience in the same area or in
working on similar problems. This is quite often known as an
experience survey. People with rich experience are in a position to
enlighten the researcher on different aspects of his proposed study
and their advice and comments are usually invaluable to the
researcher. They help him sharpen his focus of attention on
specific aspects within the field. Discussions with such persons
should not only be confined to the formulation of the specific
problem at hand, but should also be concerned with the general

46
approach to the given problem, techniques that might be used,
possible solutions, etc.

(v) Rephrasing the research problem: Finally, the researcher

must sit to rephrase the research problem into a working
proposition. Once the nature of the problem has been clearly
understood, the environment (within which the problem has got to
be studied) has been defined, discussions over the problem have
taken place and the available literature has been surveyed and
examined, rephrasing the problem into analytical or operational
terms is not a difficult task. Through rephrasing, the researcher
puts the research problem in as specific terms as possible so that
it may become operationally viable and may help in the
development of working hypotheses. In addition to what has been
stated above, the following points must also be observed while
defining a research problem

(a) Technical terms and words or phrases, with special meanings

used in the statement of the problem, should be clearly defined.

(b) Basic assumptions or postulates (if any) relating to the

research problem should be clearly stated.

(c) A straight forward statement of the value of the investigation

(i.e., the criteria for the selection of the problem) should be
provided.

(d) The suitability of the time-period and the sources of data

available must also be considered by the researcher in defining
the problem.

(e) The scope of the investigation or the limits within which the
problem is to be studied must be mentioned explicitly in defining a
research problem.

3.7 REVIEWING THE RESEARCH LITERATURE

Once again, one of the most common sources of inspiration is

previous research. Therefore, it is important to review the literature
early in the research process. Reviewing the research literature
means finding, reading, and summarizing the published research

47
relevant to your topic of interest. In addition to helping you
discover new research questions, reviewing the literature early in
the research process can help you in several other ways.

• It can tell you if a research question has already been

answered.

• It can help you evaluate the interestingness of a research

question.

• It can give you ideas for how to conduct your own study.

• It can tell you how your study fits into the research literature.

The research literature in any field is all the published research in

that field. The research literature in psychology is enormous—
including millions of scholarly articles and books dating to the
beginning of the field—and it continues to grow. Although its
boundaries are somewhat fuzzy, the research literature definitely
does not include self-help and other pop psychology books,
dictionary and encyclopedia entries, websites, and similar sources
that are intended mainly for the general public. These are
considered unreliable because they are not reviewed by other
researchers and are often based on little more than common
sense or personal experience. Wikipedia contains much valuable
information, but the fact that its authors are anonymous and may
not have any formal training or expertise in that subject area, and
its content continually changes makes it unsuitable as a basis of
sound scientific research. For our purposes, it helps to define the
research literature as consisting almost entirely of two types of
sources: articles in professional journals, and scholarly books in
psychology and related fields.

3.7.1 Research articles

Professional journals are periodicals that publish original

research articles. There are thousands of professional journals
that publish research in psychology and related fields. They are
usually published monthly or quarterly in individual issues, each of
which contains several articles. The issues are organized into

48
volumes, which usually consist of all the issues for a calendar
year. Some journals are published in hard copy only, others in
both hard copy and electronic form, and still others in electronic
form only.

Most articles in professional journals are one of two basic types:

empirical research reports and review
articles. Empirical research reports describe one or more new
empirical studies conducted by the authors. They introduce a
research question, explain why it is interesting, review previous
research, describe their method and results, and draw their
conclusions. Review articles summarize previously published
research on a topic and usually present new ways to organize or
explain the results. When a review article is devoted primarily to
presenting a new theory, it is often referred to as
a theoretical article.

When you do a literature review, you need to be selective. Not

every article, book unit, and book that relates to your research idea
or question will be worth obtaining, reading, and integrating into
your review. Instead, you want to focus on sources that help you
do four basic things: (a) refine your research question, (b) identify
appropriate research methods, (c) place your research in the
context of previous research, and (d) write an effective research
report. Several basic principles can help you find the most useful
sources.

First, it is best to focus on recent research, keeping in mind that

what counts as recent depends on the topic. For newer topics that
are actively being studied, “recent” might mean published in the
past year or two. For older topics that are receiving less attention
right now, “recent” might mean within the past 10 years. You will
get a feel for what counts as recent for your topic when you start
your literature search. A good general rule, however, is to start
with sources published in the past five years. The main exception
to this rule would be classic articles that turn up in the reference
list of nearly every other source. If other researchers think that this

49
 work is important, even though it is old, then, by all means, you
should include it in your review.

Second, you should look for review articles on your topic because they will
provide a useful overview of it—often discussing important definitions,
results, theories, trends, and controversies—giving you a good sense of
where your own research fits into the literature. You should also look for
empirical research reports addressing your question or similar questions,
which can give you ideas about how to operationally define your variables
and collect your data. As a general rule, it is good to use methods that
others have already used successfully unless you have good reasons not
to. Finally, you should look for sources that provide information that can
help you argue for the interestingness of your research question. For a
study on the effects of cell phone use on driving ability, for example, you
might look for information about how widespread cell phone use is, how
frequent and costly motor vehicle crashes are, and so on.

How many sources are enough for your literature review? This is a difficult
question because it depends on how extensively your topic has been
studied and also on your own goals. One study found that across a variety
of professional journals in psychology, the average number of sources
cited per article was about 50 (Adair & Vohra, 2003). This gives a rough
idea of what professional researchers consider to be adequate. As a
student, you might be assigned a much lower minimum number of
references to include, but the principles for selecting the most useful ones
remain the same

3.7.2 Scholarly Books

Scholarly books are books written by researchers and practitioners

mainly for use by other researchers and practitioners. A monograph is
written by a single author or a small group of authors and usually, gives a
coherent presentation of a topic much like an extended review
article. Edited volumes have an editor or a small group of editors who
recruit many authors to write separate units on different aspects of the
same topic. Although edited volumes can also give a coherent
presentation of the topic, it is not unusual for each unit to take a different
perspective or even for the authors of different units to openly disagree

50
with each other. In general, scholarly books undergo a peer review
process similar to that used by professional journals.

3. 8 LITERATURE SEARCH STRATEGIES

3.8.1 Using Psyc INFO and Other Databases

The primary method used to search the research literature involves using
one or more electronic databases. These include Academic Search
Premier, JSTOR, and ProQuest for all academic disciplines, ERIC for
education, and PubMed for medicine and related fields. The most
important for our purposes, however, is PsycINFO, which is produced by
the American Psychological Association (APA). PsycINFO is so
comprehensive—covering thousands of professional journals and
scholarly books going back more than 100 years—that for most purposes
its content is synonymous with the research literature in psychology. Like
most such databases, PsycINFO is usually available through your
university library.

PsycINFO consists of individual records for each article, book chapter, or

book in the database. Each record includes basic publication information,
an abstract or summary of the work (like the one presented at the start of
this chapter), and a list of other works cited by that work. A computer
interface allows entering one or more search terms and returns any
records that contain those search terms. (These interfaces are provided
by different vendors and therefore can look somewhat different depending
on the library you use.) Each record also contains lists of keywords that
describe the content of the work and also a list of index terms. The index
terms are especially helpful because they are standardized. Research on
differences between women and men, for example, is always indexed
under “Human Sex Differences.” Research on note-taking is always
indexed under the term “Learning Strategies.” If you do not know the
appropriate index terms, PsycINFO includes a thesaurus that can help
you find them.

Depending on the vendor that provides the interface to PsycINFO, you

may be able to save, print, or e-mail the relevant PsycINFO records. The
records might even contain links to full-text copies of the works
themselves. (PsycARTICLES is a database that provides full-text access

51
to articles in all journals published by the APA.) If not, and you want a
copy of the work, you will have to find out if your library carries the journal
or has the book and the hard copy on the library shelves. Be sure to ask a
librarian if you need help.

3.8.2 Using Other Search Techniques

In addition to entering search terms into PsycINFO and other databases,

there are several other techniques you can use to search the research
literature. First, if you have one good article or book chapter on your
topic—a recent review article is best—you can look through the reference
list of that article for other relevant articles, books, and book chapters. In
fact, you should do this with any relevant article or book chapter you find.
You can also start with a classic article or book chapter on your topic, find
its record in PsycINFO (by entering the author’s name or article’s title as a
search term), and link from there to a list of other works in PsycINFO that
cite that classic article. This works because other researchers working on
your topic are likely to be aware of the classic article and cite it in their
own work. You can also do a general Internet search using search terms
related to your topic or the name of a researcher who conducts research
on your topic. This might lead you directly to works that are part of the
research literature (e.g., articles in open-access journals or posted on
researchers’ own websites). The search engine Google Scholar is
especially useful for this purpose. A general Internet search might also
lead you to websites that are not part of the research literature but might
provide references to works that are. Finally, you can talk to people (e.g.,
your instructor or other faculty members in psychology) who know
something about your topic and can suggest relevant articles and book
chapters.

52
LET US SUM UP

From the above section it is clear that any research starts with the
identification of the problem in order to find solution for the
identified problem we must do review search. The above unit also
explained the method to find out good research problem and how
to do a literature review.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. ___________ , means searching again and again

2. Research is a scientific method consists of
3. Good research is __________, ___________, ___________
and ___________
4. Good research must begin with a good ________
5. ________are periodicals that publish original research articles
6. A _____ is written by a single author
7. Electronic search include ________________

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Research
2. systematic observation, clarification and interpretation of data
3. Systematic, logical, empirical and replicable
4. research question
5. Professional journals
6. Monograph
7. PsyInfo, ERIC, JSTOR, Pub Med

MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Define research
2. Describe the research process
3. Explain how you would identify a good research problem.
4. What are the criteria for a good research problem?
5. Explain various techniques for literature search.
6. List out the components of A Research Problem
7. Explain the process of reviewing The Research Literature
8. Discuss about research articles
9. Explain the literature Search Strategies
10. Write a note on using psyc INFO and other Databases

53
GLOSSARY
Electronic database - An Electronic database is a computer-based
collection or listing of information.

Empirical - based on, concerned with or verifiable by observation or

experience rather than theory or pure logic.

Hypothesis - a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of

limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation

Journals - A journal is a scholarly publication containing articles written

by researchers, professors and other experts.

Monograph - A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to

reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a
subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly
subject.

Observation – A way to gather data in research by watching people,

events, or noting physical characteristics in their natural setting.

Research problem - A research problem is a statement about an area of

concern, a condition to be improved, a difficulty to be eliminated, or a
troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or in practice
that points to the need for meaningful understanding and deliberate
investigation.

Review of literature A literature review consists of an overview, a

summary, and an evaluation (“critique”) of the current state of knowledge
about a specific area of research.

SUGGESTED READINGS
• https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/variables
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6322175/
• https://journals.lww.com/ijo/Fulltext/2017/65060/Publication_ethics.
2.aspx
• C.R. Kothari, 2004, Research Methodology – Methods and
Techniques, New Age International (P) Limited Publishers, New
Delhi.
• Evans,A.N.,&Rooney,B.J.(2008).Methodsin
Psychologicalresearch.NewDelhi,India: Sage PublicationsIndia
Pvt. Ltd.

54
BLOCK II: HYPOTHESIS, VARIABLES AND SAMPLING

UNIT 4: HYPOTHESIS AND VARIABLES

UNIT 5: SAMPLING
UNIT 6: DATA COLLECTION METHODS

55
UNIT 4
HYPOTHESIS, MEASUREMENT
AND VARIABLES

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
4.1 Hypothesis
4.2 Characteristics of a Good Hypothesis
4.3 Types of hypotheses
4.4 Type I And Type II Errors
4.4.1 Level Of Significance
4.5 Variables
4.6 Ways of asking Research questions
4.7 Measuring Observed Variables
4.7.1 Scales of Measurement
Let us sum up
Check Your Progress
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
In this unit, you will be introduced to the concept of hypothesis
testing—the process of determining whether a hypothesis is
supported by the results of a research project. Orientation to
hypothesis testing will include a discussion of the null and
alternative hypotheses, Type Ian Type II errors, and one- and two-
tailed tests of hypotheses. Also will understand the meaning of
measurement and variables and various types of variables.

56
OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
• Explain the meaning of hypothesis
• Discuss about the process of hypothesis testing
• Highlight the errors in hypothesis testing
• Explain the meaning and types of variables
• Explain the scales of measurement

4.1 HYPOTHESIS
A hypothesis is a specific prediction about a new phenomenon that
should be observed if a particular theory is accurate. It is an
explanation that relies on just a few key concepts. Hypotheses are
often specific predictions about what will happen in a particular
study. They are developed by considering existing evidence and
using reasoning to infer what will happen in the specific context of
interest. Hypotheses are often but not always derived from
theories. So a hypothesis is often a prediction based on a theory
but some hypotheses are a-theoretical and only after a set of
observations have been made, are a theory developed. This is
because theories are broad in nature and they explain larger
bodies of data.

4.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD HYPOTHESIS

There are three general characteristics of a good hypothesis. First,
a good hypothesis must be testable and falsifiable. We must be
able to test the hypothesis using the methods of science and if
you’ll recall Popper’s falsifiability criterion, it must be possible to
gather evidence that will disconfirm the hypothesis if it is indeed
false. Second, a good hypothesis must be logical. As described
above, hypotheses are more than just a random guess.
Hypotheses should be informed by previous theories or
observations and logical reasoning. Typically, we begin with a
broad and general theory and use deductive reasoning to generate
a more specific hypothesis to test based on that theory.
Occasionally, however, when there is no theory to inform our

57
hypothesis, we use inductive reasoning which involves using
specific observations or research findings to form a more general
hypothesis. Finally, the hypothesis should be positive. That is, the
hypothesis should make a positive statement about the existence
of a relationship or effect, rather than a statement that a
relationship or effect does not exist. As scientists, we don’t set out
to show that relationships do not exist or that effects do not occur
so our hypotheses should not be worded in a way to suggest that
an effect or relationship does not exist. The nature of science is to
assume that something does not exist and then seek to find
evidence to prove this wrong, to show that really it does exist.
4.3 TYPES OF HYPOTHESES
Let’s use our sample hypothesis to demonstrate what we mean.
We want to show that children who attend academic after-school
programs have different (higher) IQ scores than those who do not.
We understand that statistics cannot demonstrate the truth of this
statement. We therefore construct what is known as a null
hypothesis (H0). Whatever the research topic, the null
hypothesis always predicts that there is no difference between
the groups being compared. This is typically what the researcher
does not expect to find. Think about the meaning of null—nothing
or zero. The null hypothesis means we have found nothing—no
difference between the groups.
For the sample study, the null hypothesis is that children who
attend academic after-school programs have the same intelligence
level as other children. Remember, we said that statistics allow us
to disprove or falsify a hypothesis. Therefore, if the null hypothesis
is not supported, then our original hypothesis—that children who
attend academic after-school programs have different IQs than
other children—is all that is left.
The purpose of the study, then, is to decide whether H0 is
probably true or probably false. The hypothesis that the researcher
wants to support is known as the alternative hypothesis (Ha), or
the research hypothesis (H1). The third one is called as
directional hypothesis, which directly denotes about the

58
relationship between the variables. This may indicate, if the
variables are related are not as the case may be. For example as
given above, i.e. children who attend academic after-school
programs have different (higher) IQ scores, the hypothesis may be
formed as” there will be a significant increase in the IQ after
attending the academic after-school programmes”. This will be
better explained in the following section.
i) One tailed and two tailed hypothesis
The manner in which the previous research hypothesis (Ha) was
stated reflects what is known statistically as a one-tailed
hypothesis, or a directional hypothesis—an alternative
hypothesis in which the researcher predicts the direction of the
expected difference between the groups. In this case, the
researcher predicted the direction of the difference—namely, that
children in academic after-school programs will be more intelligent
than children in the general population. When we use a directional
alternative hypothesis, the null hypothesis is also, in some sense,
directional. If the alternative hypothesis is that children in
academic after-school programs will have higher intelligence test
scores, then the null hypothesis is that being in academic after-
school programs either will have no effect on intelligence test
scores or will decrease intelligence test scores.
ii) Two-tailed hypothesis
The alternative to a one-tailed or directional test is a two-tailed
hypothesis, or a non directional hypothesis—an alternative
hypothesis in which the researcher expects to find differences
between the groups but is unsure what the differences will be. In
our example, the researcher would predict a difference in IQ
scores between children in academic after-school programs and
those in the general population, but the direction of the difference
would not be predicted. Those in academic programs would be
expected to have either higher or lower IQs but not the same IQs
as the general population of children.

59
4.4 TYPE I AND TYPE II ERRORS
Table: Statistical decision making
Truth Unknown to the Researcher

Researcher's decision H0 is true H0 is false

Reject H0(say it is false) Type I error Correct decision

Fail to reject H0 (say it is Correct decision Type II error

true)

If we reject the null hypothesis (that there is no IQ difference

between groups), we may be correct in our decision, or we may be
incorrect. If our decision to reject H0 is correct, that means there
truly is a difference in IQ between children in academic after-
school programs and the general population of children. However,
our decision could be incorrect. The result may have been due to
chance. Even though we observed a significant difference in IQs
between the children in our study and the general population, the
result might have been a fluke—maybe the children in our sample
just happened to guess correctly on a lot of the questions. In this
case, we have made what is known as a Type I error—we
rejected H0, when in reality, we should have failed to reject it (it is
true that there really is no IQ difference between the sample and
the population). Type I errors can be thought of as false alarms—
we said there was a difference, but in reality, there is no
difference.

What if our decision is to not reject H0, meaning we conclude that

there is no difference in IQs between the children in academic
afterschool programs and children in the general population? This
decision could be correct, meaning that in reality, there is no IQ
difference between the sample and the population. However, it
could also be incorrect. In this case, we would be making a Type II
error—saying there is no difference between groups when, in
reality, there is a difference. Somehow we have missed the
difference that really exists and have failed to reject the null

60
hypothesis when it is false. These possibilities are summarized in
Table.
4.4.1 Level of Significance
The significance level, also denoted as alpha or α, is the
probability of rejecting the null hypothesis when it is true. For
example, a significance level of 0.05 indicates a 5% risk of
concluding that a difference exists when there is no actual
difference.
4.5 VARIABLES
A variable in research simply refers to a person, place, thing, or
phenomenon that you are trying to measure in some way. The
best way to understand the difference between a dependent and
independent variable is that the meaning of each is implied by
what the words tell us about the variable you are using.
A variable in research simply refers to a person, place, thing, or
phenomenon that you are trying to measure in some way. The
best way to understand the difference between a dependent and
independent variable is that the meaning of each is implied by
what the words tell us about the variable you are using. You can
do this with a simple exercise from the website, Graphic Tutorial.
Take the sentence, "The [independent variable] causes a change
in [dependent variable] and it is not possible that [dependent
variable] could cause a change in [independent variable]." Insert
the names of variables you are using in the sentence in the way
that makes the most sense. This will help you identify each type of
variable. If you're still not sure, consult with your professor before
you begin to write.
The process of examining a research problem in the social and
behavioral sciences is often framed around methods of analysis
that compare, contrast, correlate, average, or integrate
relationships between or among variables. Techniques include
associations, sampling, random selection, and blind selection.
Designation of the dependent and independent variable involves
unpacking the research problem in a way that identifies a general

61
cause and effect and classifying these variables as either
independent or dependent.
The variables should be outlined in the introduction of your paper
and explained in more detail in the methods section. There are no
rules about the structure and style for writing about independent or
dependent variables but, as with any academic writing, clarity and
being succinct is most important.
Any things which varies in value is variable, in other words which
takes up different numbers or values is variable. For example if
we measure the self-esteem of 100 students, we may get 100
different values of self-esteem. In mathematical term if x is a
variable it can take up any value.
The means of classifying variables is in terms of their utility in the
research. The first one by virtue of their nature that is whether they
are discrete or continuous in nature. The second way of
classification is by virtue of their application in the experimental
research, that is dependent, independent and intervening
variables.
i) Discrete variables usually consist of whole number units or
categories. They are made up of chunks or units that are detached
and distinct from one another. A change in value occurs a whole
unit at a time, and decimals do not make sense with discrete
scales. Most nominal and ordinal data are discrete. For example,
gender, political party, and ethnicity are discrete scales. Some
interval or ratio data can be discrete. For example, the number of
children someone has is reported as a whole number (discrete
data), yet it is also ratio data (you can have a true zero and form
ratios).
ii) Continuous variables usually fall along a continuum and allow
for fractional amounts. The term continuous means that it
“continues” between the whole number units. Examples of
continuous variables are age (22.7 years), height (64.5 inches),
and weight (113.25 pounds). Most interval and ratio data are
continuous in nature.

62
iii) Categorical variables: The next classification is the
Categorical Variable. Categorical variables are the one which
takes values that are in names or labels. For example color of the
eye ball, brown, black, blue etc.
Independent, dependent and extraneous variables
In an experimental research design researcher measures
independent and dependent variables. Aspect of the environment
which is experimentally manipulated is called independent
variable.
a) Independent Variable
The variable that is stable and unaffected by the other variables
you are trying to measure. It refers to the condition of an
experiment that is systematically manipulated by the investigator.
It is the presumed cause.
Independent variable is the variable the experimenter
manipulates or changes, and is assumed to have a direct effect on
the dependent variable. For example, allocating participants to
either drug or placebo conditions (independent variable) in order to
measure any changes in the intensity of their anxiety (dependent
variable).

In a well-designed experimental study, the independent variable is

the only important difference between the experimental (e.g.
treatment) and control (e.g. placebo) groups.

b) Dependent Variable
The variable that depends on other factors that are measured.
These variables are expected to change as a result of an
experimental manipulation of the independent variable or
variables. It is the presumed effect.
Dependent variable is the variable being tested and measured in
an experiment, and is 'dependent' on the independent variable. An
example of a dependent variable is depression symptoms, which
depends on the independent variable (type of therapy).

Independent variable is the cause and dependent variable is

the effect. In an experiment to find out the effectiveness of

63
mindfulness based stress reduction therapy, mindfulness training
is independent variable and stress is dependent variable. Change
in the level of stress depends upon the intervention given.
Therefore stress is dependent variable.
c) Extraneous variable
The variable which also influences the dependent variable is
called extraneous variable. In a research to find out the influence
of memory on test performance, test anxiety and stress is
considered to be the extraneous variable. Usually extraneous
variable is controlled either ethologically or statistically.
i) Participant variables: These extraneous variables are related
to the individual characteristics of each study participant that may
impact how they respond. These factors can include background
differences, mood, anxiety, intelligence, awareness, and other
characteristics that are unique to each person.
ii) Situational variables: These extraneous variables are related
to things in the environment that may impact how each participant
responds. For example, if a participant is taking a test in a chilly
room, the temperature would be considered an extraneous
variable. Some participants may not be affected by the cold, but
others might be distracted or annoyed by the temperature of the
room.

4.6 WAYS OF ASKING RESEARCH QUESTIONS

A research question is a specific inquiry which the research seeks

to provide a response to. It resides at the core of systematic
investigation, and it helps you to clearly define a path for the
research process. A research question is usually the first step in
any research project. Basically, it is the primary interrogation point
of your research, and it sets the pace for your work. Typically, a
research question focuses on the research, determines the
methodology and hypothesis, and guides all stages of inquiry,
analysis, and reporting. With the right research questions, you will
be able to gather useful information for your investigation.

64
 Types of Research Questions
Research questions are broadly categorized into two; that is,
qualitative research questions and quantitative research questions.
Qualitative and quantitative research questions can be used
independently and co-dependently in line with the overall focus
and objectives of your research.

If your research aims at collecting quantifiable data, you will need

to make use of quantitative research questions. On the other hand,
qualitative questions help you to gather qualitative data bothering
on the perceptions and observations of your research subjects.

Qualitative Research Questions

A qualitative research question is a type of systematic inquiry that
aims at collecting qualitative data from research subjects. The aim
of qualitative research questions is to gather non-statistical
information pertaining to the experiences, observations, and
perceptions of the research subjects in line with the objectives of
the investigation.

Types of Qualitative Research Questions

• Ethnographic Research Questions

As the name clearly suggests, ethnographic research questions

are inquiries presented in ethnographic research. Ethnographic
research is a qualitative research approach that involves observing
variables in their natural environments or habitats in order to arrive
at objective research outcomes. These research questions help
the researcher to gather insights into the habits, dispositions,
perceptions, and behaviors of research subjects as they interact in
specific environments.

Ethnographic research questions can be used in education,

business, medicine, and other fields of study, and they are very
useful in contexts aimed at collecting in-depth and specific
information that are peculiar to research variables. For instance,
asking educational ethnographic research questions can help you

65
understand how pedagogy affects classroom relations and
behaviors.

This type of research question can be administered physically

through one-on-one interviews, naturalism (live and work), and
participant observation methods. Alternatively, the researcher can
ask ethnographic research questions via online surveys and
questionnaires.

Examples of Ethnographic Research Questions

Why do you use this product?

Have you noticed any side effects since you started using this
drug?
Does this product meet your needs?

• Case Studies

A case study is a qualitative research approach that involves

carrying out a detailed investigation into a research subject(s) or
variable(s). In the course of a case study, the researcher gathers a
range of data from multiple sources of information via different
data collection methods, and over a period of time.

The aim of a case study is to analyze specific issues within definite

contexts and arrive at detailed research subject analyses by
asking the right questions. This research method can be
explanatory, descriptive, or exploratory depending on the focus of
your systematic investigation or research.

An explanatory case study is one that seeks to gather information

on the causes of real-life occurrences. This type of case study
uses "how" and "why" questions in order to gather valid
information about the causative factors of an event.

Descriptive case studies are typically used in business research,

and they aim at analyzing the impact of changing market dynamics
on businesses. On the other hand, exploratory case studies aim at

66
providing answers to "whom" and "what" questions using data
collection tools like interviews and questionnaires.

Example of Case Study:

Some questions you can include in your case studies are:

Why did you choose our services?

How has this policy affected your business output?
What benefits have you recorded since you started using our
product?

• Interviews

An interview is a qualitative research method that involves asking

respondents a series of questions in order to gather information
about a research subject. Interview questions can be close-ended
or open-ended, and they prompt participants to provide valid
information that is useful to the research.

An interview may also be structured, semi-structured, or

unstructured, and this further influences the types of questions
they include. Structured interviews are made up of more close-
ended questions because they aim at gathering quantitative data
while unstructured interviews consist, primarily, of open-ended
questions that allow the researcher to collect qualitative
information from respondents.

You can conduct interview research by scheduling a physical

meeting with respondents, through a telephone conversation, and
via digital media and video conferencing platforms like Skype and
Zoom

Examples of interview questions include:

What challenges did you face while using our product?

What specific needs did our product meet?
What would you like us to improve our service delivery?

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Examples of a Good Research Question

Since research questions lie at the core of any systematic investigations,

it is important to know how to frame a good research question. The right
research questions will help you to gather the most objective responses
that are useful to your systematic investigation.

A good research question is one that requires impartial responses and

can be answered via existing sources of information. Also, a good
research question seeks answers that actively contribute to a body of
knowledge; hence, it is a question that is yet to be answered in your
specific research context.

Open-Ended Questions

An open-ended question is a type of research question that does not

restrict respondents to a set of premeditated answer options. In other
words, it is a question that allows the respondent to freely express his or
her perceptions and feelings towards the research subject.

Examples of Open-ended Questions

1. How do you deal with stress in the workplace?

2. What is a typical day at work like for you?

Close-ended Questions

A close-ended question is a type of survey question that restricts

respondents to a set of predetermined answers such as multiple-choice
questions. Close-ended questions typically require yes or no answers and
are commonly used in quantitative research to gather data from research
participants.

Examples of Close-ended Questions

Did you enjoy this event?

1. Yes
2. No

How likely are you to recommend our services?

1. Very Likely
2. Somewhat Likely
3. Unlikely

Likert Scale Questions

A Likert scale question is a type of close-ended question that is structured

as a 3-point, 5-point, or 7-point psychometric scale. Usually a 5-point
scale is used. This type of question is used to measure the survey

68
respondent's disposition towards multiple variables and it can be unipolar
or bipolar in nature.

Example of Likert Scale Questions

Are you satisfied with our service delivery?

1. Very dissatisfied
2. Not satisfied
3. Undecided
4. Satisfied
5. Very satisfied

Rating Scale Questions

A rating scale question is a type of close-ended question that

seeks to associate a specific qualitative measure (rating) with the
different variables in research. It is commonly used in customer
experience surveys, market research surveys, employee reviews,
and product evaluations.

Example of Rating Questions

How would you rate our service delivery?

1. Excellent
2. Good
3. Neutral
4. Bad
5. Very bad

Examples of a Bad Research Question

Knowing what bad research questions are would help you avoid them in
the course of your systematic investigation. These types of questions are
usually unfocused and often result in research biases that can negatively
impact the outcomes of your systematic investigation.

Loaded Questions

A loaded question is a question that subtly presupposes one or more

unverified assumptions about the research subject or participant. This
type of question typically boxes the respondent in a corner because it
suggests implicit and explicit biases that prevent objective responses.

69
Example of Loaded Questions

1. Have you stopped smoking?

2. Where did you hide the money?

Negative Questions

A negative question is a type of question that is structured with an implicit

or explicit negator. Negative questions can be misleading because they
upturn the typical yes/no response order by requiring a negative answer
for affirmation and an affirmative answer for negation.

Examples of Negative Questions

1. Would you mind dropping by my office later today?

2. Didn't you visit last week?

Leading Questions

An leading question is a type of survey question that moves the

respondent towards an already-determined answer. It is highly
suggestive in nature and typically consists of biases and unverified
assumptions that point towards its premeditated responses.

Examples of Leading Questions

1. If you enjoyed this service, would you be willing to try out our
other packages?
2. Our product met your needs, didn't it?

4.7 MEASURING OBSERVED VARIABLES

Formally, measurement refers to the assignment of numbers to objects
or events according to specific rules (Coombs, 1964). We assign numbers
to events in everyday life, for instance, when we rate a movie as a “nine
out of ten” or when a hotel is rated “three star.”
Fundamentals of measurement
You will recall from previous unit that the research hypothesis involves a
prediction about the relationship between or among two or more
variables—for instance, the relationship between self-esteem and college
performance or between study time and memory. When stated in an
abstract manner, the ideas that form the basis of a research hypothesis
are known as conceptual Variables

70
Behavioral scientists have been interested in such conceptual
variables as self-esteem, parenting style, depression, and
cognitive development. Measurement involves turning conceptual
variables into measured variables, which consist of numbers that
represent the conceptual variables. The measured variables are
frequently referred to as measures of the conceptual variables. In
some cases, the transformation from conceptual to measured
variable is direct. For instance, the conceptual variable “study
time” is straightforwardly represented as the measured variable
“seconds of study.” But other conceptual variables can be
assessed by many different measures. For instance, the
conceptual variable “liking” could be assessed by a person rating,
from one to ten, how much he or she likes another person.
Alternatively, liking could be measured in terms of how often a
person looks at or touches another person or the number of love
letters that he or she writes. And liking could also be measured
using physiological indicators such as an increase in heart rate
when two people are in the vicinity of each other.
Operational definition
The term operational definition refers to a precise statement of
how a conceptual variable is turned into a measured variable.
Research can only proceed once an adequate operational
definition has been defined. In some cases the conceptual variable
may be too vague to be operationalised, and in other cases the
variable cannot be operationalised because the appropriate
technology has not been developed.
4.7.1 Scales of Measurement
Specifying the relationship between the numbers on a quantitative
measured variable and the values of the conceptual variable is
known as scaling. In some cases in the natural sciences, the
mapping between the measure and the conceptual variable is
quite precise. As an example, we are all familiar with the use of the
Fahrenheit scale to measure temperature. In the Fahrenheit scale,
the relationship between the measured variable (degrees
Fahrenheit) and the conceptual variable (temperature) is so

71
precise that we can be certain that changes in the measured
variable correspond exactly to changes in the conceptual variable.
i) Nominal Scale
A nominal scale is one in which objects or individuals are
assigned to categories that have no numerical properties. Nominal
scales have the characteristic of identity but lack the other
properties. Variables measured on a nominal scale are often
referred to as categorical variables because the measuring scale
involves dividing the data into categories. However, the categories
carry no numerical weight. Some examples of categorical
variables, or data measured on a nominal scale, are ethnicity,
gender, and political affiliation. We can assign numerical values to
the levels of a nominal variable. For example, for ethnicity, we
could label Asian Americans as 1, African Americans as 2, Latin
Americans as 3, and so on. However, these scores do not carry
any numerical weight; they are simply names for the categories. In
other words, the scores are used for identity but not for magnitude,
equal unit size, or absolute value. We cannot order the data and
claim that 1s are more than or less than 2s. We cannot analyze
these data mathematically.
ii) Ordinal Scale
In an ordinal scale, objects or individuals are categorized, and the
categories form a rank order along a continuum. Data measured
on an ordinal scale have the properties of identity and magnitude
but lack equal unit size and absolute zero. Ordinal data are often
referred to as ranked data because the data are ordered from
highest to lowest or biggest to smallest. For example, reporting
how students did on an exam based simply on their rank (highest
score, second highest, and so on) is an ordinal scale. This variable
carries identity and magnitude because each individual receives a
rank (a number) that carries identity, and that rank also conveys
information about order or magnitude (how many students
performed better or worse in the class).

72
iii) Interval Scale
In an interval scale, the units of measurement (intervals) between
the numbers on the scale are all equal in size. When you use an
interval scale, the criteria of identity, magnitude, and equal unit
size are met. For example, the Fahrenheit temperature scale is an
interval scale of measurement. A given temperature carries
identity (days with different temperatures receive different scores
on the scale), magnitude (cooler days receive lower scores, and
hotter days receive higher scores), and equal unit size (the
difference between 50 and 51 degrees is the same as that
between 90 and 91 degrees). However, the Fahrenheit scale does
not have an absolute zero. Because of this, you cannot form ratios
based on this scale (for example, 100 degrees is not twice as hot
as 50 degrees). You can still perform mathematical computations
on interval data.
iv) Ratio Scale
In a ratio scale, in addition to order and equal units of
measurement, an absolute zero indicates an absence of the
variable being measured. Ratio data have all four properties of
measurement—identity, magnitude, equal unit size, and absolute
zero. Examples of ratio scales of measurement include weight,
time, and height. Each of these scales has identity (individuals
who weigh different amounts receive different scores), magnitude
(those who weigh less receive lower scores than those who weigh
more), and equal unit size (1 pound is the same weight anywhere
along the scale and for any person using the scale). Ratio scales
also have an absolute zero, which means that a score of zero
reflects an absence of that variable. This also means that ratios
can be formed. For example, a weight of 100 pounds is twice as
much as a weight of 50 pounds. As with interval data,
mathematical computations can be performed on ratio data.

73
LET US SUM UP
In the present unit we have discussed the meaning of hypothesis
(tentative solution to the problem), types of hypothesis as null and
alternate. The null hypothesis always predicts that there is no
difference whereas alternate hypothesis indicate that there exist a
significant difference between the groups being compared.
Anything which varies in value is called variable. Though different
authors describe variables differently, variables are categorized
only in two ways discrete or continuous; quantitative or categorical.
Specifying the relationship between the numbers on a quantitative
measured variable and the values of the conceptual variable is
known as scaling, and the different scales of measurement are
nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio scales.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. __________ ___________is the variable the experimenter
manipulates or changes, and is assumed to have a direct
effect on the dependent variable.
2. ______________ __________ refers to a precise statement
of how a conceptual variable is turned into a measured
variable.
3. ________________ refers to the assignment of numbers to
objects or events according to specific rules.
4. ____________ ___________ refers to theone in which
objects or individuals are assigned to categories that have no
numerical properties.

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Independent variable
2. Operational definition
3. Measurement
4. Nominal scale

74
GLOSSARY

Case study: qualitative research approach that involves carrying

out a detailed investigation into a research subject(s) or
variable(s).
Continuous variables: usually fall along a continuum and allow
for fractional amounts.
Dependent Variable: The variable that depends on other factors
that are measured.
Descriptive research questions: inquiries that researchers use
to gather quantifiable data about the attributes and characteristics
of research subjects.
Discrete variables: usually consist of whole number units or
categories
Extraneous variable: Any variable which also influences the
dependent variable
Hypothesis testing: the process of determining whether a
hypothesis is supported by the results of a research project
Interval scale - the units of measurement (intervals) between the
numbers on the scale are all equal in size.
Interview - qualitative research method that involves asking
respondents a series of questions in order to gather information
about a research subject.
Likert scale - type of close-ended question that is structured as a
3-point, 5-point, or 7-point psychometric scale.
Nominal scale: in which objects or individuals are assigned to
categories that have no numerical properties.
Operational definition refers to a precise statement of how a
conceptual variable is turned into a measured variable
Ordinal scale - objects or individuals are categorized, and the
categories form a rank order along a continuum.
Ratio scale - in addition to order and equal units of measurement,
an absolute zero indicates an absence of the variable being
measured.

75
 MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Define hypothesis and its types
2. Explain the various scales of measurements used in measuring
variables
3. Define variable. Illustrate the types of variables with examples
4. Explain the types of error in hypothesis testing

SUGGESTED READINGS
• McLeod, S. A. (2018, August 10). What is a hypothesis? Simply
Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/what-is-a-
hypotheses.html
• https://www.formpl.us/blog/research-question
• https://www.simplypsychology.org/variables.html
• https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-variable-2795789
• C.R. Kothari, 2004, Research Methodology – Methods and
Techniques, New Age International (P) Limited Publishers, New
Delhi.
• Evans,A.N.,&Rooney,B.J.(2008).Methodsin
Psychologicalresearch.NewDelhi,India: Sage PublicationsIndia
Pvt. Ltd.

76
UNIT- 5
SAMPLING

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
5.1 Population
5.1.2 Definitions of Key Terms
5.2 Sampling
5.3 Probability Sampling
5.4 Non-Probability Sampling
5.5 Effective Sample size
Let us sum up
Check Your Progress
Key Words
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
Questions of sampling arise directly out of the issue of defining the
population on which the research will focus. Researchers must
take sampling decisions early in the overall planning of a piece of
research. Factors such as expense, time and accessibility
frequently prevent researchers from gaining information from the
whole population. Therefore they often need to be able to obtain
data from a smaller group or subset of the total population in such
a way that the knowledge gained is representative of the total
population (however defined) under study. This smaller group or
subset is the sample.

77
OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
• Explain the concept of sampling
• Describe the probability sampling techniques
• Illustrate the probability sampling techniques

5.1 POPULATION
Drawing conclusions about some very large group of people is
called the population. It could be all Indian teenagers, children
with autism, professional athletes, or even just human beings—
depending on the interests and goals of the researcher.

5.1.2 Definitions of Key Terms

Sample: Subset of the population is called sample. True
representative from the population is called sample.
Sampling: It is the method through which the sample is selected.
Judgments have to be made about four key factors in sampling:
1 the sample size;
2 the representativeness and parameters of the sample;
3 access to the sample;
4 the sampling strategy to be used.
Sample size: A question that often plagues novice researchers is
just how large their samples for the research should be. There is
no clear-cut answer, for the correct sample size depends on the
purpose of the study and the nature of the population under
scrutiny. However it is possible to give some advice on this matter.
Thus, a sample size of thirty is held by many to be the minimum
number of cases if researchers plan to use some form of statistical
analysis on their data.
As a rough guide in a random sample, the larger the sample, the
greater is its chance of being representative. Borg and Gall
(1979:195) suggest that, as a general rule, sample sizes should be
large where:

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• There are many variables;
• Only small differences or small relationships are expected or
predicted;
• The sample will be broken down into subgroups;
• The sample is heterogeneous in terms of the variables under
study;
• Reliable measures of the dependent variable are unavailable.
While calculating the sample size in an experimental research
design effect size from previous research reviews is taken. Effect
size tells about the significant difference between the two groups,
it is the simple way of quantifying the difference between two
groups
5.2 SAMPLING
The goal of sampling strategies in survey research is to obtain a
sufficient sample that is representative of the population of
interest. It is often not feasible to collect data from an entire
population of interest (e.g., all individuals with lung cancer);
therefore, a subset of the population or sample is used to estimate
the population responses (e.g., individuals with lung cancer
currently receiving treatment). A large random sample increases
the likelihood that the responses from the sample will accurately
reflect the entire population. In order to accurately draw
conclusions about the population, the sample must include
individuals with characteristics similar to the population.
It is therefore necessary to correctly identify the population of
interest (e.g., individuals with lung cancer currently receiving
treatment vs. all individuals with lung cancer). The sample will
ideally include individuals who reflect the intended population in
terms of all characteristics of the population (e.g., sex,
socioeconomic characteristics, symptom experience) and contain
a similar distribution of individuals with those characteristics. As
discussed by Madly Stovall beginning on page 162, Fujimori et al.
(2014), for example, were interested in the population of
oncologists. The authors obtained a sample of oncologists from

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two hospitals in Japan. These participants may or may not have
similar characteristics to all oncologists in Japan.
Participant recruitment strategies can affect the adequacy and
representativeness of the sample obtained. Using diverse
recruitment strategies can help improve the size of the sample and
help ensure adequate coverage of the intended population. For
example, if a survey researcher intends to obtain a sample of
individuals with breast cancer representative of all individuals with
breast cancer in the United States, the researcher would want to
use recruitment strategies that would recruit women and men,
individuals from rural and urban settings, individuals receiving and
not receiving active treatment, and so on. Because of the difficulty
in obtaining samples representative of a large population,
researchers may focus the population of interest to a subset of
individuals (e.g., women with stage III or IV breast cancer). Large
census surveys require extremely large samples to adequately
represent the characteristics of the population because they are
intended to represent the entire population.
There are two main methods of sampling (Cohen and Holliday,
1979, 1982, 1996; Schofield, 1996). The researcher must decide
whether to opt for a probability (also known as a random sample)
or a non-probability sample (also known as a purposive sample).
The difference between them is this: in a probability sample the
chances of members of the wider population being selected for the
sample are known, whereas in a non-probability sample the
chances of members of the wider population being selected for the
sample are unknown. In the former (probability sample) every
member of the wider population has an equal chance of being
included in the sample.
5.3 PROBABILITY SAMPLING
A probability sample, because it draws randomly from the wider
population, will be useful if the researcher wishes to be able to
make generalizations, because it seeks representativeness of the
wider population. This is a form of sampling that is popular in
randomized controlled trials. On the other hand, a non-probability

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sample deliberately avoids representing the wider population; it
seeks only to represent a particular group, a particular named
section of the wider population, e.g. a class of students, a group of
students who are taking a particular examination, a group of
teachers.
A probability sample will have less risk of bias than a non-
probability sample, whereas, by contrast, a non-probability sample,
being unrepresentative of the whole population, may demonstrate
skewness or bias. There are several types of probability samples:
simple random samples; systematic samples; stratified samples;
cluster samples; stage samples, and multi-phase samples. They
all have a measure of randomness built into them and therefore
have a degree of generalizability.
5.3.1 Simple random sampling
In simple random sampling, each member of the population under
study has an equal chance of being selected and the probability of
a member of the population being selected is unaffected by the
selection of other members of the population, i.e. each selection is
entirely independent of the next. The method involves selecting at
random from a list of the population (a sampling frame) the
required number of subjects for the sample. This can be done by
drawing names out of a hat until the required number is reached,
or by using a table of random numbers set out in matrix form.
5.3.2 Systematic sampling
This method is a modified form of simple random sampling. It
involves selecting subjects from a population list in a systematic
rather than a random fashion. For example, if from a population of,
say, 2,000, a sample of 100 is required, then every twentieth
person can be selected. The starting point for the selection is
chosen at random. There the question of the order in which names
are listed in systematic sampling, but there is also the issue that
this process may violate one of the fundamental premises of
probability sampling, namely that every person has an equal
chance of being included in the sample.

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5.3.3 Stratified sampling
Stratified sampling involves dividing the population into
homogenous groups, each group containing subjects with similar
characteristics. For example, group A might contain males and
group B, females. In order to obtain a sample representative of the
whole population in terms of sex, a random selection of subjects
from group A and group B must be taken. If needed, the exact
proportion of males to females in the whole population can be
reflected in the sample. The researcher will have to identify those
characteristics of the wider population which must be included in
the sample, i.e. to identify the parameters of the wider population.
This is the essence of establishing the sampling frame.
To organize a stratified random sample is a simple two-stage
process. First, identify those characteristics which appear in the
wider population which must also appear in the sample, i.e. divide
the wider population into homogeneous and, if possible, discrete
groups (strata), for example males and females. Second, randomly
sample within these groups, the size of each group being
determined either by the judgment of the researcher or by
reference.
5.3.4 Cluster sampling
When the population is large and widely dispersed, gathering a
simple random sample poses administrative problems. Suppose
we want to survey students’ fitness levels in a particularly large
community. It would be completely impractical to select students
and spend an inordinate amount of time travelling about in order to
test them. By cluster sampling, the researcher can select a specific
number of schools and test all the students in those selected
schools, i.e. a geographically close cluster is sampled. Cluster
samples are widely used in small scale research. In a cluster
sample the parameters of the wider population are often drawn
very sharply; a researcher, therefore, would have to comment on
the generalizability of the findings. The researcher may also need
to stratify within this cluster sample if useful data.

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5.3.5 Stage sampling
Stage sampling is an extension of cluster sampling. It involves
selecting the sample in stages that is, taking samples from
samples. Using the large community example in cluster sampling,
one type of stage sampling might be to select a number of schools
at random, and from within each of these schools, select a number
of classes at random, and from within those classes select a
number of students.
5.3.6 Multi Phase Sampling
In a multi-phase sample the purposes change at each phase, for
example, at phase one the selection of the sample might be based
on the criterion of geography (e.g. students living in a particular
region); phase two might be based on an economic criterion (e.g.
schools whose budgets are administered in markedly different
ways); phase three might be based on a political criterion (e.g.
schools whose students are drawn from areas with a tradition of
support for a particular political party), and so on.
5.4 NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLING
The selectivity which is built into a non-probability sample derives
from the researcher targeting a particular group, in the full
knowledge that it does not represent the wider population; it simply
represents itself. This is frequently the case in small scale
research, for example, as with one or two schools, two or three
groups of students, or a particular group of teachers, where no
attempt to generalize is desired; this is frequently the case for
some ethnographic research, action research or case study
research.
Just as there are several types of probability sample, so there are
several types of non-probability sample: convenience sampling,
quota sampling, dimensional sampling, purposive sampling and
snowball sampling.
5.4.1 Convenience sampling
Convenience sampling—or as it is sometimes called, accidental or
opportunity sampling—involves choosing the nearest individuals to
serve as respondents and continuing that process until the

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required sample size has been obtained. Captive audiences such
as students or student teachers often serve as respondents based
on convenience sampling. The researcher simply chooses the
sample from those to whom she has easy access.
5.4.2 Quota sampling
Quota sampling has been described as the non-probability
equivalent of stratified sampling (Bailey, 1978). Like a stratified
sample, a quota sample strives to represent significant
characteristics (strata) of the wider population; unlike stratified
sampling it sets out to represent these in the proportions in which
they can be found in the wider population. A quota sample, then,
seeks to give proportional weighting to selected factors (strata)
which reflects their weighting in which they can be found in the
wider population. The researcher wishing to devise a quota
sample can proceed in three stages:
Stage 1 Identify those characteristics (factors) which appear in the
wider population which must also appear in the sample, i.e. divide
the wider population into homogeneous and, if possible, discrete
groups (strata), for example, males and females, Asian, Chinese
and Afro-Caribbean.
Stage 2 Identify the proportions in which the selected
characteristics appear in the wider population, expressed as a
percentage.
Stage 3 Ensure that the percentage proportions of the
characteristics selected from the wider population appear in the
sample.
Ensuring correct proportions in the sample may be difficult to
achieve where the proportions in the wider community are
unknown; sometimes a pilot survey might be necessary in order to
establish those proportions.
5.4.3 Purposive sampling
In purposive sampling, researchers handpick the cases to be
included in the sample on the basis of their judgment of their
typicality. In this way, they build up a sample that is satisfactory to
their specific needs. As its name suggests, the sample has been

84
chosen for a specific purpose, for example: (a) a group of
principals and senior managers of secondary schools is chosen as
the research is studying the incidence of stress amongst senior
managers.
5.4.4 Dimensional sampling
One way of reducing the problem of sample size in quota sampling
is to opt for dimensional sampling. Dimensional sampling is a
further refinement of quota sampling. It involves identifying various
factors of interest in a population and obtaining at least one
respondent of every combination of those factors. Thus, in a study
of race relations, for example, researchers may wish to distinguish
first, second and third generation immigrants. Their sampling plan
might take the form of a multi-dimensional table with ‘ethnic group’
across the top and ‘generation’ down the side.
5.4.5 Snowball sampling
In snowball sampling researchers identify a small number of
individuals who have the characteristics in which they are
interested. These people are then used as informants to identify,
or put the researchers in touch with, others who qualify for
inclusion and these, in turn, identify yet others—hence the term
snowball sampling. This method is useful for sampling a
population where access is difficult, maybe because it is a
sensitive topic (e.g. teenage solvent abusers) or where
communication networks are undeveloped.
5.5 EFFECTIVE SAMPLE SIZE

The effective sample size is an estimate of the sample size

required to achieve the same level of precision if that sample was
a simple random sample. Mathematically, it is defined as n/D,
where n is the sample size and D is the design effect. It is used as
a way of summarizing the amount of information in data. It has
three main areas of application: survey analysis, time series
analysis, and Bayesian statistics.

85
How to use the effective sample size

The main application of effective sample size calculations is for

qualitative assessments of the sample size. The sample
size measures the number of individual samples measured or
observations used in a survey or experiment. It is believed that a
sample size of 30 is required for an analysis to be valid, and then
the effective sample size – rather than the actual sample size – is
used in such an assessment.

Sometimes effective sample sizes are used as an input into

statistical calculations in place of the actual sample size. This
practice is better than using the actual sample size but is only a
rough heuristic. (In general, a better approach is to use statistical
techniques specifically designed for non-simple random samples,
such as complex samples regression.)

Effective sample size in surveys

In survey analysis, the way that a survey is designed affects the

precision of survey estimates (i.e., the standard error of statistics).
Stratification, clustering, and weighting all usually increase the
standard errors of estimates in real-world surveys.

Most commonly, the effective sample size is used as a way of

quantifying the effect of weighting a survey. For example, if a
survey of 1,000 people has an effective sample size for a statistic
of 500, it means that the amount of sampling error is equivalent to
that which would have been obtained by a study of 500 people that
did not need to be weighted.

LET US SUM UP
This unit deliberates the importance of sampling that every
element of the research should not be arbitrary but planned and
deliberate, and that, as before, the criterion of planning must be
fitness for purpose. The selection of a sampling strategy must be
governed by the criterion of suitability and it falls under two
categories probability and non-probability Sampling methods. The

86
sampling chosen must be appropriate for all of these factors if
validity is to be served.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. Universe refers to the ___________
2. _________ is the true representatives
3. Probability sampling is otherwise called __________
4. Not giving equal chance to all participants is _________
5. Taking one group as sample instead of one individual is
________
6. Effect size is _______ way to find out the significant difference
between groups
7. ________allows the researcher to see what their subjects
really do when confronted with various choices or situations.
8. A ___________is a set of fixed-format, self-report items that is
completed by respondents at their own pace, often without
supervision.
9. A ______is a series of self-report measures administered
either through an interview or a written questionnaire.
10. _________involves dividing the population into homogenous
groups, each group containing subjects with similar
characteristics.

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Population
2. Sample
3. Random sampling
4. Non-probability
5. Cluster
6. Quantitative
7. Observational research
8. Questionnaire
9. Survey
10. Stratified sampling

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GLOSSARY
Non Probability sampling: Non-probability sampling is a
sampling method in which not all members of the population have
an equal chance of participating in the study
Observational research: Observational research is a qualitative
research method where the target respondent/subject is observed
and analyzed in their natural/real-world setting.
Population:Drawing conclusions about some very large group of
people is called the population

Probability sampling: is when the researcher chooses subjects

randomly to be part of a sample.
Sample: Subset of the population is called sample.

Sampling Size: Sample size refers to the number of

participants or observations included in a study.

Structured Interviews: Structured interview is the one involving a

fixed set of predetermined questions
Survey Research: refers tothe collection of information from a
sample of individuals through their responses to questions.
Unstructured Interviews: Unstructured interview is the one
where the interviewer initiates casual conversation with the
candidate. There is no pattern or fixed format set in advance that
allows the interviewer to indulge in informal discussion mixed with
interview questions.

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Define the steps in selecting the sample
2. Explain different types of sampling techniques
3. Explain various methods of data collection
4. What is a self-report measure?
5. How to determine sample size?
6. State the difference between Structured and unstructured
interview

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SUGGESTED READINGS

• S.J. Grove, R.P. Fisk-Journal of Academy Marketing

Science 1992. Observation data collection methods for
services marketing. An overview
• Price, R. Jhangiani, I. Chant, A. Chiang, D.C. Leighton, C.
Cutlet Research methods in Psychology. 2017. Chapter 6.5
Observational research
• https://provalisresearch.com/blog/observational-research/
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4601897/

89
UNIT- 6
DATA COLLECTION METHODS

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
6.1 Data Collection Methods

6.1.1 Primary Data Collection Methods

6.1.2 Secondary Data Collection Methods
6.2 Interviews
6.2.1 Structured Interviews
6.2.2 Unstructured Interviews
6.3 Questionnaires
6.4 Observational Research
6.5 Survey Research
Let us sum up
Check Your Progress
Key Words
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
The data collection will help in making some conclusions about the
certain phenomenon. Thus, data collection is essential to analyze
the performance of a business unit, solving a problem and making
assumptions about specific things when required. In this unit we
will discuss about data collection and how it can be collected.
Moreover, the usage of interviews, questionnaires, observation
methods and survey methods are discussed in this unit.

OBJECTIVES
After reading this you will be able to:
• List out the various Data collection by observation

90
 • Discuss about the Interviews
• Explain the usage of questionnaire in data collection
• Discuss about the key elements in observational research
• Describe the survey method
6.1 DATA COLLECTION METHODS

In Statistics, data collection is a process of gathering information

from all the relevant sources to find a solution to the research
problem. It helps to evaluate the outcome of the problem. The data
collection methods allow a person to conclude an answer to the
relevant question. Most of the organizations use data collection
methods to make assumptions about future probabilities and
trends. Once the data is collected, it is necessary to undergo
the data organization process.

The main sources of the data collections methods are “Data”. Data
can be classified into two types, namely primary data and
secondary data. The primary importance of data collection in any
research or business process is that it helps to determine many
important things about the company, particularly the performance.
So, the data collection process plays an important role in all the
streams. Depending on the type of data, the data collection
method is divided into two categories namely,

• Primary Data Collection methods

• Secondary Data Collection methods

In the following section, the different types of data collection

methods and their advantages and limitations are explained.

6.1.1 Primary Data Collection Methods

Primary data or raw data is a type of information that is obtained

directly from the first-hand source through experiments, surveys or
observations. The primary data collection method is further
classified into two types. They are

• Quantitative Data Collection Methods

• Qualitative Data Collection Methods

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Let us discuss the different methods performed to collect the data
under these two data collection methods.

Quantitative Data Collection Methods

It is based on mathematical calculations using various formats like

close-ended questions, correlation and regression methods, mean,
median or mode measures. This method is cheaper than
qualitative data collection methods and it can be applied in a short
duration of time.

Qualitative Data Collection Methods

It does not involve any mathematical calculations. This method is

closely associated with elements that are not quantifiable. This
qualitative data collection method includes interviews,
questionnaires, observations, case studies, etc. There are several
methods to collect this type of data. They are

Observation Method

Observation method is used when the study relates to behavioural

science. This method is planned systematically. It is subject to
many controls and checks. The different types of observations are:

• Structured and unstructured observation

• Controlled and uncontrolled observation

• Participant, non-participant and disguised observation

Interview Method

The method of collecting data in terms of oral or verbal responses.

It is achieved in two ways, such as

• Personal Interview – In this method, a person known as an

interviewer is required to ask questions face to face to the other
person. The personal interview can be structured or
unstructured, direct investigation, focused conversation, etc.

• Telephonic Interview – In this method, an interviewer obtains

information by contacting people on the telephone to ask the
questions or views orally.

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Questionnaire Method

In this method, the set of questions are mailed to the respondent.

They should read, reply and subsequently return the
questionnaire. The questions are printed in the definite order on
the form. A good survey should have the following features:

• Short and simple

• Should follow a logical sequence

• Provide adequate space for answers

• Avoid technical terms

• Should have good physical appearance such as colour,

quality of the paper to attract the attention of the respondent

Schedules

This method is similar to the questionnaire method with a slight

difference. The enumerations are specially appointed for the
purpose of filling the schedules. It explains the aims and objects of
the investigation and may remove misunderstandings, if any have
come up. Enumerators should be trained to perform their job with
hard work and patience.

6.1.2 Secondary Data Collection Methods

Secondary data is data collected by someone other than the actual

user. It means that the information is already available, and
someone analyses it. The secondary data includes magazines,
newspapers, books, journals, etc. It may be either published data
or unpublished data. Published data are available in various
resources including

• Government publications
• Public records
• Historical and statistical documents
• Business documents
• Technical and trade journals
Unpublished data includes
• Diaries

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• Letters
• Unpublished biographies, etc.
The importance of data collection methods and how it can be
collected is explained above. However, the usual methods of data
collection methods are Interviews, through using questionnaires,
observation and survey methods. This will be discussed
elaborately in the following sections.

Dillman et al. (2014) have described and tested a tailored design

method for survey research. Improving the visual appeal and
graphics of surveys by using a font size appropriate for the
respondents, ordering items logically without creating unintended
response bias, and arranging items clearly on each page can
increase the response rate to electronic questionnaires. Attending
to these and other issues in electronic questionnaires can help
reduce measurement error (i.e., lack of validity or reliability) and
help ensure a better response rate.

Some authors advocate for using mixed methods for survey

research when no one method is adequate to address the planned
research aims, to reduce the potential for measurement and non-
response error, and to better tailor the study methods to the
intended sample (Dillman et al., 2014; Singleton & Straits, 2009).
For example, a mixed methods survey research approach may
begin with distributing a questionnaire and following up with
telephone interviews to clarify unclear survey responses (Singleton
& Straits, 2009). Mixed methods might also be used when visual or
auditory deficits preclude an individual from completing a
questionnaire or participating in an interview.

6.2 INTERVIEWS
Conducting interviews is another approach to data collection
used in survey research. Interviews may be conducted by phone,
computer, or in person and have the benefit of visually identifying
the nonverbal response(s) of the interviewee and subsequently
being able to clarify the intended question. An interviewer can use
probing comments to obtain more information about a question or

94
topic and can request clarification of an unclear response
(Singleton & Straits, 2009). Interviews can be costly and time
intensive, and therefore are relatively impractical for large
samples.

Surveys are usually administered in the form of an interview, in

which questions are read to the respondent in person or over the
telephone. One advantage of in-person interviews is that they may
allow the researcher to develop a close rapport and sense of trust
with the respondent. This may motivate the respondent to continue
with the interview and may lead to more honest and open
responding. However, face-to-face interviews are extremely
expensive to conduct, and consequently telephone surveys are
now more common. In a telephone interview all of the interviewers
are located in one place, the telephone numbers are generated
automatically, and the questions are read from computer terminals
in front of the researchers. This procedure provides such efficiency
and coordination among the interviewers that many surveys can
be conducted in one day
6.2.1 Structured Interviews
Because researchers usually want more objective data, the
structured interview, which uses quantitative fixed-format items, is
most common. The questions are prepared ahead of time, and the
interviewer reads the questions to the respondent. The structured
interview has the advantage over an unstructured interview of
allowing better comparisons of the responses across different
individuals because the questions, time frame, and response
format are controlled to be the same for each respondent.
6.2.2 Unstructured Interviews
Interviews may use either free-format or fixed format self-report
measures. In an unstructured interview the interviewer talks freely
with the person being interviewed about many topics. Although a
general list of the topics of interest is prepared beforehand, the
actual interview focuses in on those topics that the respondent is
most interested in or most knowledgeable about. Because the
questions asked in an unstructured interview differ from

95
respondent to respondent, the interviewer must be trained to ask
questions in a way that gets the most information from the
respondent and allows the respondent to express his or her true
feelings. One type of a face-to-face unstructured interview in which
a number of people are interviewed at the same time and share
ideas both with the interviewer and with each other is called a
focus group. Unstructured interviews may provide in-depth
information about the particular concerns of an individual or a
group of people, and thus, may produce ideas for future research
projects or for policy decisions. It is, however, very difficult to
adequately train interviewers to ask questions in an unbiased
manner and to be sure that they have actually done so.
6.3 QUESTIONNAIRES
A questionnaire is a set of fixed-format, self-report items that is
completed by respondents at their own pace, often without
supervision. Questionnaires are generally cheaper than interviews
because a researcher can mail the questionnaires to many people
or have them complete the questionnaires in large groups.
Questionnaires may also produce more honest responses than
interviews, particularly when the questions involve sensitive issues
such as sexual activity or annual income, because respondents
are more likely to perceive their responses as being anonymous
than they are in interviews. In comparison to interviews,
questionnaires are also likely to be less influenced by the
characteristics of the experimenter. For instance, if the topic
concerns race-related attitudes, how the respondent answers
might depend on the race of the interviewer and how the
respondent thinks the interviewer wants him or her to respond.
Because the experimenter is not present when a questionnaire is
completed, or at least is not directly asking the questions, such
problems are less likely.
Questionnaires may be in paper form and mailed to participants,
delivered in an electronic format via email or an Internet-based
program such as Survey Monkey, or a combination of both, giving
the participant the option to choose which method is preferred

96
(Ponto et al., 2010). Using a combination of methods of survey
administration can help to ensure better sample coverage (i.e., all
individuals in the population having a chance of inclusion in the
sample) therefore reducing coverage error (Dillman, Smyth, &
Christian, 2014; Singleton & Straits, 2009). For example, if a
researcher were to only use an Internet-delivered questionnaire,
individuals without access to a computer would be excluded from
participation. Self-administered mailed, group, or Internet-based
questionnaires are relatively low cost and practical for a large
sample (Check & Schutt, 2012).

6.4 OBSERVATION RESEARCH

Observational research involves making observations of behavior
and recording those observations in an objective manner. The
observational approach is the oldest method of conducting
research and is used routinely in psychology, anthropology,
sociology, and many other fields. In addition to deciding whether to
be a participant, the researcher must also decide whether to let the
people being observed know that the observation is occurring—
that is, to be acknowledged or unacknowledged to the population
being studied. Because the decision about whether to be
participant or nonparticipant can be independent of the decision to
be acknowledged or unacknowledged.
Watch what I do, not what I say, could be a good lead-in for
Observational Research. People in focus groups or in surveys may
say one thing such as, “I always buy green apples” but perhaps
when observed they buy the less costly apples, or the freshest
looking apples. Observational research allows the researcher to
see what their subjects really do when confronted with various
choices or situations.

The term refers to the study of non-experimental situations in

which behavior is observed and recorded. It could also be termed,
“what’s going on or what’s she doing.” The research is classified
as non-experimental because the variables are neither controlled

97
nor manipulated. The results are both qualitative and quantitative
in nature.

Different types of observational research

There are different types of observational research and they have

their strengths and weaknesses. The technique is used in
marketing and the social sciences. As stated earlier variables are
not created or manipulated. In natural observational research the
researcher is simply recording what they are seeing in front of
them. What their subjects are doing and how they are interacting.
This could be observing animals in the wild from behind blind,
shoppers in a grocery store, students in a classroom or soldiers on
the battlefield. Another type is participant observation where the
researcher is involved and interacting with the subjects by asking
questions (usually unstructured) taking notes, photographs,
drawings and other record-keeping tasks. Case studies and
archival research are two other forms of observational research.
Case studies usually involve a more in-depth study of an
individual, group or event and can be natural or participatory.
Archival is the observation of previous data that has been
collected and analyzed often for another purpose.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Observational Research

The strengths of the observational method in market research is

that it is less hypothetical since it captures what people are
purchasing as opposed to what they say they will do or have done.
It also allows the researchers to observe people’s behavior when
confronted with actual displays, price choices rather than predict
their behaviour based on survey or focus group answers. Some of
the weaknesses are human bias since the observer is a human
with their own bias. Also, one cannot know what the subject is
thinking, their mid-set or decision-making process. For example,
did they choose something because they were just in a hurry, did
they actually see that display, was cost not a factor because they

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are very wealthy. Desired demographics may be difficult to
achieve.

Qualitative and mixed methods software like QDA Miner and

a Text Mining Tool like WordStat can help organize and analyze
observational research. The software allows to merge many
observational studies on the same subject, code and quantify
those observations. WordStat’s text mining capabilities help to
explore large amounts of archival research.

6.5 SURVEY RESEARCH

Survey research may use a variety of data collection methods
with the most common being questionnaires and interviews.
Questionnaires may be self-administered or administered by a
professional, may be administered individually or in a group, and
typically include a series of items reflecting the research aims.
Questionnaires may include demographic questions in addition to
valid and reliable research instruments.

Survey research is defined as "the collection of information from a

sample of individuals through their responses to questions" (Check
& Schutt, 2012, p. 160). This type of research allows for a variety
of methods to recruit participants, collect data, and utilize various
methods of instrumentation. Survey research can use quantitative
research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with numerically
rated items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-
ended questions), or both strategies (i.e., mixed methods). As it is
often used to describe and explore human behavior, surveys are
therefore frequently used in social and psychological research
(Singleton & Straits, 2009).

A survey is a series of self-report measures administered either

through an interview or a written questionnaire. Surveys are the
most widely used method of collecting descriptive information
about a group of people. You may have received a phone call (it
usually arrives in the middle of the dinner hour when most people
are home) from a survey research group asking you about your

99
taste in music, your shopping habits, or your political preferences.
The goal of a survey, as with all descriptive research, is to produce
a “snapshot” of the opinions, attitudes, or behaviors of a group of
people at a given time. Because surveys can be used to gather
information about a wide variety of information in a relatively short
time, they are used extensively by businesspeople, advertisers,
and politicians to help them learn what people think, feel, or do.
Information has been obtained from individuals and groups
through the use of survey research for decades. It can range from
asking a few targeted questions of individuals on a street corner to
obtain information related to behaviors and preferences, to a more
rigorous study using multiple valid and reliable instruments.
Common examples of less rigorous surveys include marketing or
political surveys of consumer patterns and public opinion polls.

Survey research has historically included large population-based

data collection. The primary purpose of this type of survey
research was to obtain information describing characteristics of a
large sample of individuals of interest relatively quickly. Large
census surveys obtaining information reflecting demographic and
personal characteristics and consumer feedback surveys are
prime examples. These surveys were often provided through the
mail and were intended to describe demographic characteristics of
individuals or obtain opinions on which to base programs or
products for a population or group.

More recently, survey research has developed into a rigorous

approach to research, with scientifically tested strategies detailing
who to include (representative sample), what and how to distribute
(survey method), and when to initiate the survey and follow up with
non-responders (reducing nonresponse error), in order to ensure a
high-quality research process and outcome. Currently, the term
"survey" can reflect a range of research aims, sampling and
recruitment strategies, data collection instruments, and methods of
survey administration.

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Given this range of options in the conduct of survey research, it is
imperative for the consumer/reader of survey research to
understand the potential for bias in survey research as well as the
tested techniques for reducing bias, in order to draw appropriate
conclusions about the information reported in this manner.

LET US SUM UP

The choice of which strategy to adopt must be mindful of the

purposes of the research, the time scales and constraints on the
research, the methods of data collection, and the methodology of
the research. In the above section, the different types of data
collection methods namely Primary Data Collection and Secondary
Data Collection methods as well as their advantages and
limitations are explained. Data collection can be done by survey
and observational methods. Observational research allows the
researcher to see what their subjects really do when confronted
with various choices or situations. Survey method involves the
collection of information from a sample of individuals through their
responses to questions.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. ________allows the researcher to see what their subjects
really do when confronted with various choices or situations.
2. A ___________is a set of fixed-format, self-report items that is
completed by respondents at their own pace, often without
supervision.
3. A ______is a series of self-report measures administered
either through an interview or a written questionnaire.

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Observational research
2. Questionnaire
3. Survey

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GLOSSARY
Observational research - Observational research is a qualitative
research method where the target respondent/subject is observed
and analyzed in their natural/real-world setting.
Structured Interviews - Structured interview is the one involving a
fixed set of predetermined questions
Survey Research - "the collection of information from a sample of
individuals through their responses to questions"
Unstructured Interviews - Unstructured interview is the one
where the interviewer initiates casual conversation with the
candidate. There is no pattern or fixed format set in advance that
allows the interviewer to indulge in informal discussion mixed with
interview questions.

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Explain various methods of data collection
2. What is a self-report measure?
3. How to determine sample size?
4. State the difference between Structured and unstructured
interview

SUGGESTED READINGS

• S.J. Grove, R.P. Fisk-Journal of Academy Marketing

Science 1992. Observation data collection methods for
services marketing. An overview
• Price, R. Jhangiani, I. Chant, A. Chiang, D.C. Leighton,
C. Cutlet Research methods in Psychology. 2017.
Chapter 6.5 Observational research
• https://provalisresearch.com/blog/observational-
research/
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4601897
/
• https://byjus.com/maths/data-collection-methods/

102
BLOCK III: RESEARCH DESIGNS

UNIT 7: EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGNS

UNIT8: NON-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGNS

103
UNIT- 7

EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGNS

STRUCTURE

Overview
Objectives
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Principles Underlying Experimental Design
7.3 Independent Group’s Designs
7.3.1 Completely Randomized Research Design
7.3.2 Randomized bock design
7.3.4 Randomized factorial Design
7.4 Dependent group’s Designs
7.4.1 Within Participant Research Design
7.4.2 Matched Group Designs
7.4.3 Mixed Designs
7.4.4 Single participant subject research design
7.4. 5 Baseline Designs
Let us sum up
Check Your Progress
Key Words
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings
OVERVIEW

Research designs are plans and the procedures for research that span
the decisions from broad assumptions to detailed methods of data
collection and analysis. This plan involves several decisions, and they
need not be taken in the order in which they make sense to me and the
order of their presentation here. The overall decision involves which
design should be used to study a topic. There are two broad category of

104
research designs i.e. Experimental and non- experimental research
designs. This unit deals with experimental research designs

OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit you will be able to

Understand the underlying the nature of experimental research design

Describe the various types of experimental research designs

7.1 INTRODUCTION

Three types of designs are advanced: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed

methods. Unquestionably, the three approaches are not as discrete as
they first appear. Qualitative and quantitative approaches should not be
viewed as polar opposites or dichotomies; instead, they represent
different ends on a continuum (Newman &Benz, 1998). A study tends to
be more qualitative than quantitative or vice versa. Mixed methods
research resides in the middle of this continuum because it incorporates
elements of both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Often the
distinction between qualitative and quantitative research is framed in
terms of using words (qualitative) rather than numbers (quantitative), or
using closed-ended questions (quantitative hypotheses) rather than open-
ended questions (qualitative interview questions).

The other method of categorizing the research design is dividing it as

experimental and non-experimental research design. In an experiment,
investigators may also identify a sample and generalize to a population;
however, the basic intent of an experimental design is to test the impact
of a treatment (or an intervention) on an outcome, controlling for all other
factors that might influence that outcome. Assigning participants randomly
to the groups. When individuals can be randomly assigned to groups, the
procedure is called a true experiment.
In many experiments, however, only a convenience sample is possible
because the investigator must use naturally formed groups (e.g., a
classroom, an organization, and a family unit) or volunteers. When
individuals are not randomly assigned, the procedure is called a quasi-
experiment.

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Non-experimental design is research that lacks the manipulation
of an independent variable. Rather than manipulating an
independent variable, researchers conducting non-experimental
research simply measure variables as they naturally occur (in the
lab or real world).Non-experimental research is usually descriptive
or correlational, which means that you are either describing a
situation or phenomenon simply as it stands, or you are describing
a relationship between two or more variables, all without any
interference from the researcher. This means that you do not
manipulate any variables (e.g., change the conditions that an
experimental group undergoes) or randomly assign participants to
a control or treatment group.

7.2 PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Professor Fisher has enumerated three principles of experimental

designs: (1) the Principle of Replication; (2) the Principle of
Randomization; and the (3) Principle of Local Control.

1) According to the Principle of Replication, the experiment

should be repeated more than once. Thus, each treatment is
applied in many experimental units instead of one. By doing so
the statistical accuracy of the experiments is increased. For
example, suppose we are to examine the effect of two varieties
of rice. For this purpose we may divide the field into two parts
and grow one variety in one part and the other variety in the
other part. We can then compare the yield of the two parts and
draw conclusion on that basis. But if we are to apply the
principle of replication to this experiment, then we first divide
the field into several parts, grow one variety in half of these
parts and the other variety in the remaining parts. We can then
collect the data of yield of the two varieties and draw
conclusion by comparing the same. The result so obtained will
be more reliable in comparison to the conclusion we draw
without applying the principle of replication. The entire
experiment can even be repeated several times for better
results.

106
2) Principle of Randomization provides protection, when we
conduct an experiment, against the effect of extraneous factors
by randomization. In other words, this principle indicates that
we should design or plan the experiment in such a way that the
variations caused by extraneous factors can all be combined
under the general heading of “chance.” For instance, if we
grow one variety of rice, say, in the first half of the parts of a
field and the other variety is grown in the other half, then it is
just possible that the soil fertility may be different in the first
half in comparison to the other half. If this is so, our results
would not be realistic. In such a situation, we may assign the
variety of rice to be grown in different parts of the field on the
basis of some random sampling technique i.e., we may apply
randomization principle and protect ourselves against the
effects of the extraneous factors (soil fertility differences in the
given case).
3) According to the principle of local control, we first divide the
field into several homogeneous parts, known as blocks, and
then each such block is divided into parts equal to the number
of treatments. Then the treatments are randomly assigned to
these parts of a block. Dividing the field into several
homogenous parts is known as ‘blocking’. In brief, through the
principle of local control we can eliminate the variability due to
extraneous factor(s) from the experimental error.

7. 3 INDEPENDENT GROUPS DESIGNS

7.3.1 Completely Randomized Research Design

Because it is generally extremely difficult for experimenters to

eliminate bias using only their expert judgment, the use
of randomization in experiments is common practice. In a
randomized experimental design, objects or individuals are
randomly assigned (by chance) to an experimental group. Using
randomization is the most reliable method of creating
homogeneous treatment groups, without involving any potential
biases or judgments.

107
Completely randomized design (C.R. design) Involves only two
principles viz., the principle of replication and the principle of
randomization of experimental designs. It is the simplest possible
design and its procedure of analysis is also easier. The essential
characteristic of the design is that subjects are randomly assigned
to experimental treatments (or vice-versa). For instance, if we
have 10 subjects and if we wish to test 5 under treatment A and 5
under treatment B, the randomization process gives every possible
group of 5 subjects selected from a set of 10 an equal opportunity
of being assigned to treatment A and treatment B.

7.3.2 Randomized block design (R.B. design) is an

improvement over the C.R. design. In the R.B. design the principle
of local control can be applied along with the other two principles
of experimental designs. In the R.B. design, subjects are first
divided into groups, known as blocks, such that within each group
the subjects are relatively homogeneous in respect to some
selected variable. The variable selected for grouping the subjects
is one that is believed to be related to the measures to be obtained
in respect of the dependent variable. The number of subjects in a
given block would be equal to the number of treatments and one
subject in each block would be randomly assigned to each
treatment. In general, blocks are the levels at which we hold the
extraneous factor fixed, so that its contribution to the total
variability of data can be measured. The main feature of the R.B.
design is that in this each treatment appears the same number of
times in each block. The R.B. design is analyzed by the two-way
analysis of variance (two-way ANOVA)* technique.

Let us illustrate the R.B. design with the help of an example.

Suppose four different forms of a standardized test in statistics
were given to each of five students (selected one from each of the
five I.Q. blocks) and following are the scores which they obtained.

Very low low IQ Average High IQ Very

IQ IQ high IQ

108
 Form 1 Student A Student Student C Student Student
B D
Form 2 82 67 57 71 73
Form 3 90 68 54 70 81
Form 4 86 73 51 69 84
93 77 60 65 71

7.3.4 Randomized Factorial Group Designs

Factorial designs: Factorial designs are used in experiments where

the effects of varying more than one factor are to be determined.
They are especially important in several economic and social
phenomena where usually a large number of factors affect a
particular problem. Factorial designs can be of two types: (i) simple
factorial designs and (ii) complex factorial designs. We take them
separately (i) Simple factorial designs: In case of simple factorial
designs, we consider the effects of varying two factors on the
dependent variable, but when an experiment is done with more than
two factors, we use complex factorial designs. Simple factorial
design is also termed as a ‘two-factor-factorial design’, whereas
complex factorial design is known as ‘multifactor-factorial design.’

i) Simple factorial design may either be a 2 × 2 simple factorial

design, or it may be, say, 3 × 4 or 5 × 3 or the of simple factorial
design. We illustrate some simple factorial designs as under like type

A 2×2 factorial design is a type of experimental design that

allows researchers to understand the effects of two independent
variables (each with two levels) on a single dependent variable.

109
For example, suppose a botanist wants to understand the effects
of sunlight (low vs. high) and watering frequency (daily vs. weekly)
on the growth of a certain species of plant. This is an example of a
2×2 factorial design because there are two independent
variables, each with two levels:

Independent variable #1: Sunlight

Levels: Low, High
Independent variable #2: Watering Frequency
Levels: Daily, Weekly

ii) Complex factorial designs: Experiments with more than two

factors at a time involve the use of complex factorial designs. A
design which considers three or more independent variables
simultaneously is called a complex factorial design. In case of
three factors with one experimental variable having two treatments
and two control variables, each one of which having two levels, the
design used will be termed 2 × 2 × 2 complex factorial design
which will contain a total of eight cells as shown below in Fig. 3.13

Plant With fertilizers Plant Without

fertilizers

Watering frequency
Sunlight

Daily Weekly Daily Weekly

Low Plant growth Plant Plant Plant

growth growth growth

High Plant growth Plant Plant Plant

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 growth growth growth

7.4 DEPENDENTGROUP’S DESIGNS

7.4.1 within Participant Research Design

Within-participant research designs are frequently used within the

field of behavior analysis to document changes in behavior before,
during, and after treatment. In a study conducted to find out the
neuro cognitive disorders (NCD) with older adults within
participant’s research design was used. This design is especially
used to provide valid information about whether the changes that
are observed in the dependent variable are caused by
manipulations of the independent variable, or whether the change
may be due to other variables.

An example of within-participant design study is a study where the

goal was to retrain activities of daily living (such as making a tea or
coffee, using a CD player, or changing batteries in a remote
control) in 14 NCD patients (mini–mental state examination
ranging from 10 to 26). There were three types of training
conditions in the study: errorless learning, modeling, and trial and
error. Each condition lasted for 1 week, and the three conditions
were counterbalanced for each participant during the 3-week
period. The results from the study were taken together to form
averages across participants, and showed that the errorless
learning condition and the modeling condition had the greatest
effect for the participants

7.4.2 Matched Group Designs

Matched group design (also known as matched subjects design) is

used in experimental research for different experimental
conditions, to be observed while being able to control for the
individual difference by matching similar subjects or groups with
each other.

111
Example:
A researcher wants to know which educational method is best for
teaching students a new concept.
A group of students is split into two different groups. The
researchers would look at standardized test scores and grades
and try to match each student with another student that has the
same test scores and grades. So, a student with a test score of 95
who made as would be in Group A while another student with the
same scores would be placed in Group B. This process would be
done for all the students in the experiment.

Then the experimenters would use one educational method on

Group A and another method on Group B. They could then see
how the different methods influenced the students' learning of the
concept. By using matched groups method, the researchers can
see how the different conditions were influential and know that the
results were not confounded by the students' individual differences
because they had been evenly distributed across the two groups.

Individual differences can confound experimental results, so by

controlling this, researchers can be more confident in the results of
the different conditions.

7.4.3Mixed Designs

Mixed methods research is the type of research in which

a researcher or team of researchers combines elements of
qualitative and quantitative research approaches (e. g., use of
qualitative and quantitative viewpoints, data collection, analysis,
inference techniques) for the broad purposes of breadth and depth
of understanding and corroboration.

Types of Mixed Design Research

The four major types of mixed methods designs are:
i) The Triangulation Design
The most common and well-known approach to mixing methods is
the
Triangulation Design (Creswell, Plano Clark, et al., 2003). The
purpose of this design is “to obtain different but complementary

112
data on the same topic” (Morse, 1991, p. 122) to best understand
the research problem. The intent in using this design is to bring
together the differing strengths and non-overlapping weaknesses
of quantitative methods (large sample size, trends, generalization)
with those of qualitative methods (small, details, in-depth) (Patton,
1990). For Example, this design is used when a researcher
wants to directly compare and contrast quantitative statistical
results with qualitative findings or to validate or expand
quantitative results with qualitative data.
ii) The Embedded Design
The Embedded Design is a mixed-methods design in which one
data set
provides a supportive, secondary role in a study based primarily
on the other data type (Creswell, Plano Clark, et al., 2003). The
premises of this design are that a single data set is not sufficient,
that different questions need to be answered, and that each type
of question requires different types of data. For Example, this
design is particularly useful when a researcher needs to embed a
qualitative component within a quantitative design, as in the case
of an experimental or correlational design. In the experimental
example, the investigator includes qualitative data for several
reasons, such as to develop a treatment, to examine the process
of an intervention or the mechanisms that relate variables, or to
follow up on the results of an experiment

iii) The Explanatory Design

Explanatory Design (also known as the Explanatory Sequential

Design) is a two-phase mixed methods design .This design starts
with the collection and analysis of quantitative data. This first
phase is followed by the subsequent collection and analysis of
qualitative data. The second, qualitative phase of the study is
designed so that it follows from (or connects to) the results of the
first quantitative phase. Because this design begins quantitatively,
investigators typically place greater emphasis on the quantitative
methods than the qualitative methods.

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iv) The Exploratory Design

Like the Explanatory Design, the Exploratory Design is also a two-

phase approach, and writers refer to it as the Exploratory
Sequential Design (Creswell, Plano Clark, et al., 2003). This
design starts with qualitative data, to explore a phenomenon, and
then builds to a second, quantitative phase (see Figure 4.4a).
Researchers using this design build on the results of the
qualitative phase by developing an instrument, identifying
variables, or stating propositions for testing based on an emergent
theory or framework. These developments connect the initial
qualitative phase to the subsequent quantitative component of the
study. Because the design begins qualitatively, a greater emphasis
is often placed on the qualitative data. They first explore the topic
qualitatively and develop themes from their qualitative data. They
then develop an instrument based on these results and
subsequently use this instrument in the second, quantitative phase
of the study.

7.4.4 Single participant subject research design

Single subject designs are thought to be a direct result of the

research of B.F. Skinner who applied the techniques of operant
conditioning to subjects and measured the outcomes at various
points in time. Because of this, single subject designs are often
considered the design of choice when measuring behavioural
change or when performing behavioural modification. Rather than
comparing groups of subjects, this design relies on the comparison
of treatment effects on a single subject or group of single subjects.

Single subject designs are often used in clinical settings to answer

questions such as:

Does the noise level affect head banging in a child with autism?

Does therapist self-disclosure increase client self-disclosure?

Will praising the dog when he fetches the newspaper

increase fetching behavior?

114
Does teacher eye contact (or proximity, or threats of
punishment...) decrease disruptive behavior of a problem student?

i) A-B-A Single-Subject Design

The most basic single-subject research design is the reversal

design, also called the ABA design. During the first phase, A, a
baseline is established for the dependent variable. This is the level
of responding before any treatment is introduced, and therefore
the baseline phase is a kind of control condition. When steady
state responding is reached, phase B begins as the researcher
introduces the treatment. There may be a period of adjustment to
the treatment during which the behavior of interest becomes more
variable and begins to increase or decrease. Again, the researcher
waits until that dependent variable reaches a steady state so that it
is clear whether and how much it has changed. Finally, the
researcher removes the treatment and again waits until the
dependent variable reaches a steady state. This basic reversal
design can also be extended with the reintroduction of the
treatment (ABAB), another return to baseline (ABABA), and so on.

ii) multiple-treatment reversal design

In a multiple-treatment reversal design, a baseline phase is

followed by separate phases in which different treatments are
introduced. For example, a researcher might establish a baseline
of studying behavior for a disruptive student (A), then introduce a
treatment involving positive attention from the teacher (B), and
then switch to a treatment involving mild punishment for not
studying (C). The participant could then be returned to a baseline
phase before reintroducing each treatment—perhaps in the
reverse order as a way of controlling for carryover effects. This
particular multiple-treatment reversal design could also be referred
to as an ABCACB design.

iii) alternating treatments design

In an alternating treatments design, two or more treatments are

alternated relatively quickly on a regular schedule. For example,

115
positive attention for studying could be used one day and mild
punishment for not studying the next, and so on. Or one treatment
could be implemented in the morning and another in the afternoon.
The alternating treatments design can be a quick and effective
way of comparing treatments, but only when the treatments are
fast acting.

7.4. 5 Baseline Designs

An experimental approach in which two or more behaviors are
assessed to determine their initial, stable expression (i.e.,
baseline) and then an intervention or manipulation is applied to
one of the behaviors while the others are unaffected.

After a period, the manipulation is then applied to the next

behavior while the remaining behaviors are unaltered, and so forth
until the experimental manipulation has been applied in sequential
fashion to all of the behaviors in the design. In successively
administering a manipulation to different behaviors after initial
behaviors have been recorded, a multiple baseline design allows
for inferences about the effect of the intervention.

There are 3 primary ways multiple baseline designs are

implemented. For the multiple-baseline-across-behaviors design,
multiple behaviors of the same individual are studied. In the
settings design, an individual’s behavior is studied across multiple
settings and situations. Lastly, in the multiple-baseline-across-
subjects design, the same behavior is studied for multiple
individuals.

This design has many advantages. Besides not requiring

withdrawal of the intervention, it is fairly easy to conceptualize and
is commonly accepted in applied settings by parents and teachers.
This design does requires more time and resources to implement
because treatment needs to be withheld during the extended
baselines of the second and third legs in order to determine if its
effects are due to the intervention or simply due to the passage of
time. For instance, three participants with a learning disability may
be given an identical treatment at different times. This design

116
would test whether the treatment improved school performance or
whether the student was struggling with the current material but
improved naturally as the school year progressed.

LET US SUM UP

The present unit explained the basic principles used in

experimental research design and various other types of research
design including Independent groups designs and dependent
group design.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Professor Fisher has enumerated three principles of
__________ as (1) the Principle of Replication; (2) the Principle
of Randomization; and the (3) Principle of Local Control.
2. Simple factorial research design ________
3. The group which received treatment is called __________
4. ______________are frequently used within the field of behavior
analysis to document changes in behavior before, during, and
after treatment.
5. The________is analyzed by the two-way analysis of variance
(two-way ANOVA)* technique

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. experimental designs
2. 2 x2
3. Experimental group
4. Within-participant research designs
5. Randomized Block design

MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Explain the principles of experimental research design.

2. Explain matched group research design.
3. Explain randomized research design
4. Describe factorial research design with examples.
5. Explain single subject research design.

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GLOSSARY

A baseline study - an analysis of the current situation to identify the

starting points for a Research programme or project.

A single-subject design or N of 1 design - involves observing the

behaviour of a single individual (or a small number of individuals) over
time.

Completely randomized design - objects or subjects are assigned to

groups completely at random.

Factorial design – Factorial designs are a form of true experiment, where

multiple factors (the researcher-controlled independent variables) are
manipulated or allowed to vary

Mixed Designs – A study that combines features of both a between-

subjects design and a within-subjects design.

Non-experimental research - Non experimental research is research

that lacks the manipulation of an independent variable, random
assignment of participants to conditions or orders of conditions, or both.

Quasi-experiment - A quasi-experiment is an empirical interventional

study used to estimate the causal impact of an intervention on target
population without random assignment.

True experiment - An experimental research design that uses

manipulation of independent variable and random distribution of
participants into groups in a controlled environment to derive cause and
effect relationships through a statistical analysis.

SUGGESTED READINGS

• Research Methodology C R Kothari (Eng) 1.81 MB.pdf

• https://www.statology.org/2x2-factorial-design/
• https://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Matched+
Group+Design
• https://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Matched+
Group+Design
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5602001/
o https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-
binaries/10982_Chapter_4.pdf

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• https://opentext.wsu.edu/carriecuttler/chapter/10-2-single-
subject-research-designs/
• https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/950845/pages/single-
subject-research-designs
• https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-statistical-
working-papers/-/ks-ra-09-003
• https://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/~dfienup/multiplebaselineinfo.
html

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UNIT – 8

NON-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGN

STRUCTURE

Overview
Objectives
8.1 Quasi Experimental Research Designs
8.1.1 .Non equivalent group
8.2 Ex-Post Facto Research Design
8.3 Time Series Design
8.4 Longitudinal Research Design
8.5 Cross Sectional Research Design
8.5.1 Difference between cross sectional and longitudinal study
8.6 Case Study
8.7 Correlational Research
Let us sum up
Check Your Progress
Key Words
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

The essential feature of experimental research is that investigators

deliberately control and manipulate the conditions which determine the
events in which they are interested. At its simplest, an experiment
involves making a change in the value of one variable—called the
independent variable—and observing the effect of that change on another
variable—called the dependent variable. Since it is impossible to do all
the research as true experimental design, researchers do non-
experimental designs such a s quasi experimental Expost-facto,

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correlation etc., in this present unit let us look into non-experimental
research designs.

OBJECTIVES
• After reading this unit you will be able to:
• List out the various types of non-experimental research
designs
• Explain the Quasi Experimental Research Designs
• Discuss about the Ex-Post Facto Research Design
• Describe the Time Series Design
• Highlight the role of Longitudinal Research Design
• Explain the Cross Sectional Research Design
• Explain about the Case Study
• Discuss the Correlational Research
Non-experimental research is usually descriptive or correlational, which
means that you are either describing a situation or phenomenon simply as
it stands, or you are describing a relationship between two or more
variables, all without any interference from the researcher. This type of
research is used when the researcher has no specific research question
about a causal relationship between 2 different variables, and
manipulation of the independent variable is impossible. They are also
used when:

• subjects cannot be randomly assigned to conditions.

• the research subject is about a causal relationship but
the independent variable cannot be manipulated.
• the research is broad and exploratory
• the research pertains to a non-causal relationship
between variables.
• limited information can be accessed about the research
subject.

8.1 QUASI EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGNS

Often in behavioural research, it is simply not possible for investigators to

undertake true experiments. Like a true experiment, a quasi-experimental
design aims to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between an
independent and dependent variable. However, unlike a true experiment,
a quasi-experiment does not rely on random assignment. Instead,

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subjects are assigned to groups based on non-random criteria. Quasi-
experimental design is a useful tool in situations where true experiments
cannot be used for ethical or practical reasons.

Example: Quasi-experimental design

You discover that a few of the psychotherapists in the clinic have decided
to try out the new therapy, while others who treat similar patients have
chosen to stick with the normal protocol.

You can use these pre-existing groups to study the symptom progression
of the patients treated with the new therapy versus those receiving the
standard course of treatment. Although the groups were not randomly
assigned, if you properly account for any systematic differences between
them, you can be reasonably confident any differences must arise from
the treatment and not other confounding variables.

8.1.1 .Non equivalent group

The Non-Equivalent Groups Design (NEGD) is probably the most

frequently used design in social research. It is structured like a pretest-
posttest randomized experiment. In the NEGD, It most often uses intact
groups that are similar as the treatment and control groups. In education,
we might pick two comparable classrooms or schools. In community-
based research, we might use two similar communities. We try to select
groups that are as similar as possible so we can fairly compare the
treated one with the comparison one. But we can never be sure the
groups are comparable. Or, put another way, it’s unlikely that the two
groups would be as similar as they would if we assigned them through a
random lottery. Because it’s often likely that the groups are not equivalent,
this designed was named the nonequivalent groups design to remind us.

In psychology and other social sciences, these designs often involve self-
selection, in which the members of the treatment group are those who
volunteer or otherwise seek the treatment whereas the comparison group
members do not. Since participants are not assigned to conditions at
random, the two groups are likely to exhibit preexisting differences on
both measured and unmeasured factors that must be taken into account

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during statistical analyses. Also called nonequivalent comparison-group
design; nonequivalent control-group design.

Some of the Nonequivalent Group Designs

• Posttest Only Nonequivalent Groups Design
• Pretest-Posttest Nonequivalent Groups Design
• Interrupted Time-Series Design with Nonequivalent Groups
• Pretest-Posttest Design With Switching Replication
• Switching Replication with Treatment Removal Design
8.2 EX-POST FACTO RESEARCH DESIGN

When translated literally, ex post facto means ‘from what is done

afterwards’. In the context of social research the phrase means ‘after the
fact’ or ‘retrospectively’ and refers to those studies which investigate
possible cause-and-effect relationships by observing an existing condition
or state of affairs and searching back in time for plausible causal factors.
In effect, researchers ask themselves what factors seem to be associated
with certain occurrences, or conditions, or aspects of behaviour. Ex post
facto research, then, is a method of teasing out possible antecedents of
events that have happened and cannot, therefore, be engineered or
manipulated by the researcher.

Kerlinger (1970) has defined ex post facto research more formally as that
in which the independent variable or variables have already occurred and
in which the researcher starts with the observation of a dependent
variable or variables. Spector (1993:42) suggests that ex post facto
research is a procedure that is intended to transform a non-experimental
research design into a pseudo-experimental.

Ex post facto designs are appropriate in circumstances where the more

powerful experimental method is not possible. These would arise when,
for example, it is not possible to select, control and manipulate the factors
necessary to study cause-and-effect relationships directly; or when the
control of all variables except a single independent variable may be
unrealistic and artificial, preventing the normal interaction with other
influential variables; or when laboratory controls for many research
purposes would be impractical, costly or ethically undesirable.

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Examples of the method are plenty in these areas: the research on
cigarette smoking and lung cancer, for instance; or studies of teacher
characteristics; or studies examining the relationship between political and
religious affiliation and attitudes; or investigations into the relationship
between school achievement and independent variables such as social
class, race, sex and intelligence.

8.3 TIME SERIES DESIGN

Time series design is an experimental design that involves the

observation of units (e.g., people, countries) over a defined time period.
Data collected from such designs may be evaluated with time-series
analysis. Time series designs are a subcategory of longitudinal research
designs which feature analyses on “large series of observations made on
the same variable consecutively over time”. While time series designs
could explore repeated observations from the same unit of analysis, such
as an individual's pattern of offending at each year across the life course,
these studies are impractical in criminology because of obvious
challenges in data collection. Interrupted time series are a unique version
of the traditional quasi-experimental research design for program
evaluation. A major threat to internal validity for interrupted time series
designs is history or “the possibility that forces other than the treatment
under investigation influenced the dependent variable at the same time at
which the intervention was introduced”.

Types of Times Series Design

There are three categories of time series designs:
• Descriptive
• Correlational,
• Interrupted time series designs.

8.4 LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH DESIGN

The term ‘longitudinal’ is used to describe a variety of studies that are

conducted over a period of time. Often, as we have seen, the word
‘developmental’ is employed in connection with longitudinal studies that
deal specifically with aspects of human growth. A clear distinction is
drawn between longitudinal and cross-sectional studies. The longitudinal
study gathers data over an extended period of time; a short-term

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investigation may take several weeks or months; a long-term study can
extend over many years. Where successive measures are taken at
different points in time from the same respondents, the term ‘follow-up
study’ or ‘cohort study’ is used in the British literature, the equivalent term
in the United States being the ‘panel study’ Where different respondents
are studied at different points in time, the study is called ‘cross-sectional’.
Where a few selected factors are studied continuously over time, the term
‘trend study’ is employed.

8.5 CROSS SECTIONAL RESEARCH DESIGN

A cross-sectional study is one that produces a ‘snapshot’ of a population

at a particular point in time. More typically in developmental psychology,
cross-sectional studies involve indirect measures of the nature and rate of
changes in the physical and intellectual development of samples of
children drawn from representative age levels. Typical example of
longitudinal study is investigating the physical growth of the child from
birth up to adolescence. Cross-sectional studies aim to describe a
variable, not measure it. They can be beneficial for describing a
population, or “taking a snapshot” of a group of individuals, at a single
moment in time.

In epidemiology and public health research, cross-sectional studies are

used to assess exposure (cause) and a disease (effect) and compare the
rates of diseases and symptoms of an exposed group with an unexposed
group. Cross-sectional studies are also unique because researchers are
able to look at numerous characteristics at once. For example, a cross-
sectional study could be used to investigate whether exposure to certain
factors, such as overeating, might correlate to particular outcomes, such
as obesity. While this study cannot prove that overeating caused obesity,
it can draw attention to a relationship that might be worth investigating.

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Advantages

Simple and Inexpensive

These studies are quick, cheap, and easy to conduct as they do

not require any follow-up with subjects and can be done through
self-report surveys.

Minimal room for error

Because all of the variables are analyzed at once and data does
not need to be collected multiple times, there will likely be fewer
mistakes as a higher level of control is obtained.

Multiple variables and outcomes can be researched and compared

at once Researchers are able to look at numerous characteristics
(ie: age, gender, ethnicity, education level) in one study.

The data can be a starting point for future research

The information obtained from cross-sectional studies enables

researchers to conduct further data analyses to explore any causal
relationships in more depth.

Limitations

Does not help determine cause and effect

Cross-sectional studies can be influenced by antecedent

consequent bias which occurs when it cannot be determined
whether exposure preceded disease. (Alexander et al.)

Report bias is probable

Cross-sectional studies rely on surveys and questionnaires which

might not result in accurate reporting as there is no way to verify
the information presented.

Timing of the snapshot is not always representative

Cross-sectional studies do not provide information from before or

after the report was recorded and only offer a single snapshot of a
point in time.

Cannot be used to analyze behavior over a period to time

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Cross-sectional studies are designed to look at a variable at a
particular moment, while longitudinal studies are more beneficial
for analyzing relationships over extended periods.

Examples

• Comparing grades of elementary school students whose

parents come from different income levels
• Determining the association between gender and HIV
status (Setia, 2016)
• Investigating suicide rates among individuals who have at
least one parent with chronic depression

8.5.1 Difference between cross sectional and longitudinal

study

Cross-sectional study Longitudinal study

Cross-sectional studies are
quick to conduct as
compared to longitudinal
studies.
A cross-sectional study is
conducted at a given point in
time.
Cross-sectional study is
conducted with different
samples.
Cross-sectional studies
cannot pin down cause-and-
effect relationship.
Multiple variables can be
studied at a single point in
time.
Cross-sectional study is
comparatively cheaper.
Longitudinal studies may vary
from a few years to even
decades.
A longitudinal study requires a
researcher to revisit
participants of the study at
proper intervals.
Longitudinal study is
conducted with the same
sample over the years.
Longitudinal study can justify
cause-and-effect relationship.
Only one variable is
considered to conduct the
study.
Since the study goes on for
years longitudinal study tends
to get expensive.

8.6 CASE STUDY

A case study is a specific instance that is frequently designed to
illustrate a more general principle (Nisbet and Watt, 1984:72), it is
‘the study of an instance in action’ (Adelman et al., 1980). Case
studies are in-depth investigations of a single person, group, event

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or community. Typically, data are gathered from a variety of
sources and by using several different methods (e.g. observations
& interviews).

The case study research method originated in clinical medicine

(the case history, i.e. the patient’s personal history). In psychology,
case studies are often confined to the study of a particular
individual. The information is mainly biographical and relates to
events in the individual's past (i.e. retrospective), as well as to
significant events which are currently occurring in his or her
everyday life.

Unlike the experimenter who manipulates variables to determine

their causal significance or the surveyor who asks standardized
questions of large, representative samples of individuals, the case
study researcher typically observes the characteristics of an
individual unit—a child, a clique, a class, a school or a community.
The purpose of such observation is to probe deeply and to analyse
intensively the multifarious phenomena that constitute the life cycle
of the unit with a view to establishing generalizations about the
wider population to which that unit belongs.

There are two principal kinds of observation in case study—

participant observation and non-participant observation. In the
former, observers engage in the very activities they set out to
observe. Non-participant observers, on the other hand, stand aloof
from the group activities they are investigating and avoid group
membership.

Case studies are widely used in psychology and amongst the best
known were the ones carried out by Sigmund Freud, including
Anna O and Little Hans. Freud (1909a, 1909b) conducted very
detailed investigations into the private lives of his patients in an
attempt to both understand and help them overcome their
illnesses. Even today case histories are one of the main methods
of investigation in abnormal psychology and psychiatry. The data
collected can be analyzed using different theories (e.g. grounded

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theory, interpretative phenomenological analysis, text
interpretation, e.g. thematic coding).

Limitations of Case Studies

• Lacking scientific rigour and providing little basis for

generalization of results to the wider population.
• Researchers' own subjective feeling may influence the case
study (researcher bias).
• Difficult to replicate.
• Time-consuming and expensive.
• The volume of data, together with the time restrictions in
place, impacted on the depth of analysis that was possible
within the available resources.
8.7 CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH

Human behaviour at both the individual and social level is

characterized by great complexity, a complexity about which we
understand comparatively little, given the present state of social
research. One approach to a fuller understanding of human
behaviour is to begin by teasing out simple relationships between
those factors and elements deemed to have some bearing on the
phenomena in question. The value of correlational research is that
it is able to achieve this end.

Correlational research is a type of non-experimental research in

which the researcher measures two variables and assesses the
statistical relationship (i.e., the correlation) between them with little
or no effort to control extraneous variables.

Correlational techniques are generally intended to answer three

questions about two variables or two sets of data. First, ‘Is there a
relationship between the two variables (or sets of data)?’ If the
answer to this question is ‘yes’, then two other questions follow:
‘What is the direction of the relationship?’ and ‘What is the
magnitude?’

Correlation refers to the relationship between two variables. For

example if the researcher wants to find out the relationship
between motivation and achievement then it is correlation study.

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Another reason that researchers would choose to use a
correlational study rather than an experiment is that the statistical
relationship of interest is thought to be causal, but the researcher
cannot manipulate the independent variable because it is
impossible, impractical, or unethical. For example, while I might be
interested in the relationship between the frequency people use
cannabis and their memory abilities I cannot ethically manipulate
the frequency that people use cannabis. As such, I must rely on
the correlational research strategy; I must simply measure the
frequency that people use cannabis and measure their memory
abilities using a standardized test of memory and then determine
whether the frequency people use cannabis use is statistically
related to memory test performance.

LET US SUM UP

The present unit explained the various types of non-experimental

research design. Non-experimental research design is employed
where manipulation of independent variables is not possible, and
the condition or variable is already been exposed to the
participants. When researcher intended to find out the relationship
between two variables correlation study is used. Typically
longitudinal and cross sectional research design is used in
developmental psychology.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Say true or false

1. Independent variables is manipulated in non-experimental

research design
2. Studying an attribute over a period of time is longitudinal study
3. Comparing the Indian students with American students on
study skills is an example for cross sectional
4. Finding the difference between boys and girls on emotional
intelligence is correlation study
5. Relationship between stress and coping is ex-post facto study
6. Randomization is not done in non-equivalent group
7. Graph is used in single subject design

130
8. Exposing the participants to all different condition is Solomon
four group designs.

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. False
2. True
3. True
4. False
5. True
6. True
7. True
8. False

MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Explain when a research is called non-experimental?

2. Explain with example Ex-post facto research design
3. Describe various types of non-equivalent group research
designs.
4. Explain various types of time series research study.
5. Differentiate between longitudinal and cross sectional
research design.
6. Define correlation

GLOSSARY

Case study – A case study is an in-depth study of one person,

group, or event.
Correlation Study: refers to the relationship between two
variables.
Cross-sectional study: A cross-sectional study is one that
produces a ‘snapshot’ of a population at a particular point in time.
Ex-post facto research design: refers to those studies which
investigate possible cause-and-effect relationships by observing
an existing condition or state of affairs and searching back in time
for plausible causal factors.

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SUGGESTED READINGS

https://www.simplypsychology.org/what-is-a-cross-sectional-
study.htm
• https://www.statisticssolutions.com/research-designs-non-
experimental-vs-experimental/
• ttps://www.formpl.us/blog/experimental-non-experimental-
research
• https://dictionary.apa.org/time-series-design
• https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781119111
931.ch69
• https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/quasi-experimental-
design/
• https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093
/oso/9780190661557.001.0001/oso-9780190661557-
chapter-1
• https://conjointly.com/kb/two-group-experimental-designs/

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BLOCK IV: STATISTICS

UNIT – 9 ORGANISATIN OF DATA AND PARAMETRIC

STATISTICS
UNIT – 10 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
UNIT - 11 NON-PARAMETRIC STATISTICS AND SPSS

133
UNIT – 9

ORGANIZATION OF DATA AND

PARAMETRIC STATISTICS

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
9.1 Introduction to Statistics
9.2 Organisation of Data
9.3 Graphs
9.4 Descriptive Statistics
9.5 Measures of Central Tendencies
9.6 Measures of Variation
9.7 Types of Distributions
Let us sum up
Check Your Progress
Key Words
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

Individuals who study behavioural sciences always have the

question of “why I should study statistics”. I am going to do
research with human sample and how statistics is going to help
me. Probably after completing this block you might be able to
understand the real meaning of statistics and why statistics is so
important in any research and especially in social science
research.

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OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
Explain the Meaning of statistics
Highlight the Different methods of organization of data
Describe about the Measures of central tendency
Describe about the Measures of variation

9.1 INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICS

The word statistics is used in at least three different ways,
statistics refers to a set of procedures and rules (not always
computational or mathematical) for reducing large masses of data
to manageable proportions and for allowing us to draw conclusions
from those data. A second, and very common, meaning of the
term is expressed by such statements as “statistics show that the
number of people applying for unemployment benefits has fallen
for the third month in a row.” In this case statistics is used in place
of the much better word data. A third meaning of the term is in
reference to the result of some arithmetic or algebraic
manipulation applied to data. Thus, the mean (average) of a set of
numbers is a statistic.
We thus have two proper uses of the term: (1) a set of procedures
and rules and (2) The outcome of the application of those rules
and procedures to samples of data.
The word statistics in general connotes the following
1. It refers to numerical facts e.g. No. of birth, death etc.
2. It is a science of collecting, summarizing, analyzing and
interpreting numerical facts.
3. It also refers to summarized figures of numerical fact such as
percentages, averages, means etc.

According to Tate (1955), "you compute statistics from statistics by

statistics.

9.1.1Need and Importance of Statistics in day to day life

1. To know the individual difference

2. To guide the individuals
3. Comparing one technique over the other

135
4. Comparing one system of evaluation over another
5. Making prediction
6. Summarize the result and draw conclusion
7. To classify the numerical data

9.1.2 Use of statistics in behavioural research

1. Understanding statistics is crucial to being able to read research

articles
2. Understanding statistics is crucial to doing research yourself
3. Understanding statistics develops your analytic and critical
thinking
4. To draw general conclusion
5. To enable to predict and explain the phenomena

9.1.3 Basic terminology

Statistical procedures can be separated into roughly two
overlapping areas: descriptive statistics and inferential statistics.

9.2 ORGANIZING DATA

Two methods of organizing data are frequency distributions and

graphs.

9.2.1 Frequency Distribution

One of the first steps in organizing these data might b to rearrange

them from highest to lowest or from lowest to highest. After the
scores are ordered, you can condense the data into a frequency
distribution—a table in which all of the scores are listed along
with the frequency with which each occurs. You can also show the
relative frequency, which is the proportion of the total observations
included in each score. When a relative frequency is multiplied by
100, it is read as a percentage. For example, a relative frequency
of .033 would mean that 3.3% of the sample received that score. A
frequency distribution and a relative frequency distribution of the
exam data are presented. The frequency distribution is a way of
presenting data that makes the pattern of the data easier to see.

136
In a class interval frequency distribution, individual scores are
combined into categories, or intervals, and then listed along with
the frequency of scores in each interval. In the exam score
example, the scores range from 45 to 95—a 50-point range. A rule
of thumb when creating class intervals is to have between 10 and
20 categories (Hinkle, Wiersma, &Jurs, 1988). A quick method of
calculating what the width of the interval should be is to subtract
the lowest score from the highest score and then divide the result
by the number of intervals you want (Schweigert, 1994). If we want
10 intervals in our example, we proceed as follows:
95 - 45/ 10
50/ 10
=5
Example

Table 1
Items Frequency
Apples 10
Oranges 15
Banana 30
Guava 17
Pomegranate 20
Table 2:
Class-interval Frequency

10 – 20 5

20 – 30 8

30 – 40 7

40 – 50 6

9.3 Graphs

Frequency distributions provide valuable information, but

sometimes a picture is of greater value. Several types of pictorial
representations can be used to represent data. The choice

137
depends on the type of data collected and what the researcher
hopes to emphasize or illustrate.

Bar Graphs and Histograms: Bar graphs and histograms are

frequently confused. If the data collected are on a nominal scale,
or if the variable is a qualitative variable (a categorical variable
for which each value represents a discrete category), then a bar
graph is most appropriate. A bar graph is a graphical
representation of a frequency distribution in which vertical bars are
centered above each category along the x-axis and are separated
from each other by a space, indicating that the levels of the
variable represent distinct, unrelated categories. If the variable is a
quantitative variable (the scores represent a change in quantity),
or if the data collected are ordinal, interval, or ratio in scale, then a
histogram can be used.

A histogram is also a graphical representation of a frequency

distribution in which vertical bars are centered above scores on the
x-axis; however, in a histogram, the bars touch each other to
indicate that the scores on the variable represent related,
increasing values. In both a bar graph and a histogram, the height
of each bar indicates the frequency for that level of the variable on
the x-axis.

138
Frequency Polygons: You can also depict the data in a
histogram as a frequency polygon—a line graph of the
frequencies of individual scores or intervals. Mid points of all the
classes or intervals are calculated and plotted on the x-axis and
frequencies on the y-axis. After all the frequencies are plotted, the
data points are connected.

9.4 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

Whenever your purpose is merely to describe a set of data, you

are employing descriptive statistics. A statement about the

139
average length of time it takes a normal mouse to lick its paw
when placed on a warm surface would be a descriptive statistic.
Examples from other situations might include an examination of
dieting scores on the Eating Restraint Scale, crime rates as
reported by the Department of Justice, and certain summary
information concerning examination grades in a particular course.
Notice that in each of these examples we are just describing what
the data have to say about some phenomenon.

9.5 MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY

Measures of Central Tendency

A measure of central tendency is a representative number that
characterizes the “middleness” of an entire set of data. The three
measures of central tendency are the mean, the median, and the
mode.
Mean. The most commonly used measure of central tendency is
the mean— the arithmetic average of a group of scores. You are
probably familiar with this idea. We can calculate the mean for our
distribution of exam scores by adding all of the scores together
and dividing the sum by the total number of scores.
Mathematically, this is
µ = ∑X/N

Where
µ (pronounced “mu”) represents the symbol for the population
mean;
∑ represents the symbol for “the sum of”;
X represents the individual scores; and
N represents the number of scores in the distribution.
To calculate the mean, we sum all of the Xs, or scores, and divide
by the
Total number of scores in the distribution (N).
You may have also seen this formula represented as
M = ∑X/ N

140
This is the formula for calculating a sample mean, where
Represents the sample mean and N represents the number of
scores in the sample. The use of the mean is constrained by the
nature of the data: The mean is appropriate for interval and ratio
data but not for ordinal or nominal data.
Let X1, X2, X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, X8, X9, X10to the scores obtained by
10 students on achievement list, then the arithmetic mean of the
student can be calculate as

x1 + x2 + x3 + x4 + x5 + x6 + x7 + x8 + x9 + x10
M=
10

M=
x
N

When  x stands for the sum of scores or values of the items

and N for the total number of items in a series or group.

Calculation of mean in case of ungrouped data

Example: Let 30, 16, 20, 26, 18, 24, 36, 18 be the scores obtained
by 8 students on achievement list, then the arithmetic mean of the
students can be. Calculated as
30 + 16 + 20 + 26 + 18 + 24 + 36 + 18
M=
8
188
=
8
M = 23.5
Calculation of mean in case of grouped data (Data in the form
of frequency distribution)

In a frequency distribution where all the frequencies

are greater than one, the mean is calculated by the formula:

M=
 f ( x)
N

x- Midpoint of the class interval

f – Frequency
N – Total of all frequencies

141
 Income 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70
No of 4 7 16 20 15 8
person

Income in No of Person (f) X=Mid value F(x)

Purpose
10-20 4 15 60
20-30 7 25 175
30-40 16 35 560
40-50 20 45 900
50-60 15 55 825
60-70 8 65 520
N=70
 f ( x) =3040

Mean =
 f ( x)
N

3040
=
70
= 43.428
M = 43.43

Median:Another measure of central tendency, the median, is used in

situations in which the mean might not be representative of a distribution.
The median is the middle score in a distribution after the scores have
been arranged from highest to lowest or lowest to highest.
In case of odd scores median value is the middle most value for e.g. if we
have 25 data, after arranging in ascending order 13th data or score is the
media value. If it is even number, then the average of two middle values
will be the median value. If it has 30 scores, the median is the average of
the 15th and 16th scores (the two middle scores).

 n +1 
th

Median =   term for odd data

 2 
n= No of items
Odd data = 3,4,7,9,1

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 5 +1
=
2
6
=
2
= 3rd item
Arrange the data in the ascending order
1347 9
4 is the median

Median for even data

 n  n 
 2 +  2 + 1 
 
Median = 
2
Even data = 2 4 5 6 7 9
3rd item +4th item /2
5+6
=
2
11
=
2
Median = 5.5

Median
Weekly No of Cumulative
wages workers Frequency
(f) (Cf)
50-55 6 6
55-60 10 16
60-65 22 38
65-70 30 68
70-75 16 84
75-80 12 96
80-85 15 111

Total N=111
Class Interval =5
N 
 2 − Cf 
Median = L +  i
 f 
 
Where L= Exact lower limit of median class
Cf =Cumulative frequency
f = Simple Frequency median class
i = Class interval

143
Median class=N/2=111/2 = 55.5
Median lies in the class of 65-70
Exact lower limit (L) =65

Cf = 38
f =30
N 
 2 − Cf 
= L+ i
 f 
 
 55.5 − 38 
= 65 +  5
 30 
= 65 + 2.91
M d = 67.91

Mode:The third measure of central tendency is the mode—the

score in a distribution that occurs with the greatest frequency.

Computation of mode for ungrouped data

Suppose we have to find out the value of the mode from the
following scores of students.
25, 29,24, 25, 27, 25, 28, 25, 29
Here the score 25 is repeated maximum number of times and thus
the mode is this case is 25.
Computation of mode for grouped data

(i) When mean and median are given

Mode (Mo) = 3Md – 2M
Where Md is the median and M is the mean of the given data.
Example: Find the mode of the given data when the mean and
median are already computed as 44.6 and 44.05 respectively.

Mean(M) =44.6
Median (Md) =44.05
Mode (Mo) =3 Md – 2M
=3(44.05) – 2 (44.6)
=132.15-89.2
Mo =42.95

144
(ii) When mean and median are not given

 f1 
Mo = L +  i
 f1 + f −1 
L = Lower limit of the model class (class in which mode may be
supposed to lie)
i = Class interval
f1 = Frequency above the modal class
f-1= Frequency below the modal class

65-69 1
60-64 3
55-59 4
50-54 7
45-49 9 f1
40-44 Modal 11 highest frequency
class
35-39 8 f-1
30-34 4
25-29 2
20-24 1

 f1 
Mo = L +  i
 f1 + f −1 
 9 
M o = 39.5 +  5
 9+8
M o = 42.15

9.6 MEASURES OF VARIATION

Measures of Variation/Dispersion
A measure of central tendency provides information about the
“middleness” of a distribution of scores but not about the width or
spread of the distribution. To assess the width of a distribution, we
need a measure of variation or dispersion. A measure of
variation indicates the degree to which scores are either clustered
or spread out in a distribution or The degree to which individual
data points are distributed around the mean.

145
Range: The simplest measure of variation is the range—the
difference between the lowest and the highest scores in a
distribution. For example, in the distribution of 30 exam scores in
Table 5.5, only 2 of the 30 scores are used in calculating the range
(95-45 = 50).

Range =L-S
(Largest item – Smallest item)
L−S
Range Co-efficient =
L+S
Grouped data – For grouped data, range is the difference between
upper limit of the highest class and the lower limit of the lower
class.

Average Deviation and Standard Deviation: More sophisticated

measures of variation use all of the scores in the distribution in
their calculation. The most commonly used measure of variation is
the standard deviation. The word deviation means to diverge,
move away from, or digress. Putting these terms together, we see
that the standard deviation means the average movement away
from something.
Average Deviation:

Garrett(1971) defines Average Deviation (AD) as a means of

deviation of all the separate scores in the series taken from their
mean (occasionally form the median or mode)
(i) Computation of average deviation from ungrouped data

Formula: AD =
x
N
Where x = X − M deviation of the raw score from the mean of the
series and x signifies that in the deviation values we ignore the
algebraic signs +ve or -ve

Example: find the average deviation of the scores 15+10+6+8+11

of a series.
Solution: The mean of the given series is
15 + 10 + 6 + 8 + 11 50
M= = = 10 add 6
5 5
M = 10

146
 Scores Deviation x
(x) from the
mean (x-m)
=x
15 15-10=5 5
10 10-10=0 0
6 6-10=-4 4
8 8-10=-2 2
11 11-10=1 1
N=5
 x = 12
By applying the formula
12
AD =
5
AD = 2.4

(II) Computation of average deviation from grouped data from

the grouped data, AD can be calculated by the
Formula

AD =
 fx
N
Example:

Scores f Midpoint fx x = X −M fx fx
x
60-64 6 62 372 62-47.3=14.7 88.2 88.2
55-59 5 57 285 57-47.3=9.7 48.5 48.5
50-54 7 52 364 52-47.3-4.7 32.9 32.9
45-49 16 47 752 47-47.3=-03 -4.8 4.8
40-44 6 42 252 42-47.3=-5.3 - 31.8
31.8
35-39 4 37 148 37-47.3=- - 41.2
10.3 41.2
30.34 6 32 192 32-47.3=- - 91.8
15.3 91.8
50 2365
 fx
339.2

Step1
Find mean

AD =
 fx = 2365 = 47.3
N 50
Step 2

147
AD =
 fx
=
339.2
= 6.784
N 50
AD = 6.8
Example 2:
Calculate the SD for the following
15,10,6,8,11

X X–M x2
15 5 5
10 0 0
6 -4 16
8 -2 4
11 1 1

Mean = 50/5 = 10

 ( x)
2

SD =
( N − 1)
2

= 1.28

Standard Deviation
Standard deviation (SD)is the average distance of all the scores
in the distribution from the mean or central point of the distribution
or is the square root of mean of the average squared deviations
from the mean. The formula for finding our SD or 

= x 2

N
(i) Calculation of standard deviation from ungrouped data
Score x x = X −M x 2 (squared deviation)
38 38-34=4 16
36 36-34=2 4
34 34-34=0 0
32 32-34=-2 4
30 30-34=-4 16
x 2
= 40

148
Mean =
 x = 170 = 34
N 5
M = 34

SD ( ) =
x 2

N
40
SD ( ) =
5
SD ( ) = 8
SD ( ) = 2.83

(ii) Calculation of standard deviation from grouped data

standard deviation in case grouped data can be
computed by the formula.

SD( ) =
 fx 2

Example: Compute SD for the frequency distribution given below

with a mean value of 115.

IQ f x x = X −M x2 fx 2
SCARED
127-129 1 128 128-115=13 169 169
124-126 2 125 125-115=10 100 200
121-123 3 122 122-115=7 49 147
118-120 1 116 116-115=4 16 16
115-117 6 116 116-115=1 1 6
112-114 4 113 113-115=-2 4 16
109-111 3 110 110-115—5 25 75
106-108 2 107 107-115=-8 64 128
103-105 1 104 104-115=-11 121 121
100-102 1 101 101-115=-14 196 196
N=24
 fx 2
= 1074

Mean =115

SD( ) =
 fx 2

=
1074
= 44.75
N 24
SD( ) = 6.69

149
Note: If the mean value is not given then it is to computed with the
formula

M=
 fx
N
Quartile deviation: (Q.D)
Quartile deviation (Q.D), can be defined as half of the difference
between 75th percentile and the 25 the percentile. Hence it is one-
half the scale distance between the 75th&25th percentile in a
frequency distribution.
Q3 − Q1
Q.D =
2
Q − Q25
Q.D = 75
2

Q3 = 75th percentile or third quartile on the score. Scale the

point below which
75% of the scores lie.
Q1 = 25th percentile first quartile on the score scale the point
below which
25 % of the score lie

(i) Computation of Quartile deviation from Quartile

deviation from Ungrouped data
60
58
57
55
 3N 3 16 
44 -12th item Q3 →  = = 12 
 4 4 
42
41
40
38
37
36
34
 N 16 
32 – 4TH item Q1 →  = = 4
4 4 
31
29
25

150
 Q3 − Q1
Q.D =
2
44 − 32
Q.D =
2
8
Q.D =
2
Q.D = 4
(ii) Computation of Quartile deviation from grouped data
Q3 − Q1
Q.D =
2

Scores F Less than CF

60-64 1 50
55-59 2 49
50-54 4 47
45-49 5 47
40-44 8 38
35-39 10 30 below 37.5 (Q3)
30-34 6 20
25-29 4 14
20-24 4 10 below 12.5 (Q1)
15-19 2 6
10-14 3 4
5-9 1 1
50

N 50
Q1 = = = 12.5th item
4 4
3N 3  50
Q3 = = = 37.5th item
4 4
N 
 4 − Cf 
Q1 = L +  i
 f 
 
 12.5 − 10 
Q1 = 24.5 +  5
 4 
12.5
Q1 = 24.5 +
4
Q1 = 24.5 + 3.15
Q1 = 27.625

151
  3N 
 4 − Cf 
Q3 = L +  i
 f 
 
 37.5 − 30 
Q3 = 39.5 +  5
 8 
 7.5 
Q3 = 39.5 +  5
 8 
Q3 = 39.5 + 4.68
Q3 = 44.18

Q3 − Q1 44.18 − 27.625
Q.D = =
2 2
Q.D = 8.277
Q.D = 8.28

9.7 TYPES OF DISTRIBUTIONS

In simple terms distribution refers to how the data or score
appears in the graph. The distributions of scores can be more or
less regularly shaped distributions, rising to a maximum and then
dropping away smoothly. Not all distributions are like that.

Symmetric: Having the same shape on both sides of the center.

Bimodal: A distribution having two distinct peaks.
Unimodal: A distribution having one distinct peak.

152
Modality: The number of meaningful peaks in a frequency
distribution of the data.
Negatively skewed: A distribution that trails off to the left.
Positively skewed: A distribution that trails off to the right.
Skewness: A measure of the degree to which a distribution is
asymmetrical
Normal Distribution: When a distribution of scores is fairly large
(N = 30), it often tends to approximate a pattern called a normal
distribution. When plotted as a frequency polygon, a normal
distribution forms a symmetrical, bell-shaped pattern often called a
normal curve .We say that the pattern approximates a normal
distribution because a true normal distribution is a theoretical
construct not actually observed in the real world.
The normal distribution is a theoretical frequency distribution that
has certain special characteristics. First, it is bell-shaped and
symmetrical—the right half is a mirror image of the left half.
Second, the mean, median, and mode are equal and are located
at the center of the distribution. Third, the normal distribution is
unimodal—it has only one mode. Fourth, most of the observations
are clustered around the center of the distribution, with far fewer
observations at the ends or “tails” of the distribution. Last, when
standard deviations are plotted on the x-axis, the percentage of
scores falling between the mean and any point on the x-axis is the
same for all normal curves.
Kurtosis refers to how flat or peaked a normal distribution is. In
other words, kurtosis refers to the degree of dispersion among the
scores, or whether the distribution is tall and skinny or short and
fat. Mesokurtic curves have peaks of medium height, and the
distributions are moderate in breadth. Leptokurtic curves are tall
and thin, with only a few scores in the middle of the distribution
having a high frequency. Platykurtic curves are short and more
dispersed (broader). In a Platykurtic curve, there are many scores
around the middle score that all have a similar frequency.

153
Standard normal distribution: A normal distribution with a mean
equal to 0 and a standard deviation equal to 1; denoted as N(0,1).
LET US SUM UP
The word statistics is used in at least three different ways,
statistics refers to a set of procedures and rules (not always
computational or mathematical) for reducing large masses of data
to manageable proportions and for allowing us to draw conclusions
from those data. Statistical data may be presented in the form of
graphics aids such as pictures and graphs such as bar diagram,
pie diagram, histogram, pictograph, frequency polygon, cumulative
frequency polygon and Ogive curve. The statistics mean median
and mode are known to be commonest measures of central
tendency. There is a tendency for data to be dispersed, scattered
or to show variability around the average or the central value. This
tendency is known as measures of dispersion. When data were
plotted as a frequency polygon, a normal distribution forms a
symmetrical, bell-shaped pattern often called a normal curve.
Deviation from the normality tends to vary either in terms of
skewness or in terms of kurtosis.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. A_________ is a representative number that characterizes the
“middleness” of an entire set of data.
2. The ______ measure of central tendency where the score in a
distribution that occurs with the greatest frequency.
3. A ___________--indicates the degree to which scores are either
clustered or spread out in a distribution
4. _________ is the square root of the average squared deviation
from the mean.

154
5. _______________are short and more dispersed (broader) in
which there are many scores around the middle score that all have
a similar frequency.
6. ___________refers to the measure of the degree to which a
distribution is asymmetrical.

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. measures of central tendency
2. Mode
3. measure of variation
4. average deviation
5. platykurtic curves
6. skewness

KEY TERMS
Frequency distribution
Skewness
Kurtosis
Central tendency
Deviation/ dispersion

GLOSSARY
Frequency distribution: a table in which all of the scores are
listed along with the frequency with which each occurs.
Frequency Polygons: A frequency polygon is a type of line graph
where the class frequency is plotted against the class midpoint
and the points are joined by a line segment creating a curve.
Histogram: A histogram is a graphical representation that
organizes a group of data points into user-specified ranges.
Kurtosis: refers to how flat or peaked a normal distribution is.
Measure of central tendency: representative number that
characterizes the “middleness” of an entire set of data.
Measure of variation indicates the degree to which scores are
either clustered or spread out in a distribution around the mean

155
 MODEL QUESTIONS
1. What do you understand by the term, ‘measures of central
tendency? Point out the most common measures of central
tendency.
2. What are the different measures of variability? Discuss them in
brief.
3. What is normal distribution curve?
4. Define and explain the terms skewness and kurtosis along with
their main types.
SUGGESTED READINGS

• C.R. Kothari, 2004, Research Methodology – Methods and

Techniques, New Age International (P) Limited Publishers, New
Delhi.
• Evans,A.N.,&Rooney,B.J.(2008).Methodsin
Psychologicalresearch.NewDelhi,India: Sage PublicationsIndia
Pvt. Ltd.

156
UNIT- 10

INFERENTIAL STATISTICSSTRUCTURE
STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
10.1 Inferential Statistics – Introduction
10.2 When to use Parametric Tests and Non-Parametric Tests
10.3 Significance of difference between two means
10.3.1 Z-Test
10.3.2 Student ‘t’ Test
10.3.3 Paired ‘t’ test
10.4 ANOVA- More than Two Group Design
10.5 Correlation Coefficient
10.6 Regressions Analysis
10.7 Multiple regression analysis
Let us sum up
Check Your Progress
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you will be able to
Understand various tests of inferential statistics
Understand the difference between parametric and non-parametric
tests and their applications
Understand the significance of the difference between means
Explain the concept of Correlation coefficient
Explain the usage of ‘t test
Explain the Analysis of variance

157
10.1 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS - INTRODUCTION
All of us at some time or another have been guilty of making
unreasonable generalizations on the basis of limited data. You
might hear or read that tall people tend to be more graceful than
short people and conclude that that is true because you once had
a very tall roommate who was particularly graceful. You
conveniently forget about the 6’ 4” klutz down the hall who couldn’t
even put on his pants standing up without tripping over them.
Similarly, the man who says that girls develop motor skills earlier
than boys because his daughter walked at 10 months and his son
didn’t walk until 14 months is guilty of the same kind of error:
generalizing from single (or too limited) observations.
In all the above cases we need to know the variability. How one
varies from other in certain phenomena. We use inferential
statistics to draw conclusions and to make inferences that are
based on the numbers from a research study but that go beyond
the numbers. For example, inferential statistics allow researchers
to make inferences about a large group of individuals based on a
research study in which a much smaller number of individuals took
part. We cannot make unlimited observations - we must draw a
sample from a population.

10.2 WHEN TO USE PARAMETRIC TESTS AND NON-

PARAMETRIC TESTS

Parametric tests Non-parametric tests

Statistical tests that involve Statistical tests that do not rely
assumptions about, or on parameter estimation or
estimation of, population precise distributional
parameters assumptions
When the scores are normally Skewed distribution
distributed
When the variable is When the variable is discrete
continuous variable variable

158
 When the measurement is When the measurement is
interval or ratio scale nominal or ordinal scale
Karl Pearson product moment Rank order correlation, chi
correlation, t test, F test square, Mann Whitney U test

10.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO MEANS

In the field of social sciences as well as in other fields, there are

many occasions when we are more interested in knowing about
the significance of the difference between the two same means
(independent or correlated), drawn from the same population or
different population. A t-test is a type of inferential statistic used to
determine if there is a significant difference between the means of
two groups, which may be related in certain features. A t-test (also
known as Student's t-test) is a tool for evaluating the means of one
or two populations using hypothesis testing. A t-test may be used
to evaluate whether a single group differs from a known value (a
one-sample t-test), whether two groups differ from each other (an
independent two-sample t-test), or whether there is a significant
difference in paired measurements (a paired, or dependent
samples t-test).

10.3.1 Z Test
A z-test is a statistical test to determine whether two population
means are different when the variances are known and the sample
size is large. A z-test is a hypothesis test in which the z-statistic
follows a normal distribution. A z-statistic, or z-score, is a number
representing the result from the z-test. For example, if someone
said they had found a new drug that cures cancer, you would want
to be sure it was probably true. A hypothesis test will tell you if it’s
probably true, or probably not true. A Z test, is used when your
data is approximately normally distributed (i.e. the data has the
shape of a bell curve when you graph it).
Compute Z test, if.

159
• Your sample size is greater than 30. Otherwise, use a t test.
• Data points should be independent from each other. In other
words, one data point isn’t related or doesn’t affect another data
point.
• Your data should be normally distributed. However, for large
sample sizes (over 30) this doesn’t always matter.
• Your data should be randomly selected from a population, where
each item has an equal chance of being selected.
• Sample sizes should be equal if at all possible.

It is computed using the formula,

M1 − M 2
D
Where M1 –M2 are the difference between the means ,
 D standard error of difference between means.
 D is calculated using the formula

  12  22 
D =  + 
 N1 N 2 
Where  1 ,  2 are the standard deviation of sample 1 and 2
respectively, N1 an N2 are the size of sample in sample 1 and 2
respectively.

10.3.2 Independent Sample ‘t’ test

William Goosset eventually published his finding under the
pseudonym “Student,” and with the help of Karl Pearson, a
mathematician, he developed a general formula for the t
distributions. We refer to t distributions in the plural because unlike
the z distribution, of which there is only one, the t distributions are
a family of symmetrical distributions that differ for each sample
size. Suppose a teacher wants to know the difference or relative
effectiveness of two teaching methods. One group is taught by
her with method and the other group of students by method B.
After a month, and achievement test was given to both of these
groups and computes the means of the respective achievement
scores of the two groups say M and M. The difference between

160
the means M, and M. (M1-M 2) gives the relative effectives of
teaching method. In order to check how signify this difference
should be to help decide whether method.

It is computed using the formula,

M1 − M 2
t=
D

difference between means

t=
standard error of difference between

 D Is calculated using the formula

1 1
D = +
N1 N 2

Where  is the pooled standard deviation

 is calculated using the formula

= x +x2
1
2
2

( N1 − 1) + ( N 2 − 1)

Where x 2
1 and x 2
1 are the sum of the deviations of values

from Mean 1 and 2 respectively. N1 and N2 are the number of

samples of group 1 and 2 respectively.

Example: Two groups of 10 students each got the following scores

on altitude scales

Group 10 9 8 7 7 8 6 5 6 4
I

Group 9 8 6 7 8 8 11 12 6 5
II

Compute the means for both groups and test the significance of
the difference between these two mean.

161
Solution:

First Sample Second Sample

X1 M- (X1-M1) x12 X2 M2 (X2-M2) x22
1 x1 x2

10 7 3 9 9 8 1 1

9 7 2 4 8 8 0 0

8 7 2 4 8 8 0 0

7 7 0 0 7 8 -2 4

7 7 0 0 8 8 0 0

8 7 1 1 11 8 0 0

6 7 -1 1 12 8 4 16

5 7 -2 4 12 8 4 16

6 7 -1 1 6 8 -2 4

4 7 -3 9 5 8 -3 9

70
x 2
1 = 30 80
x 2
2 = 44

Mean
70
M1 = =7
10

80
M2 = =8
10

Rooted Standard Deviation

162
= x +x2
1
2
2

( N1 − 1) + ( N 2 − 1)
30 + 44
=
9+9
74
=
18
 = 4.1111
 = 2.03

Standard Error of Difference  D

1 1
D = +
N1 N 2
1 1
 D = 2.03 +
10 10
1
 D = 2.03
5
 D = 0.9078

M1 − M 2
t=
D
7 −8
t=
0.908
−1
t=
0.908
t = −1.1

Degrees of freedom (df)= N1+N2-2

= 10+10-2

df=18

We find from the table, the critical value of ‘t’ with 18 degrees of
freedom is of at 5% level of significance is 2.01. The computed
value is 1.1 which is quite smaller than the critical value 2.10
hence it is not significant. Hence the new hypothesis is accepted
stating that the given difference in sample means are insignificant
can only be attributed to some chance factors or sampling
fluctuations.

163
10.3.3 PAIRED ‘T’ TEST

In many (but certainly not all) situations in which we will use the form of
the test, we will have two sets of data from the same participants. i)
Related samples: An experimental design in which the same participant
is observed under more than one treatment. ii) Repeated measures: An
experimental design in which the same participant is observed under
more than one treatment. iii) Matched samples: An experimental design
in which the participants are paired and one is assigned to each
treatment.
For example, we might ask 20 people to rate their level of anxiety before
and after donating blood. We would have 20 sets of numbers, two
numbers for each person, and we would expect these two sets of
numbers (variables) to be correlated. We need to take this correlation into
account in planning our test. In the example of anxiety about donating
blood, people differ widely in level of anxiety. Some seem to be anxious
all the time no matter what happens, and others just take things as they
come and don’t worry about anything. Thus, there should be a relationship
between an individual’s anxiety level before donating blood and the
anxiety level after donating blood. In other words, if we know that a person
was one of the more anxious people before donation, we can make a
reasonable guess that the same person was one of the more anxious
people after donation.

Given:

Initial test data Final test data

Mean 80 84
SD 8 10
N 25 25

Correlation between Initial list and final list ( r) is 0.40

M1 − M 2
t=
D

 D =  M2 +  M2 − 2r M  M
1 2 1 2

164
 M This is the standard error of the Initial test.
1

 M This is the standard error of the final test.

1

1 8 8
M = = = = 1.6
1
N1 25 5
2 10
M = 2
= =2
N2 25

Applying the formula for  D

 D =  M2 +  M2 − 2r M  M
1 2 1 2

 D = (1.6) 2 + (2) 2 − 2  0.4 1.6  2

D = 4
D = 2

T ratio

M1 − M 2
t=
D
80 − 84
t=
2
4
t=
2
t=2

10.4 ANOVA - MORE THAN TWO GROUP DESIGNS

Not that in all the research we have two groups. We do have more
than two groups. In that case we use ANOVA.
• Analysis of variance (ANOVA): A statistical technique for
testing for differences in the means of several groups.
• One-way ANOVA: An analysis of variance wherein the groups
are defined on only one independent variable.

The statistical procedure for testing variation among the means of

more than two groups is called the analysis of variance,

165
abbreviated as ANOVA.(The F is for Sir Ronald Fisher, an
eminent statistician who developed the analysis of variance)

F = Mean Square variance between the group/Mean Square

variance within group

Steps in calculating the ANOVA

Let us assume that the researcher wants to find out the difference
in the performance level of three groups A, B and C
The scores of group A is denoted by X1, ;B by X2 ; and C by X3

Step 1: Arrangement of scores in columns and calculation of

initial values
To calculate ∑ X1, ; ∑ X2 ;∑ X3
Mean value of all groups
Grand mean ∑X/N N = n1+n2+n3
Correction term C = (∑X)2/ N
Step 2: Arrange the given table into squared table and find the
sum
Calculate ∑ X12, ; ∑ X22;∑ X32 ;∑X2
Step 3: Calculation of total sum of squares
St2 = ∑X2 - C
Step 4: Calculation of between group sum of squares
Sb2 = (∑ X1)2/ n1 + ( ∑ X2)2/n2 +(∑ X3)2/n3 - C
Step 5: Calculation of within group sum of squares
Sw2 =
St2 -Sb2
Step 6: Calculation of degrees of freedom
Total sum of squares = N – 1
Between group sum of squares = K – 1
Within group sum of squares = N – K
N = total no. of participant
K = number of groups
Step 7 : Calculation of F ratio

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Source Sum of squares Df Mean square
variance
Between Sb2 K–1 Sb2//df
group
Within Sw2 N–K Sw2/df
group

F = Mean square variance between groups

Mean square variance within groups

Step 8: Decision making

Calculated value is compared with the table value, if the calculated

value is greater than the table value we reject the null hypothesis.

10.5 CORRELATION COEFFICIENT

As a research method, Correlational designs allow you to describe
the relationship between two measured variables. A correlation
coefficient (descriptive statistic) helps by assigning a numerical
value to the observed relationship. We will begin with a discussion
of how to conduct correlational research, the magnitude and the
direction of correlations, and graphical representations of
correlations.

To illustrate the kinds of studies that might involve two variables

(denoted X and Y ), consider the following research questions:

• Does the incidence of breast cancer (Y ) vary with the amount of

sunlight (X ) in a particular location?
• Does Life Expectancy (Y ) for individual countries vary as a
function of the per capita consumption of alcohol (X )?
• Does the rating of an individual’s “likability” (Y ) have anything to
do with physical attractiveness (X )?

In each case we are asking if one variable (Y ) is related to

another variable (X ). When we are dealing with the relationship
between two variables, we are concerned with correlation, and our
measure of the degree or strength of this relationship is

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 represented by a correlation coefficient. We can use a number of
different correlation coefficients, depending primarily on the
underlying nature of the measurements.
Magnitude
The magnitude or strength of a relationship is determined by the
correlation coefficient describing the relationship. A correlation
coefficient is a measure of the degree of relationship between two
variables; it can vary between _1.00 and _1.00. The stronger the
relationship between the variables, the closer the coefficient is to
either _1.00 or _1.00. The weaker the relationship between the
variables, the closer the coefficient is to 0.

CORRELATION COEFFICIENT STRENGTH OF RELATIONSHIP

•+.70 - 1.00 Strong

•+ .30 - .69 Moderate
•+ .00 - .29 None (.00) to
weak
Scatter plots

A scatter plot or scatter gram, a figure showing the relationship between

two variables, graphically represents a correlation coefficient. For
example, a scatter plot of the height and weight relationship for 20 adults,
two measurements are represented for each participant by the placement
of a marker. In horizontal x-axis shows the participant’s weight, and the
vertical y-axis shows height. In preparing a scatter diagram the predictor
variable, or independent variable, is traditionally presented on the X
(horizontal) axis, and the criterion variable, or dependent variable, on the
Y (vertical) axis. If the eventual purpose of the study is to predict one
variable from knowledge of the other, the distinction is obvious: The
criterion variable is the one to be predicted, whereas the predictor variable
is the one from which the prediction is made. If the problem is simply one
of obtaining a correlation coefficient, the distinction may be obvious
(incidence of cancer would be dependent on amount smoked rather than
the reverse, and thus incidence would appear on the ordinate). On the
other hand, the distinction may not be obvious (neither running speed nor

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number of correct choices—common dependent variables in an animal
learning study—is obviously in a dependent position relative to the other).
Where the distinction is not obvious, it is irrelevant which variable is
labeled X and which Y.
Positive Relationship

The relationship represented in Figure4 shows a positive correlation, one

in which a direct relationship exists between the two variables. This
means that an increase in one variable is related to an increase in the
other, and a decrease in one is related to a decrease in the other. In other
words, an increase (decrease) in one variable is accompanied by an
increase (decrease) in the other variable—as variable x increases (or
decreases), variable y does the same.

Negative Relationships
Figure 5 represents a negative relationship between two variables. Notice
that in this scatter plot, the data points extend from the upper left to the
lower right. This negative correlation indicates that an increase in one
variable is accompanied by a decrease in the other variable. This
represents an inverse relationship: The more of variable x that we have,
the less we have of variable y.

No relationships

As shown in Figure 6, it is also possible to observe no meaningful

relationship between two variables. In this scatter plot, the data points are
scattered in a random fashion..

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Figure 4: Positive relationships

Figure 5: Negative relationship

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Figure 6: No relationships

Linear relationship: A situation in which the best-fitting regression

line is a straight line.
Curvilinear relationship: A situation that is best represented by
something other than a straight line.

Statistical Assessment of relationship

10.5.1 The Pearson Correlation Coefficient

Pearson product–moment correlation coefficient is normally used

to summarize and communicate the strength and direction of the
association between two quantitative variables. The Pearson
correlation coefficient, frequently referred to simply as the
correlation coefficient, is designated by the letter r. The correlation
coefficient is a number that indicates both the direction and the
magnitude of association. Values of the correlation coefficient
range from r = -1.00 to r =+1.00. The direction of the relationship is
indicated by the sign of the correlation coefficient. Positive values
of r (such as r = .54 or r = .67) indicate that the relationship is
positive linear (that is, that the regression line runs from the lower
left to the upper right), whereas negative values of r (such as r =-.3
or r =-.72) indicate negative linear relationships (that is, that the
regression line runs from the upper left to the lower right).

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Pearson product–moment correlation is indicated by the formula
r = ∑xy/√∑x2 X∑y2
Example 3:
Find out the correlation coefficient
X: 15, 25, 20, 30, 35
Y: 60, 70, 40, 50, 30
X Y x Y xy x2 y2
15 60 -10 10 -100 100 100
25 70 0 20 0 0 400
20 40 -5 -10 50 25 100
30 50 5 0 0 25 0
35 30 10 -20 -200 100 400
125 250 -250 250 1000
Mean of X = 25
Mean of Y = 50
x = X – Mean of X
y= Y – Mean of Y
r = ∑xy/√∑x2 * ∑y2
= -0.5

10.6 REGRESSION ANALYSIS

Regression analysis will provide you with an equation for a graph
so that you can make predictions about your data. For example, if
you’ve been putting on weight over the last few years, it can
predict how much you’ll weigh in ten years time if you continue to
put on weight at the same rate. It will also give you a slew of
statistics (including a p-value and a correlation coefficient) to tell
you how accurate your model is.
For example, global warming may be reducing average snowfall in
your town and you are asked to predict how much snow you think
will fall this year. Looking at the following table you might guess
somewhere around 10-20 inches. That’s a good guess, but you
could make a better guess, by using regression.

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Essentially, regression is the “best guess” at using a set of data to
make some kind of prediction. It’s fitting a set of points to a graph.
There’s a whole host of tools that can run regression for you,
including Excel, which I used here to help make sense of that
snowfall data:

Just by looking at the regression line running down through the

data, you can fine tune your best guess a bit. You can see that the
original guess (20 inches or so) was way off. For 2015, it looks like
the line will be somewhere between 5 and 10 inches! That might
be “good enough”, but regression also gives you a useful equation,
which for this chart is:

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y = -2.2923x + 4624.4.
What that means are you can plug in an x value (the year) and get
a pretty good estimate of snowfall for any year. For example,
2005:
y = -2.2923(2005) + 4624.4 = 28.3385 inches, which is pretty close
to the actual figure of 30 inches for that year.

Best of all, you can use the equation to make predictions. For
example, how much snow will fall in 2017?
y = 2.2923(2017) + 4624.4 = 0.8 inches.

Regression also gives you an R squared value, which for this

graph is 0.702. This number tells you how good your model is. The
values range from 0 to 1, with 0 being a terrible model and 1 being
a perfect model. As you can probably see, 0.7 is a fairly decent
model so you can be fairly confident in your weather prediction!

10.7 Multiple regression analysis

Although the goal of correlational research is frequently to study
the relationship between two measured variables, it is also
possible to study relationships among more than two measures at
the same time. Consider, for example, a scientist whose goal is to
predict the grade-point averages of a sample of college students.
The scientist uses three predictor variables (perceived social
support, number of study hours per week, and SAT score) to do
so. Such a research design, in which more than one predictor
variable is used to predict a single outcome variable, is analyzed
through multiple regressions(Aiken & West, 1991). Multiple
regression is a statistical technique based on Pearson correlation
coefficients both between each of the predictor variables and the
outcome variable and among the predictor variables themselves.
In this case, the original correlations that form the input to the
regression analysis are shown in the correlation matrix.

The ability of all of the predictor variables together to predict the

outcome variable is indicated by a statistic known as the multiple

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correlation coefficients, symbolized by the letter R. The
regression coefficients are not exactly the same as the zero-order
correlations because they represent the effects of each of the
predictor measures in the regression analysis, holding constant or
controlling for the effects of the other predictor variables. This
control is accomplished statistically. The result is that the
regression coefficients can be used to indicate the relative
contributions of each of the predictor variables.

LET US SUM UP

Most of the statistical procedures we have discussed in the unit

have involved the estimation of one or more parameters of the
distribution of scores in the population(s) from which the data were
sampled and assumptions concerning the shape of that
distribution. For example, the t test makes use of the sample
variance as an estimate of the population variance and also
requires the assumption that the population from which we
sampled is normal (or at least that the sampling distribution of the
mean is normal). Tests, such as the t test, that involves
assumptions either about specific parameters or about the
distribution of the population is referred to as parametric tests. The
statistical procedure for testing variation among the means of more
than two groups is called the analysis of variance, abbreviated as
ANOVA. As a research method, Correlational designs allow to
describe the relationship between two measured variables. A
correlation coefficient is a statistical procedure for finding the
relationship between variables. Moreover it is also possible to
study relationships among more than two measures at the same
time using multiple regression.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Correlational statistics:
2. Repeated measures:
3. Difference between two groups:
4. More than two groups:

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ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. Karl Pearson product-moment correlation
2. Paired t test
3. Independent t test
4. ANOVA

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Differentiate between parametric and non-parametric statistics.
2. Explain scatter-plot diagram
3. Explain measures of central tendency.
4. Illustrate with example of when to use paired t test and
independent t test
5. Explain the steps in testing ANOVA.
6. State the uses of Pearson product moment correlation method
and how it is different from multiple regression

GLOSSARY
Anova: One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tells you if there
are any statistical differences between the means of three or more
independent groups.
Multiple Regressions: a statistical technique based on Pearson
correlation coefficients both between each of the predictor
variables and the outcome variable and among the predictor
variables themselves.
Non-parametric tests: Statistical tests that do not rely on
parameter estimation or precise distributional assumptions
Parametric tests: Statistical tests that involve assumptions about,
or estimation of, population parameters
Pearson product–moment correlation coefficient: normally
used to summarize and communicate the strength and direction of
the association between two quantitative variables.
Scatter plot: also called as scatter gram, a figure showing the
relationship between two variables, graphically represents a
correlation coefficient.

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t- test: The t test tells explains how significant the differences
between groups
Z test: a statistical test to determine whether two population
means are different when the variances are known and the sample
size is large.

SUGGESTED READINGS
• https://www.statisticshowto.com/probability-and-
statistics/regression-analysis/
• https://www.statisticshowto.com/probability-and-
statistics/hypothesis-testing/z-test/
• Mangal, S.K. (2010). Statistics in Psychology and
Education, Second Edition. PHI learning private limited,
New Delhi.
• C.R. Kothari, 2004, Research Methodology – Methods and
Techniques, New Age International (P) Limited Publishers,
New Delhi.

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UNIT-11
_____________________________________________________
NON-PARAMETRIC STATISTICS

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
11.1 Non-Parametric Tests Introduction
11.2 Mann-Whitney Test
11.3 Wilcoxon’s Matched-Pairs Signed-Ranks Test
11.4 The Chi-Square Statistic
11.5 Kruskal–Wallis One-Way Analysis of Variance (H Test)
11.6 Spearman Rank Order Correlation
11.7 Using SPSS in Data Analysis
11.8 Data Entry
Let us sum up
Check Your Progress
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
One class of tests, however, places less reliance on parameter
estimation and/or distribution assumptions. Such tests usually are
referred to as nonparametric tests or distribution-free tests. By and
large if a test is nonparametric, it is also distribution-free; in fact, it
is the distribution-free nature of the test that is most valuable to us.
In this unit let us look into the various non-parametric statistics.

OBJECTIVES

• After reading this unit you will be able to:

• Explain the underlying concepts of non-parametric tests
• Describe the Various non-parametric tests

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11.1 NON- PARAMETRIC TESTS- INTRODUCTION
11.2 MANN–WHITNEY TEST
A nonparametric test is being used for comparing the means of
two independent samples. One of the most common and best
known of the distribution-free tests is the Mann–Whitney test for
two independent samples. This test often is thought of as the
distribution-free analogue of the test for two independent samples,
although it tests a slightly different, and broader, null hypothesis.
Its null hypothesis is the hypothesis that the two samples were
drawn at random from identical populations (not just populations
with the same mean), but it is especially sensitive to population
differences in central tendency. Thus rejection of generally is
interpreted to mean that the two distributions had different central
tendencies, but it is possible that rejection actually resulted from
some other difference between the populations.
The logical basis of the Mann-Whitney test is particularly easy to
understand. Assume that we have two independent treatment
groups, with observations in Group 1 and observations in Group 2.
To make it concrete, assume that there are 8 observations in each
group. Further assume that we don’t know whether or not the null
hypothesis is true, but we happen to obtain the following data:

Raw Scores
Group 1 18, 16, 17, 21, 15, 13, 24, 20
Group 2 35, 38, 31, 27, 37, 26, 28, 25

Well, it looks as if Group 2 outscored Group 1 by a substantial

margin. Now suppose that we rank the data from lowest to highest,
without regard to group membership.
Ranked Scores
Group 1 5, 3, 4, 7, 2, 1, 8, 6 = ∑ 36
Group 2 14, 16, 13, 11, 15, 10, 12, 9 = ∑ 100

The lowest total has to be taken as U value that is 36 for testing

null hypothesis. This is compared with table value and we accept
or reject the hypothesis.

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11.3 WILCOXON’S MATCHED-PAIRS SIGNED-RANKS TEST:
A nonparametric test for comparing the mean of two matched
(related) samples. Frank Wilcoxon is credited with developing the
most popular distribution-free test for independent groups, which I
referred to as the Mann–Whitney test to avoid confusion and
because of their work on it. He also developed the most popular
test for matched groups (or paired scores). This test is the
distribution-free analogue of the test for related samples. It tests
the null hypothesis that two related (matched) samples were
drawn either from identical populations or from symmetric
populations with the same mean. More specifically it tests the null
hypothesis that the distribution of difference scores (in the
population) is symmetric about zero.
In carrying out the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test we
first calculate the difference score for each pair of measurements.
We then rank all difference scores without regard to the sign of the
difference, give the algebraic sign of the differences to the ranks
themselves, and finally sum the positive and negative ranks
separately.
Example

Children Family School Difference Absolute R(+) R(-

rank )
difference
A 6 3 3 4,5 4.5
B 18 15 3 4.5 4.5
C 14 16 -2 2.5 2.5
D 10 12 -2 2.5 2.5
E 20 13 7 8 8
F 17 11 6 7 7
G 12 8 4 6 6
H 8 9 -1 1 1
8 30 6

The smaller of the (R+) and (R-) is taken as calculated value.

Here the T statistics is 6

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11.4 THE CHI-SQUARE STATISTIC
Although the correlation coefficient is used to assess the
relationship between two quantitative variables, an alternative
statistic, known as the chi-square (χ2) statistic, must be used to
assess the relationship between two nominal variables (the
statistical test is technically known as the chi square test of
independence). Consider as an example a researcher who is
interested in studying the relationship between a person’s ethnicity
and his or her attitude toward a new low-income housing project in
the neighborhood. A random sample of 300 individuals from the
neighborhood is asked to express opinions about the housing
project.
Calculating the Chi-Square Statistic:
To calculate χ2, the researcher first constructs a contingency
table, which displays the number of individuals in each of the
combinations of the two nominal variables. The contingency table
in Table 1 shows the number of individuals from each ethnic group
who favor or oppose the housing project. The next step is to
calculate the number of people who would be expected to fall into
each of the entries in the table given the number of individuals with
each value on the original two variables. If the number of people
actually falling into the entries is substantially different from the
expected values, then there is an association between the
variables, and if this relationship is strong enough, the chi-square
test will be statistically significant and the null hypothesis that the
two variables are independent can be rejected.
Table 1
Opinion
Ethnicity Favour Oppose None
White 54 104 160
African 51 11 62
American
Asian 31 29 60
Hispanic 14 4 18
Total 152 148 300

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In the above table we check whether the opinion is independent of
the ethnicity using chi square test.
χ2 = ∑(O – E)2 /E
Where, O is the observed frequency and E is the expected
frequency
Example 1:
The opinions of 90 unmarried persons and 100 married persons
were secured on an attitude scale. Do the data indicate a
significant difference in opinion in terms of marital status of the
individuals?
Agree Disagree Neutral Total
Unmarried 14 66 10 90
Married 27 66 7 100
Total 41 132 17 190

Compute expected frequency

90 x 41/190 = 100 x 41 /190 = 21.6
19.4
90 x 132/190 = 100 x 132/190 = 69.5
62.5
90 x 17/190 = 100 x 17/190 = 9
8.05

χ2 = (14 – 19.4)2/19.4 +( 66 – 62.5)2/62.5 + (10 – 8.5)2 /8.5 + (27 –

21.6)2/21.6 +
(66 – 69.5)2/69.5 + (7 – 9)2/9
= 4.16

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11.5 KRUSKAL–WALLIS ONE-WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE
(H TEST):
A nonparametric test equivalent to the standard one-way analysis
of variance is H test. . It tests the hypothesis that all samples were
drawn from identical populations and is particularly sensitive to
differences in central tendency.
To perform the Kruskal–Wallis test, we simply rank all scores
without regard to group membership and then compute the sum of
the ranks for each group. The sums are denoted by Rj If the null
hypothesis were true, we would expect the Rjs to be more or less
equal (aside from differences due to the size of the samples). A
measure of the degree to which the Rjs differ from one another is
provided by

H = 12 ∑ Rj2 - 3 (N + 1)
N (N+1) nj

nj =
number of observations in the jth group
Rj =
sum of the ranks in the jth group
N = total number of participants

11.6 SPEARMAN RANK ORDER CORRELATION

When one or more of the variables is measured on an ordinal
(ranking) scale, the appropriate correlation coefficient is
Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficient. For example
when we ask judges to rank items on two dimensions; we then
want to correlate the two sets of ranks. For example, we might ask
one judge to rank the quality of the “Statement of Purpose” found
in 10 applications to graduate school in terms of clarity, specificity,
and apparent sincerity. The weakest would be assigned a rank of
1, the next weakest a rank of 2, and so on. Another judge might
rank the overall acceptability of these same 10 applicants based
on all other available information, and we might be interested in
the degree to which well written statements of purpose are
associated with highly admissible applicants. When we have such

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ranked data, we frequently use what is known as Spearman’s
correlation coefficient for ranked data (ρ)
ρ = 1 - 6∑d2/N(N2 – 1)
d= difference in ranks
Example
Individuals X Y R1 R2 d d2
A 80 82 1 2 -1 1
B 45 86 5 1 4 16
C 55 50 4 4 0 0
D 56 48 3 5 -2 4
E 58 60 2 3 -1 1

ρ = 1 - 6∑d2/N(N2 – 1)
= 1 – 6 x 22/5(25 – 1)
= 1 – 1.1 = -0.1
The value indicates a very low correlation
11.7 USING SPSS IN DATA ANALYSIS
The “Statistical Package for the Social Sciences” (SPSS) is a
package of programs for manipulating, analyzing, and presenting
data; the package is widely used in the social and behavioral
sciences. There are several forms of SPSS. The core program is
called SPSS Base and there are a number of add-on modules that
extend the range of data entry, statistical, or reporting capabilities.
In our experience, the most important of these for statistical
analysis are the SPSS Advanced Models and SPSS Regression
Models add-on modules. SPSS Inc. also distributes stand-alone
programs that work with SPSS.
This software makes the calculation work much easier for large
pool of data. This is made user friendly as help options are
provided for the beginners.
Help — Statistics Coach helps users unfamiliar with SPSS or the
statistical procedures available in SPSS to get started. This facility
prompts the user with simple questions in nontechnical language
about the purpose of the statistical analysis and provides visual

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examples of basic statistical and charting features in SPSS. The
facility covers only a selected subset of procedures.
Help — Tutorial provides access to an introductory SPSS tutorial,
including a comprehensive overview of SPSS basics. It is
designed to provide a step-by-step guide for carrying out a
statistical analysis in SPSS. All files shown in the examples are
installed with the tutorial so the user can repeat the analysis steps.
Help — Topics opens the Help Topics: SPSS for Windows box,
which provides access to Contents, Index, and Find tabs. Under
the Contents tab, double-clicking items with a book symbol
expands or collapses their contents (the Open and Close buttons
do the same).
The Index tab provides an alphabetical list of topics. Once a topic
is selected (by double-clicking), or the first few letters of the word
are typed in, the Display button provides a description. The Find
tab allows for searching the help files for specific words and
phrases.

11.8 DATA ENTRY

When SPS S is first opened, a default dialogue box appears that
gives the user a number of options. The Tutorial can be accessed
at this stage. Most likely users will want to enter data or open an
existing data file. When Type in data is selected, the SPSS Data
Editor appears as an empty spreadsheet. At the top of the screen
is a menu bar and at the bottom a status bar.
The Data Editor consists of two windows. By default the Data
View, which allows the data to be entered and viewed. The other
window is the Variable View, which allows the types of variables to
be specified and viewed. The user can toggle between the
windows by clicking on the appropriate tabs on the bottom left of
the screen.
Data values can be entered in the Data View spreadsheet. For
most analysis SPSS assumes that rows represent cases and
columns variables. By default SPSS aligns numerical data entries

185
to the right-hand side of the cells and text (string) entries to the
left-hand side.
The appearance of the Data View spreadsheet is controlled by the
View drop-down menu. This can be used to change the font in the
cells, remove lines, and make value labels visible. When labels
have been assigned to the category codes of a categorical
variable, these can be displayed by checking Value Labels (or by
selecting on the toolbar).Once the category labels are visible,
highlighting a cell produces a button with a downward arrow on the
right-hand side of the cell. Clicking on this arrow produces a drop-
down list with all the available category labels for the variable.
Clicking on any of these labels results in the respective category
and label being inserted in the cell. This feature is useful for editing
the data.
The Variable View spreadsheet serves to define the variables.
Each variable definition occupies a row of this spreadsheet. As
soon as data is entered under a column in the Data View, the
default name of the column occupies a row in the Variable View.

There are 10 characteristics to be specified under this:

1. Name — the chosen variable name. This can be up to eight
alphanumeric characters but must begin with a letter. While the
underscore (_) is allowed, hyphens (-), ampersands (&), and
spaces cannot be used. Variable names are not case sensitive.
2. Type — the type of data. SPSS provides a default variable type
once variable values have been entered in a column of the Data
View. The type can be changed by highlighting the respective
entry in the second column of the Variable View and clicking the
three-period symbol (...) appearing on the right-hand side of the
cell. This results in the Variable Type box being opened, which
offers a number of types of data including various formats for
numerical data, dates, or currencies. (Note that a common mistake
made by first-time users is to enter categorical variables as type
“string” by typing text into the Data View. To enable later analyses,

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categories should be given artificial number codes and defined to
be of type “numeric.”)
3. Width — the width of the actual data entries. The default width
of numerical variable entries is eight. The width can be increased
or decreased by highlighting the respective cell in the third column
and employing the upward or downward arrows appearing on the
right-hand side of the cell or by simply typing a new number in the
cell.
4. Decimals — the number of digits to the right of the decimal
place to be displayed for data entries. This is not relevant for string
data and for such variables the entry under the fourth column is
given as a greyed-out zero. The value can be altered in the same
way as the value of Width.
5. Label — a label attached to the variable name. In contrast to the
variable name, this is not confined to eight characters and spaces
can be used. It is generally a good idea to assign variable labels.
They are helpful for reminding users of the meaning of variables
(placing the cursor over the variable name in the Data View will
make the variable label appear) and can be displayed in the output
from statistical analyses.
6. Values — labels attached to category codes. For categorical
variables, an integer code should be assigned to each category
and the variable defined to be of type “numeric.” When this has
been done, clicking on the respective cell under the sixth column
of the Variable View makes the three-period symbol appear, and
clicking this opens the Value Labels dialogue box, which in turn
allows assignment of labels to category codes. For example, our
data set included a categorical variable sex indicating the gender
of the subject, where numerical code “0” was declared to represent
females and code “1” males.
7. Missing — missing value codes. SPSS recognizes the period
symbol as indicating a missing value. If other codes have been
used (e.g., 99, 999) these have to be declared to represent
missing values by highlighting the respective cell in the seventh

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column, clicking the three-periods symbol and filling in the
resulting Missing Values dialogue box accordingly.
8. Columns — width of the variable column in the Data View. The
default cell width for numerical variables is eight. Note that when
the Width value is larger than the Columns value, only part of the
data entry might be seen in the Data View. The cell width can be
changed in the same way as the width of the data entries or simply
by dragging the relevant column boundary. (Place cursor on right-
hand boundary of the title of the column to be resized. When the
cursor changes into a vertical line with a right and left arrow, drag
the cursor to the right or left to increase or decrease the column
width.)
9. Align — alignment of variable entries. The SPSS default is to
align numerical variables to the right-hand side of a cell and string
variables to the left. It is generally helpful to adhere to this default;
but if necessary, alignment can be changed by highlighting the
relevant cell in the ninth column and choosing an option from the
drop-down list.
10. Measure — measurement scale of the variable. The default
chosen by SPSS depends on the data type. For example, for
variables of type “numeric,” the default measurement scale is a
continuous or interval scale (referred to by SPSS as “scale”). For
variables of type “string,” the default is a nominal scale. The third
option, “ordinal,” is for categorical variables with ordered
categories but is not used by default.
As soon as the data is entered and the variable view is filled with
necessary details save the file in document.
The drop-down menus available after selecting Data, Transform,
Analyze, or Graphs from the menu bar provide procedures
concerned with different aspects of a statistical analysis. They
allow manipulation of the format of the data spreadsheet to be
used for analysis (Data), generation of new variables (Transform),
running of statistical procedures (Analyze), and construction of
graphical displays (Graphs).

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Based on the hypothesis testing the required statistics will be done
by clicking analyze bar. Performing a variety of statistical analyses
using SPSS is done by making extensive use of the statistical
procedures offered under the Analyze drop-down menu.

Variable view

LET US SUM UP

The present unit illustrated with example the method of calculating

various non-parametric statistics. A non parametric test
(sometimes called a distribution free test) does not assume
anything about the underlying normal distribution. Wilcoxon signed
rank test is used to estimate the population median and compare
it to a reference/target value. Kruskal-Wallis test. Use this test

189
instead of a one-way ANOVA to find out if two or more medians
are different. Ranks of the data points are used for the
calculations, rather than the data points themselves. Mann-
Whitney test. Use this test to compare differences between two
independent groups when dependent variables are either ordinal
or continuous. Spearman Rank Correlation is used to find a
correlation between two sets of data. The equivalent statistics for
parametric tests are also explained. Using SPSS data analysis is
made easy even with 1000s of data. In a fraction of second
analysis will be done and interpretation also made available. This
unit explained how to do the data entry in SPSS and how to do the
analysis.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. Chi-square
2. Rank order
3. Mann Whitney U test
4. Wilcoxon test
5. Kruskal Wallis H test

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Association of variables
2. Relationship when data is ordinal
3. Difference between two independent groups
4. Difference between same group
5. When the group is more than two

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Explain various non-parametric tests
2. Explain the data entry procedure in SPSS.

GLOSSARY

Chi-square (χ2) statistic: used to assess the relationship

between two nominal variables (the statistical test is technically

Kruskal–Wallis test:A nonparametric test equivalent to the

standard one-way analysis of variance is H test

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Mann–Whitney test: A nonparametric test for comparing the
means of two independent samples
Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficient:used to find
correlation among one or more of the variables is measured on an
ordinal (ranking) scale.

Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test: A nonparametric

test for comparing the mean of two matched (related) samples
SUGGESTED READINGS

• C.R. Kothari, 2004, Research Methodology – Methods

and Techniques, New Age International (P) Limited
Publishers, New Delhi.
• Evans,A.N.,&Rooney,B.J.(2008).Methodsin
Psychologicalresearch.NewDelhi,India: Sage
PublicationsIndia Pvt. Ltd.

191
BLOCK V: REPORT WRTING AND COMPUTER IN RESEARCH

UNIT 12: WRITING RESEARCH PROPOSAL

UNIT 13: PRESENTING RESEARCH
UNIT 14: ROLE OF COMPUTERS IN RESEARCH

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 UNIT – 12

WRITING A RESEARCH PRPOSAL

STRUCTURE

Overview
Objectives
12.1 Writing a Research Proposal
12.2 Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism
12.3 References and In-text Citations
12.4 Usage of Electronic Source
12.5 APA Primer
Let us sum up
Check Your Progress
Key Words
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

In the previous units we have learnt the entire methodology

including statistics while doing a research Irrespective of the
course research scholars are expected to submit the proposal in
order to identify the area of interest and their knowledge in the
field. In this unit let us look into the process of writing a research
proposal.

OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit you will be able to:

• The contents to be included in research proposal

• How to avoid plagiarism and self-plagiarism
• How to write the reference and in-text citations
• How to make use of computer and citation of internet search

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 12.1 WRITING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

A research proposal is a concise and coherent summary of your

proposed research. It sets out the central issues or questions that
you intend to address. It outlines the general area of study within
which your research falls, referring to the current state of
knowledge and any recent debates on the topic. It also
demonstrates the originality of your proposed research.

The proposal is the most important document that you submit as

part of the application process. It gives you an opportunity to
demonstrate that you have the aptitude for graduate level
research, for example, by demonstrating that you have the ability
to communicate complex ideas clearly, concisely and critically.
The proposal also helps us to match your research interest with an
appropriate supervisor.

What is your research proposal used for and why is it

important?

• It is used to establish whether there is expertise to support

your proposed area of research

• It forms part of the assessment of your application

• The research proposal you submit as part of your application

is just the starting point, as your ideas evolve your proposed
research is likely to change

Regardless of whether you are applying for the M.Phil or PhD

programmes or for any project, your research proposal should
normally include the following information:

1. TITLE

The title should give a clear indication of the proposed research

approach or key question. A title should summarize the main idea
of the manuscript simply and, if possible, with style. It should be a
concise statement of the main topic and should identify the
variables or theoretical issues under investigation and the
relationship between them. An example of a good title is “Effect of

194
 Transformed Letters on Reading Speed.” A title should be fully
explanatory when standing alone.

2. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE

This should include the back ground and issue of the proposed
research, introduction to the variables and samples. A short
review of literature should be included to identify the research gap
and to explain the need for the study.

3. RESEARCH QUESTION(S)

Research question should be formulated clearly, giving an

explanation as to what problems and issues are to be explored
and why they are worth exploring

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This unit should include:

• Research objectives and hypotheses

• In case of testing models, theoretical frame work of the model

to be explained

• Research design, variables of the study, operational definition

of the variables

• The tools used for measuring the variables

• Sampling technique with inclusion and exclusion criteria and

sample size

• Statistical analysis based on the hypothesis framed

• Ethical consideration

• Administration procedure

5. PLAN OF WORK & TIME SCHEDULE

While writing the project proposal, an outline of the various stages

and corresponding time lines for developing and implementing the
research, including writing up of the thesis should be included. In
case of project proposal, the financial estimate to be given. Time
frame for every step in research process is very important.

195
6. REFERENCE

List of references to key articles and texts discussed within the

research proposal should be included. In case of computer
search, web address from the sources is retrieved should be
included.

12.2 PLAGIARISM AND SELF-PLAGIARISM

Cite the work of those individuals whose ideas, theories, or

research have directly influenced the research work. They may
provide key background information, support or dispute the thesis,
or offer critical definitions and data. Citation of an article implies
that the researcher have personally read the cited work. In addition
to crediting the ideas of others that have been used to build the
thesis, provide documentation for all facts and figures that are not
common knowledge.

Plagiarism: Researchers do not claim the words and ideas of

another as their own; they give credit where credit is due (APA
Ethics Code Standard 8.11, Plagiarism). Quotation marks should
be used to indicate the exact words of another. Each time you
paraphrase another author (i.e., summarize a passage or
rearrange the order of a sentence and change some of the words),
you need to credit the source in the text. The key element of this
principle is that authors do not present the work of another as if it
were their own work. This can extend to ideas as well as written
words. If authors model a study after one done by someone else,
the originating author should be given credit. If the rationale for a
study was suggested in the Discussion section of someone else’s
article, that person should be given credit. Given the free
exchange of ideas, which is very important to the health of
intellectual discourse, authors may not know where an idea for a
study originated. If authors do know, however, they should
acknowledge the source; this includes personal communications.

196
Self-plagiarism: Just as researchers do not present the work of
others as their own (plagiarism), they do not present their own
previously published work as new scholarship (self-plagiarism).
There are, however, limited circumstances (e.g., describing the
details of an instrument or an analytic approach) under which
authors may wish to duplicate without attribution (citation) their
previously used words, feeling that extensive self referencing is
undesirable or awkward. When the duplicated words are limited in
scope, this approach is permissible. When duplication of one’s
own words is more extensive, citation of the duplicated words
should be the norm. What constitutes the maximum acceptable
length of duplicated material is difficult to define but must conform
to legal notions of fair use. The general view is that the core of the
new document must constitute an original contribution to
knowledge, and only the amount of previously published material
necessary to understand that contribution should be included,
primarily in the discussion of theory and methodology. When
feasible, all of the author’s own words that are cited should be
located in a single paragraph or a few paragraphs, with a citation
at the end of each. Opening such paragraphs with a phrase like
“as I have previously discussed” will also alert readers to the
status of the upcoming material.

12.3 REFERENCES AND INTEXT CITATIONS

In order to avoid plagiarism let us look into how to cite the referred
articles. When quoting, always provide the author, year, and
specific page citation or paragraph number for non-paginated
material in the text and include a complete reference in the
reference list.

• If the quotation comprises fewer than 40 words, incorporate

it into text and enclose the quotation with double quotation
marks.

• If the quotation comprises 40 or more words, display it in a

freestanding block of text and omit the quotation marks.
Start such a block quotation on a new line and indent the

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 block about a half inch from the left margin (in the same
position as a new paragraph).

When paraphrasing or referring to an idea contained in another

work, provide a page or paragraph number, especially when it
would help an interested reader locate the relevant passage in a
long or complete text.

Written permission from the owner of copyrighted work is required

if you include lengthy quotations or if you include reprinted or
adapted tables or figures. Reprinting indicates that the material is
reproduced exactly as it appeared originally, without modifications,
in the way in which it was intended. Adaptation refers to the
modification of material so that it is suitable for a new purpose
(e.g., paraphrasing or presenting an original theory or idea
discussed in a long passage in a published article in a new way
that suits your study; using part of a table or figure in a new table
or figure in your manuscript).

References in APA publications are cited in text with an author–

date citation system and are listed alphabetically in the reference
list. This style of citation briefly identifies the source for readers
and enables them to locate the source of information in the
alphabetical reference list at the end of the article. Each reference
cited in text must appear in the reference list, and each entry in the
reference list must be cited in text.

Method of citation requires that the surname of the author (do not
include suffixes such as Jr.) and the year of publication be inserted
in the text at the appropriate point

✓ Kessler (2003) found that among epidemiological

samples

✓ Early onset results in a more persistent and severe

course (Kessler, 2003).

• If the name of the author appears as part of the narrative,

as in the first example, cite only the year of publication in
parentheses. Otherwise, place both the name and the year,

198
 separated by a comma, in parentheses (as in the second
example).

• When a work has two authors, cite both names every time
the reference occurs in text. When a work has three, four,
or five authors, cite all authors the first time the reference
occurs; in subsequent citations, include only the surname
of the first author followed by et al. and the year if it is the
first citation of the reference within a paragraph.

✓ Kisangau, Lyaruu, Hosea, and Joseph (2007) found

[Use as first citation in text.]

✓ Kisangau et al. (2007) found [Use as subsequent

first citation per paragraph thereafter.]

• When a work has six or more authors, cite only the

surname of the first author followed by et al.
• Order the citations of two or more works within the same
parentheses alphabetically in the same order in which they
appear in the reference list.
• Arrange two or more works by the same authors (in the
same order) by year of publication.
• The reference list at the end of a thesis provides the
information necessary to identify and retrieve each source.
Choose references judiciously and include only the sources
that you used in the research and preparation of the article.
APA journals and other journals using APA Style generally
require reference lists, not bibliographies. In general, a
reference should contain the author name, date of
publication, title of the work, and publication data.

Example for writing reference for journal article

Janet, P. (1906). The pathogenesis of some impulsions. Journal of

Abnormal Psychology, 1, 1–17.

In a reference to an edited book, place the editors’ names in the

author position, and enclose the abbreviation Ed. or Eds. in

199
parentheses after the last editor’s name. The period follows the
parenthetical abbreviation (Eds.).

Author, A. A. (2008). Title of the chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title

of book (pp. xx–xx). Location: Publisher

Write In press in parentheses (in Press) for articles that have been
accepted for publication but that have not yet been published.

12.4 USAGE OF ELECTRONIC SOURCE

Publishing in the online environment has greatly increased the

efficiency of publication processes and has contributed to a more
vibrant and timely sharing of research results. However, the
electronic dissemination of information has also led to a number of
new publishing models. Unedited articles can now be
disseminated on the Internet in advance of publication.
Researchers now-a-days always make use of e resources for
related review of literature. And it is easy now to get articles in net
more easily than printed journals. At the same time we need to
mention in the reference the source from where the information is
sought. The URL is used to map digital information on the Internet.
The components of a URL are as follows:

Protocol /Host name /Path to document / file name of specific

document

http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct00/workplace.html

Developed by a group of international publishers, the DOI System

provides a means of persistent identification for managing
information on digital networks (see http://www.doi.org/). The DOI
System is implemented through registration agencies such as
Cross Ref, which provides citation-linking services for the scientific
publishing sector. According to their mission statement, CrossRef
is dedicated “to enable easy identification and use of trustworthy

200
electronic content by promoting the cooperative development and
application of a sustainable infrastructure.

A DOI is a unique alphanumeric string assigned by a registration

agency (the International DOI Foundation) to identify content and
provide a persistent link to its location on the Internet. The
publisher assigns a DOI when your article is published and made
available electronically. All DOI numbers begin with a 10 and
contain a prefix and a suffix separated by a slash. The prefix is a
unique number of four or more digits assigned to organizations;
the suffix is assigned by the publisher and was designed to be
flexible with publisher identification standards.

Provide the DOI, if one has been assigned to the content.

Publishers who follow best practices publish the DOI prominently
on the first page of an article. Because the DOI string can be long,
it is safest to copy and paste whenever possible. Provide the
alphanumeric string for the DOI exactly as published in the article.
This is not a style issue but a retrieval issue.

Use this format for the DOI in references: doi:xxxxxxx

When a DOI is used, no further retrieval information is needed to

identify or locate the content. If no DOI has been assigned to the
content, provide the home page URL of the journal or of the book
or report publisher.

Test URLs in your references at each stage prior to the

submission and/or publication of your work.

If no DOI is assigned to the content and you retrieved it online,

include the home page URL for the journal, newsletter, or
magazine in the reference. Use this format: Retrieved from
http://www.xxxxxxxx

For an entire book, use the following reference formats:

✓ Author, A. A. (1997). Title of work. Retrieved from

http://www.xxxxxxx
✓ Author, A. A. (2006). Title of work. doi:xxxxx

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For a chapter in a book or entry in a reference book, use the
following formats:

✓ Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1993). Title of chapter or

entry. In A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xxx–
xxx). Retrieved from http://www.xxxxxxx
✓ Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1995). Title of chapter or
entry. In A. Editor, B. Editor, & C. Editor (Eds.), Title of
book (pp. xxx–xxx). doi:xxxxxxxx

Electronic version of print book

✓ Shotton, M. A. (1989). Computer addiction? A study of

computer dependency [DX Reader version]. Retrieved from
http://www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk /html/index.asp

12.5 APA PRIMER

What is APA?: American Psychological Association (APA)

founded in 1892 is the scientific and professional organization
representing psychology in the United States, with more than
133,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants, and
students as its members. Its mission is to promote the
advancement, communication, and application of psychological
science and knowledge to benefit society and improve lives.

What is APA Primer?

APA primer is nothing, but the guidelines provided by the

American Psychological Association that would codify the many
components of scientific writing to increase the ease of reading
comprehension.

APA Style originated in 1929, when a group of psychologists,

anthropologists, and business managers convened and sought to
establish a simple set of procedures, or style guidelines.

Since then, the scope and length of the Publication Manual have
grown in response to the needs of researchers, students, and
educators across the social and behavioral sciences, health care,

202
natural sciences, humanities, and more; however, the spirit of the
original authors’ intentions remains.

Why is APA Style needed?

Uniformity and consistency enable readers to (a) focus on the

ideas being presented rather than formatting and (b) scan works
quickly for key points, findings, and sources.

Style guidelines encourage authors to fully disclose essential

information and allow readers to dispense with minor distractions,
such as inconsistencies or omissions in punctuation, capitalization,
in-text citations, references, and presentation of statistics.

Does APA Style cover everything about writing?

APA Style covers the aspects of scholarly writing most pertinent to

writing in psychology, nursing, business, communications,
engineering, and related fields. It specifically addresses the
preparation of draft manuscripts being submitted for publication in
a journal and the preparation of student papers being submitted for
a course assignment.

The Publication Manual does not cover general rules explained in

widely available style books and examples of usage with little
relevance to the behavioral and social sciences. Among the most
helpful general guides to editorial style are Words into Type (Skillin
& Gay, 1974) and the Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.;
University of Chicago Press, 2017).

Style and Grammar Guidelines of APA

Paper Format: It deals with

• Accessibility of APA Style
• Font
• Headings
• Line Spacing
• Margins
• Order of Pages
• Page Header

203
 • Paragraph Alignment and Indentation
• Sample Papers
• Title Page Setup
• In-Text Citations: It deals with
• Appropriate Level of Citation
• Basic Principles of Citation
• Classroom or Intranet Sources
• Paraphrasing
• Personal Communications
• Plagiarism
• Quotations
• Quotations From Research Participants
• Secondary Sources

Mechanics of Style: It deals with

• Abbreviations
• Capitalization
• Italics and Quotation Marks
• Lists
• Numbers
• Punctuation
• Spelling and Hyphenation

Bias-Free Language: It deals with

• Age
• Disability
• Gender
• General Principles for Reducing Bias
• Historical Context
• Intersectionality
• Participation in Research
• Racial and Ethnic Identity
• Sexual Orientation
• Socioeconomic Status

204
Tables and Figures: It deals with

• Accessible Use of Color in Figures

• Figure Setup
• Sample Figures
• Sample Tables
• Table Setup

References: It deals with

• Archival Documents and Collections

• Basic Principles of Reference List Entries
• Database Information in References
• DOIs and URLs
• Elements of Reference List Entries
• Missing Reference Information
• Reference Examples
• Reference Lists Versus Bibliographies
• Works Included in a Reference List

Grammar: It deals with

• Active and Passive Voice

• Anthropomorphism
• First-Person Pronouns
• Logical Comparisons
• Singular “They”
• Verb Tense

Publication Process: It deals with

• Adapting a Dissertation or Thesis into a Journal Article

• Correction Notices
• Cover Letters
• Journal Article Reporting Standards
• Response to Reviewers

205
LET US SUM UP

The present unit explained the method of writing research proposal along
with the ways of giving credit to the authors whose works the researcher
refers to. More over orientation about APA Primer, plagiarism and self-
plagiarism and Ways to avoid are also highlighted. Also the unit explained
how to write the reference unit both from internet resources and printed
materials.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. A _________is a concise and coherent summary of your proposed

research
2. A _______summarizes the main idea of the manuscript.
3. Writing someone’s work as theirs is ___________.
4. Presenting their own previously published work as new
scholarship is ________.
5. Journal name should be written in __________
6. __________to be mentioned if researcher reproduces the exact
word of the other author.
7. While quoting other’s word should start as ________

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. research proposal
2. title
3. plagiarism
4. self-plagiarism
5. italics
6. Page number
7. New paragraph

206
GLOSSARY

American Psychological Association (APA): is the scientific and

professional organization representing psychology in the United States,
with more than 133,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants,
and students as its members.

Citation: A bibliographic citation is a reference to a book, article, web

page, or other published item

DOI: Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a unique alphanumeric string

assigned by a registration agency (the International DOI Foundation) to
identify content and provide a persistent link to its location on the Internet.

Electronic source: Electronic resources (or e-resources) are materials in

digital format accessible electronically.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is presenting someone else's work or ideas as

your own, with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work
without full acknowledgement.

Self plagiarism: Self-plagiarism means reusing work that you have

already published or submitted for a class.

MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Explain how to write a research proposal.

2. What is a research proposal?
3. Define plagiarism
4. Define self-plagiarism
5. Explain how to avoid plagiarism.
6. Explain various ways to cite internet resources.

SUGGESTED READINGS

• Source : https://apastyle.apa.org/&https://www.apa.org/

• C.R. Kothari, 2004, Research Methodology – Methods and

Techniques, New Age International (P) Limited Publishers, New
Delhi.

• Evans,A.N.,&Rooney,B.J.(2008).Methodsin

207
Psychologicalresearch.NewDelhi,India: Sage PublicationsIndia
Pvt. Ltd.

208
UNIT – 13

PRESENTING RESEARCH

STRUCTURE
Overview
Objectives
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Research Report
13.3 Strategies to Improve Writing Style
13.4 Typing Guidelines
13.5 Oral and Paper Presentation
13.6 Presenting Research
Let us sum up
Check Your Progress
Key Words
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

The present unit explains how to write the article for paper
presentation and for poster presentation. It also includes the font
size, spacing and other rules according APA for writing an article
and thesis.

OBJECTIVES

• After reading this unit you will be able to:

• How to write the research article with APA standards
• How to present research paper
• The APA format in writing the article and thesis

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13.1 INTRODUCTION

Before beginning to write, consider the best length and structure

for the findings you wish to share. Ordering your thoughts logically,
both at the paragraph and at the sentence level will strengthen the
impact of your writing. Let us first look into the ideal length of the
research work.

Length: The optimal length of a manuscript is the number of pages

needed to effectively communicate the primary ideas of the study,
review, or theoretical analysis. As a rule “less is more.”

Concise headings help the reader anticipate key points and track
the development of the argument.

13. 2 RESEARCH REPORT

The prime objective of scientific reporting is clear communication.

You can achieve this by presenting ideas in an orderly manner and
by expressing yourself smoothly and precisely. Establishing a tone
that conveys the essential points of your study in an interesting
manner will engage readers and communicate your ideas more
effectively. The following things to be considered while writing the
thesis

a) Continuity in the presentation of ideas

b) Smoothness in expression
c) Present the ideas and findings directly
d) Short words and short sentences are easier to comprehend
than are long ones.
e) Make certain that every word means exactly what you intend it
to mean.
f) Should avoid using jargon and colloquial language

13.3 STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE WRITING STYLE

Authors use various strategies in putting their thoughts on paper.

The fit between author and strategy is more important than the
particular strategy used. Three approaches to achieving
professional and effective communication are (a) writing from an
outline; (b) putting aside the first draft, then rereading it later; and

210
(c) asking a colleague to review and critique the draft. Apart from
these strategies researcher should reduce the bias in the
language. While writing the results and discussion should avoid
the bias in interpreting the results.

13.3.1 Guidelines to reduce the bias

a) Precision is essential in scientific writing; when you refer to a

person or persons, choose words that are accurate, clear, and free
from bias. For example use the word Gender as it is cultural and
is the term to use when referring to women and men as social
groups. Sex is biological; use it when the biological distinction is
predominant.

b) Avoid labeling people when possible. For example while doing

research with sensitive participants like transgender, should
address them carefully.

c) Write about the people in the study in a way that acknowledges

their participation.

d) At most care should be taken while addressing to gender roles,

sexual orientation, disabilities and any other sensitive issues.

e) Verbs are vigorous, direct communicators. Use the active rather

than the passive voice, and select tense and mood carefully.

f) Use the past tense to express an action or a condition that

occurred at a specific, definite time in the past, as when discussing
another researcher’s work and when reporting the results.

g) An adjective or an adverb, whether a single word or a phrase,

must clearly refer to the word it modifies.

h) To enhance the reader’s understanding, present parallel ideas

in parallel or coordinate form.

13.4 TYPING GUIDELINES

While presenting or submitting the findings, the following aspects

has to be taken care of by the researcher, as many a times it may
give a ambiguity in the presentation of the salient findings. Hence,
certain important items were discussed below:

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13.4.1 Punctuation

Punctuation establishes the rhythm of a sentence, telling the

reader where to pause (comma, semicolon, and colon), stop
(period and question mark), or take a detour (dash, parentheses,
and brackets). Punctuation of a sentence usually denotes a pause
in thought; different kinds of punctuation indicate different kinds
and lengths of pauses.

Use the following techniques in punctuation

a) Insert one space after commas, colons, and semicolons.

b) Use a period to end a complete sentence.
c) Use a dash to indicate only a sudden interruption in the
continuity of a sentence. (-)
d) Use parenthesis while using abbreviation.

13.4.2 Spellings

Spelling should conform to standard American English as

exemplified in Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (2005), the
standard spelling reference for APA journals and books; spelling of
psychological terms should conform to the APA Dictionary of
Psychology (VandenBos, 2007).

Compound words take many forms; that is, two words may be
written as (a) two separate words; (b) a hyphenated word; or (c)
one unbroken, “solid” word.

Capitalize the first word in a complete sentence.

To maximize clarity, use abbreviations sparingly.

Because the abbreviations that psychologists use in their daily

writing may not be familiar to students or to readers in other
disciplines or other countries, a term to be abbreviated must, on its
first appearance, be written out completely and followed
immediately by its abbreviation in parentheses.

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13.4.3 Font Size And Line Spacing

Research report should be typed in times new roman font with 12

sizes with double line spacing. Headings should be typed in 14
sizes.

13.5 ORAL & PAPER PRESENTATION

Oral presentations usually introduce a discussion of a topic or

research paper. A good oral presentation is focused, concise, and
interesting in order to trigger a discussion.

Components for an effective oral presentation

• Be well prepared; write a detailed outline.

• Introduce the subject.

• Talk about the sources and the method.

• Indicate if there are conflicting views about the subject

(conflicting views trigger discussion).

• Make a statement about your new results (if this is your

research paper).

• Use visual aids or handouts if appropriate.

Source :
https://guides.library.ucla.edu/c.php?g=180334&p=1188045#s-lg-
box-3594142

A guide to oral presentations

The ability to undertake an oral presentation is a valuable skill for

assessment tasks, interviews and your future career. This skill can
be developed by everyone and is not reserved to those who are
"naturally" confident at public speaking. This guide will provide you
with some tips and techniques for ensuring your presentation is
well planned, structured and delivered.

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1. Plan

Analyze your audience

Some questions to consider include:

• Who is your audience?

• What do they know about the subject? What terminology will

they know?

• What do they want to know?

• How can you engage this audience? What matters to them?

Determine the purpose

The purpose of a presentation may be to provide information,

persuade the audience to accept a point of view, or encourage
them to take action. Knowing your purpose will help you decide
what to include and how to structure your presentation.

Select effective information

• What kind of information will best support the presentation?

• What kind of information will appeal to the audience?

• Are there some useful examples or case studies to illustrate

an idea?

2. Prepare

Structure provides a framework for your presentation.

1. Introduction - an overview of the issue and the main ideas to

be considered. Explain the issue, the background and key
terms.

2. Body - the main ideas, reasoning, evidence and explanation

provided. Avoid overloading your audience with too much
information. Categories your information into key ideas.

3. Conclusion - a summary of what you have considered with

repetition of key ideas.

Consider how long you can spend on each section, given the time
available.

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Select appropriate visual aids

Remember that the visuals are not the presentation. Their purpose
is to enhance what you are saying by providing a visual link.

3. Practice and present

The key to a good delivery is to practice your speech and your

body language. Here are some tips to assist you:

• Practice your presentation several times, aloud and standing

up.

• Time the presentation. If it is too long, remove and/or

simplify information, rather than speaking more quickly.

• Stand straight with your feet "planted" in the ground. This will
eliminate swaying and nervous movements in the legs. You
can move but do so with purpose.

• Establish a "resting place" for your hands at the front of

your body, such as cupped at waist level.

• Eye contact is a powerful means to engage your audience so

look at your audience when you speak.

• Speak more slowly and clearly than you normally would.

Provide emphasis through voice intonation, volume and
pausing.

What is Paper Presentation?

Scientific oral and paper presentations are not simply readings of

scientific manuscripts at an overall level; your scientific talk should
be organized into sections that parallel the sections in the scientific
paper. As in the scientific paper, the key sections are:

INTRODUCTION: The rationale for the experiment (why did you

doit?)
METHODS: The methods that were used (how did you do it?)
RESULTS: The results obtained (what did you find?)
DISCUSSION: An interpretation of those results (what does this
mean?)

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 Although not part of a standard oral presentation, you should end
your talk with:
5) CRITIQUE AND GROUP DISCUSSION: Your job as
presenter is to not only present the paper, but also lead class
discussion of its strengths, weaknesses, and broader implications.

To help focus the class discussion, end your presentation with a list of
approximately three major questions/issues worthy of further discussion
(see below). Plan on about 20 minutes for 1-4, and 10 minutes for 5.

INTRODUCTION

The first 1 or 2 slides should introduce your subject to the audience. Very
briefly (you only have about 20-25 minutes total) give a concise
background. Explicitly state the question addressed in the paper. Start
with the “big picture” and then immediately drive to how your study fits in
the big picture (one or two sentences.) One key difference of the talk
versus the paper is that you should state your major conclusion(s) up
front. That is, in a few sentences, tell the audience where you will lead
them in this presentation. (e.g. “Although previous studies have
found that intertemporal neuronal receptive fields are very large, in this
talk I will show that, under certain conditions, IT receptive fields are
remarkably small.”)

2. METHODS

There should be 1 or 2 methods slides that allow the audience to

understand how the experiment was conducted. You might include a flow
chart describing the “recipe” of the experiment. Do not put in details that
might be appropriate in a paper (people can ask about them at the end if
they are interested).

3. RESULTS

The next slides should show the major results. If appropriate, it is nice to
start with a slide showing the basic phenomenon it reminds your audience
of the variables that were manipulated and introduces your audience to
the basic unit of measure. Next, show figures that clearly illustrate the
main results. Do not show charts of raw data. All figures should be
clearly labeled. When showing figures, be sure to explain the figure axes

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before you talk about the data (e.g., “the X axis shows time. The Y-axis
shows level of activity”).

4. DISCUSSION (Conclusions)

List the conclusions in clear, easy to understand language. You can read
them to the audience. Also give one or two sentences about what this
likely means (your interpretation) in the big picture (i.e. come full circle
back to your introduction) and perhaps some future directions.

5. CRITIQUE

Please end your presentation with at least two or three major things that
should be discussed. These should consist of things like: things that might
be improved in the study, additional experiments that you think might be
appropriate (better?), and general issues about object recognition (i.e. put
the study in the “big picture” of the course). Discussion from the audience
should be especially encouraged at this point, but you should be prepared
to foster this by raising these issues (e.g. one slide with a list of issues).

13.6 PRESENTING RESEARCH

13.6.1 Article and Poster

Reporting standards provide a degree of comprehensiveness in the

information that is routinely included in reports of empirical investigations.
The motivation for the development of reporting standards has come from
within the disciplines of the behavioral, social, educational, and medical
sciences. Uniform reporting standards make it easier to generalize across
fields, to more fully understand the implications of individual studies, and
to allow techniques of meta-analysis to proceed more efficiently.

The following elements should included while presenting research papers

13.6.2 Title

Every empirical research report should have title which is self explanatory
about the entire research. Title should not begin like A study on………..

13.6.3 Author’s name and institutional affiliation

The preferred form of an author’s name is first name, middle initial(s), and
last name; this form reduces the likelihood of mistaken identity. The

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affiliation identifies the location where the author or authors were when
the research was conducted, which is usually an institution.

13.6.4 Abstract

An abstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the

article; it allows readers to survey the contents of an article quickly and,
like a title, it enables persons interested in the document to retrieve it from
abstracting and indexing databases. The label Abstract should appear in
uppercase and lowercase letters, centered, at the top of the page. Type
the abstract itself as a single paragraph without paragraph indentation.

13.6.5 Introduction

The body of a manuscript opens with an introduction that presents the

specific problem under study. A scholarly description of earlier work in the
introduction provides a summary of the most recent directly related work
and recognizes the priority of the work of others. Demonstrate the logical
continuity between previous and present work. After you have introduced
the problem and have developed the background material, explain your
approach to solving the problem. In empirical studies, this usually involves
stating your hypotheses or specific question and describing how these
were derived from theory or are logically connected to previous data and
argumentation. Clearly develop the rationale for each.

13.6.6 Method

The Method section describes in detail how the study was conducted,
including conceptual and operational definitions of the variables used in
the study. Different types of studies will rely on different methodologies;
however, a complete description of the methods used enables the reader
to evaluate the appropriateness of the methods and the reliability and the
validity of the results. It also includes description of (a) any experimental
manipulations or interventions used and how they were delivered—for
example, any mechanical apparatus used to deliver them; (b) sampling
procedures and sample size and precision; (c) measurement approaches
(including the psychometric properties of the instruments used); and (d)
the research design

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Describe the sample adequately. Detail the sample’s major
demographic characteristics, such as age; sex; ethnic and/or racial
group; level of education; socioeconomic, generational, or
immigrant status; disability status; sexual orientation; gender
identity; and language preference as well as important topic-
specific characteristics (e.g., achievement level in studies of
educational interventions). Describe the procedures for selecting
participants, including (a) the sampling method. Specify the
research design in the Method section.

If interventions or experimental manipulations were used in the

study, describe their specific content. Include the details of the
interventions or manipulations intended for each study condition,
including control groups (if any), and describe how and when
interventions (experimental manipulations) were actually
administered.

13.5.7 Results

In the Results section, summarize the collected data and the

analysis performed on those data relevant to the discourse that is
to follow. Report the data in sufficient detail to justify the
conclusions. Mention all relevant results, including those that run
counter to expectation; be sure to include small effect sizes (or
statistically non-significant findings) when theory predicts large (or
statistically significant) ones. Do not hide uncomfortable results by
omission.

Analysis of data and the reporting of the results of those analyses

are fundamental aspects of the conduct of research. When
reporting the results of inferential statistical tests or when providing
estimates of parameters or effect sizes, include sufficient
information to help the reader fully understand the analyses
conducted and possible alternative explanations for the outcomes
of those analyses.

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13.6.8 Discussion

Open the Discussion section with a clear statement of the support

or nonsupport for your original hypotheses, distinguished by
primary and secondary hypotheses. If hypotheses were not
supported, offer post hoc explanations. Similarities and differences
between your results and the work of others should be used to
contextualize, confirm, and clarify your conclusions. Do not simply
reformulate and repeat points already made; each new statement
should contribute to the interpretation and to the reader’s
understanding of the problem.

Acknowledge the limitations of your research, and address

alternative explanations of the results. Discuss the generalizability,
or external validity, of the findings.

13.6.9 References

References are used to document statements made about the

literature, just as data in the manuscript support interpretations
and conclusions. The references cited in the manuscript do not
need to be exhaustive but should be sufficient to support the need
for the research and to ensure that readers can place it in the
context of previous research and theorizing. Footnotes are used
to provide additional content or to acknowledge copyright
permission status.

13.6.10 Appendices

This section includes the material that has been used to collect
data and materials used in interventions

Both the paper presentation and poster presentation will have the
same content. In poster all the heading will appear in the same
poster whereas in paper presentation.

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LET US SUM UP

The present unit presented the method of presenting the research

work through Oral and Poster presentation with a clear explanation
of the language to be used, titles, spacing, and interpretation of
results.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. What are the headings to be used in research article?

2. _______ font to be used in research article
3. ______size font to be used in research paper
4. ______spacing to be used

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Title, affiliation, abstract, introduction, method, results,

discussion and reference
2. Time new roman
3. 12
4. Double

GLOSSARY

Empirical article - An empirical research article reports research

based on actual observation or experiment.

Oral Presentation - is a formal, research-based presentation of

your work.

Poster presentation - A poster presentation is a way to

communicate your research or your understanding of a topic in a
short and concise format

References- used to document statements made about the

literature, just as data in the manuscript support interpretations
and conclusions.

MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Explain the language to be used while writing research article.

2. Describe different heading to be included in presenting
research papers.

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SUGGESTED READINGS

• https://www.monash.edu/rlo/quick-study-guides/a-guide-to-oral-
presentations# text
• https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/brain-and-cognitive-sciences/9-916-
the-neural-basis-of-visual-object-recognition-in-monkeys-and-
humans-spring-2005/assignments/how_to_pres_pap.pdf
• C.R. Kothari, 2004, Research Methodology – Methods and
Techniques, New Age International (P) Limited Publishers, New
Delhi.
• Evans,A.N.,&Rooney,B.J.(2008).Methodsin
Psychologicalresearch.NewDelhi,India: Sage PublicationsIndia
Pvt. Ltd.

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UNIT-14

ROLE OF COMPUTERS IN RESEARCH

STRUCTURE

Overview
Objectives
14.1 Role of computers in Research- Introduction
14.1.1 Some of the key roles of computers in Research
14.1.2 Role of Computers in the phases of research process
14.2 Internet and Research
14.2.1 Search Tools
14.2.2 Website authorship
14.2.3 Internet research software
Let us sum up
Check Your Progress
Key Words
Answers to check your progress
Glossary
Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

Research activities enhance credibility, and also add value both to

immediate community and the larger global community. In modern
scientific and social scientific research, computers opened up new
opportunities regarding how data can be processed to yield valuable
information and knowledge. The importance of computers in research is
exceptionally high and the use of a computer can help scientific research
immensely. It is an almost invaluable and priceless tool. This unit details
the Role of computers in each phases of scientific research.

223
OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit you will be able to

• Discuss the importance of computers in modern research

• Explain the role played by the computer in each phases of
research
• Discuss about the Search Tools
• Explain the Website authorship
• Utility of Internet research software

14.1 ROLE OF COMPUTERS IN RESEARCH

Since time immemorial man has been feeling the need to compute, count,
store and get accurate results all the time and always. The development
of electronic devices, especially the computers, has given added impetus
to these activities. Problems which could not be solved earlier due to
sheer amount of computations involved can be tackled with the aid of
computers accurately and rapidly. Computer is certainly one of the most
versatile and ingenious developments of the modern technological age.
Today people use computers in almost every walk of life. Computers are
no longer just high speed arithmetic machines as they have the ability to
use principles of philosophy, psychology, mathematics and linguistics to
produce output that mimic the human mind.

The sophistication in computer technology has reached the stage that it

will no more be long before it is impossible to tell whether you are talking
to man or machine. Indeed, the advancement in computers is astonishing.
To the researcher, the use of computer to analyse complex data has
made complicated research designs practical. Electronic computers have
by now become an indispensable part of research in the physical and
behavioural sciences as well as in the humanities. The importance of
computers in research is exceptionally high and the use of a computer
can help scientific research immensely, and is an almost invaluable and
priceless tool in modern research.

Kothari (2004) computers can perform many statistical calculations easily

and quickly. Computation of means, standard deviations, correlation

224
coefficients, ‘t’ tests, analysis of variance, analysis of covariance, multiple
regression, factor analysis and various nonparametric analyses are just a
few out of the operations that computers are used to handle efficiently in
research processes. Also, researchers in economics and other social
sciences have found computers to constitute an indispensable part of their
research equipment. Analyzing tons of statistical data is made possible
using specially designed algorithms that are implemented by computers.
This makes the extremely time-consuming job of data analysis to be a
matter of a few minutes. In addition, according to Omkar (2016) Data can
be processed and analyzed with greater ease and speed. Moreover, the
results obtained are generally correct and reliable. Researcher can
generate statistical data, put findings of the collective data, make the
design; pictorial graphing and report are being developed with the help of
computers. So, this is the crucial and most essential part for the
researcher which can perform easily with the Microsoft office tool like
word, excel, power point etc.

Another role of computer in research is the use of online full text

databases and online research libraries/virtual libraries which are the
direct outcome of the growth in telecommunications networks and
technology. These databases and libraries provide researchers with
online access to the contents of hundreds of thousands of books from
major publishing houses, research reports, and peer- reviewed articles in
electric journals (Sakar, 2012). Additionally, Omkar (2016) mentioned that
computers have provided an entirely new way to share knowledge.

Today, anyone can access the latest research papers that are made
available for free on websites. Sharing of knowledge and collaboration
through the internet has made international cooperation on scientific
projects possible. He went further to say that through various kinds of
analytical software programs; computers are contributing to scientific
research in every discipline, ranging from biology to astrophysics,
discovering new patterns and providing novel insights. When the work in
neural network based artificial intelligence advances and ISSN: 2289-
7615 Page 32 computers are granted with the ability to learn and think;
future advances in technology and research will be even more rapid.

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Jibbrin, Musa & Shittu. (2018). Role of computer in scientific research
process. International Journal of Information System and Engineering.
Vol. 6 (No.1), April, 2018 ISSN: 2289-7615 DOI:
10.24924/ijise/2018.04/v6.iss1/27.3

14.1.1 Some of the key roles of computers in Research

Internet

Before you start research, you often want to quickly learn about possible
issues or topics of study by searching available sources of information.
Nearly all academic journals are available online, and many are organized
into online databases. Government agencies often have demographic or
economic information online you can use in your research.

Information Storage

Computers store vast amounts of information. You can quickly and

efficiently organize and search information, making for easier retrieval
than paper storage. You can store your raw data in multiple formats.
Some researchers conduct their research online, often through the use of
surveys.

Computational Tools

Computers began as powerful calculators, and that service is important to

research today. Regardless of the amount of data you have, you can do
more with it with a computer's help. Statistical programs, modeling
programs and spatial mapping tools are all possible because of
computers. Researchers can use information in new ways, such as
layering different types of maps on one another to discover new patterns
in how people use their environment.

Communication

Building knowledge through research requires communication between

experts to identify new areas requiring research and debating results.
Before computers, this was accomplished through papers and workshops.
Now, the world’s experts can communicate via email or web chats.
Information can be spread by virtual conferences. Knowledge from
marginalized groups, such as African scholars, is now more visible.

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Mobility

Researchers can take computers anywhere, making it easier to conduct

field research and collect data. New areas of research in remote areas or
at a community level are opened up by the mobility of computers. Social
media sites have become a new medium for interaction and information.

14.1.2 Role of Computers in the phases of research process

There are five major phases of the research process where computer
plays different vital roles. They are: 1) Role of Computer in Conceptual
phase 2) Role of Computer in Design and planning phase 3) Role of
Computer in Empirical phase 4) Role of Computer in Analytic phase and
5) Role of Computer in Dissemination phase

1) Role of Computer in Conceptual Phase

The conceptual phase consists of formulation of research problem, review

of literature, theoretical frame work and formulation of hypothesis.

Role of Computers in Literature Review:

Computers help for searching the literatures (for review of literature) and
bibliographic references stored in the electronic databases of the World
Wide Web’s. It can thus be used for storing relevant published articles to
be retrieved whenever needed. This has the advantage over searching
the literatures in the form of books, journals and other newsletters at the
libraries which consume considerable amount of time and effort.

2) Role of Computers in Design and planning phase

Design and planning phase consist of research design, population,

research variables, sampling plan, reviewing research plan and pilot
study.

3) Role of Computers for Sample Size Calculation:

Several software’s are available to calculate the sample size required for
a proposed study. NCSS-PASS-GESS is such software. The standard
deviation of the data from the pilot study is required for the sample size
calculation.

4) Role of Computers in Empirical phase

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Empirical phase consist of collecting and preparing the data for analysis.

Data Storage:

The data obtained from the subjects are stored in computers as word files
or excel spread sheets. This has the advantage of making necessary
corrections or editing the whole layout of the tables if needed, which is
impossible or time-consuming in case of writing in papers. Thus,
computers help in data entry, data editing, data management including
follow up actions etc. Computers also allow for greater flexibility in
recording the data while they are collected as well as greater ease during
the analysis of these data. In research studies, the preparation and
inputting data is the most labour-intensive and time consuming aspect of
the work. Typically the data will be initially recorded on a questionnaire or
record form suitable for its acceptance by the computer. To do this the
researcher in conjunction with the statistician and the programmer, will
convert the data into Microsoft word file or excel spread sheet. These
spread sheets can be directly opened with statistical software’s for
analysis.

4) Role of Computers in Data Analysis

This phase consist of statistical analysis of the data and interpretation of

results.

Data Analysis: Much software is now available to perform the

‘mathematical part ‘of the research process i.e. the calculations using
various statistical methods.

Software’s like SPSS, NCSS-PASS, STATA and Sysat are some of the
widely used. They can be like calculating the sample size for a proposed
study, hypothesis testing and calculating the power of the study.
Familiarity with any one package will suffice to carry out the most intricate
statistical analyses. Computers are useful not only for statistical analyses,
but also to monitor the accuracy and completeness of the data as they are
collected.

Use of Computer in Data Processing and Tabulation

Research involves large amounts of data, which can be handled

manually or by computers. Computers provide the best alternative

228
for more than one reason. Besides its capacity to process large
amounts of data, it also analyses data with the help of a number of
statistical procedures. Computers carry out processing and
analysis of data flawlessly and with a very high speed. The
statistical analysis that took months earlier takes now a few
seconds or few minutes. Today, availability of statistical software
and access to computers has increased substantially over the last
few years all over the world. While there are many specialised
software application packages for different types of data analysis,
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) is one such
package that is often used by researchers for data processing and
analysis. It is preferred choice for social sciences research
analysis due to its easy to use interface and comprehensive range
of data manipulation and analytical tools.

5) Role of Computers in Research Dissemination

Research publishing: The research article is typed in word format

and converted to portable data format (PDF) and stored and/or
published in the World Wide Web.

14.2 INTERNET AND RESEARCH

Internet research is the practice of using Internet information,

especially free information on the World Wide Web, or Internet-
based resources (like Internet discussion forum) in research.

Internet research has had a profound impact on the way ideas are
formed and knowledge is created. Common applications of
Internet research include personal research on a particular subject
(something mentioned on the news, a health problem, etc.),
students doing research for academic projects and papers, and
journalists and other writers researching stories.

Research is a broad term. Here, it is used to mean "looking

something up (on the Web)". It includes any activity where a topic
is identified, and an effort is made to actively gather information for
the purpose of furthering understanding. It may include some post-
collection analysis like a concern for quality or synthesis.

229
Through searches on the Internet hundreds or thousands of pages
can often be quickly found with some relation to a given topic. In
addition, email (including mailing lists), online discussion forums
(aka message boards, BBS's), and other personal communication
facilities (instant messaging, IRC, newsgroups, etc.) can provide
direct access to experts and other individuals with relevant
interests and knowledge.

Internet research is distinct from library research (focusing on

library-bound resources) and commercial database research
(focusing on commercial databases). While many commercial
databases are delivered through the Internet, and some libraries
purchase access to library databases on behalf of their patrons,
searching such databases is generally not considered part of
“Internet research”. It should also be distinguished from scientific
research (research following a defined and rigorous process)
carried out on the Internet, from straightforward retrieving of details
like a name or phone number, and from research about the
Internet.

Internet research can provide quick, immediate, and worldwide

access to information, although results may be affected by
unrecognized bias, difficulties in verifying a writer's credentials
(and therefore the accuracy or pertinence of the information
obtained) and whether the searcher has sufficient skill to draw
meaningful results from the abundance of material typically
available.[1] The first resources retrieved may not be the most
suitable resources to answer a particular question. Popularity is
often a factor used in structuring Internet search results but
popular information is not always most correct or representative of
the breadth of knowledge and opinion on a topic.

While conducting commercial research fosters a deep concern

with costs, and library research fosters a concern with access,
Internet research fosters a deep concern for quality, managing the
abundance of information and with avoiding unintended bias. This
is partly because Internet research occurs in a less mature

230
information environment: an environment with less sophisticated /
poorly communicated search skills and much less effort in
organizing information. Library and commercial research has many
search tactics and strategies unavailable on the Internet and the
library and commercial environments invest more deeply in
organizing and vetting their information.

14.2.1 Search tools

The most popular search tools for finding information on the

Internet include Web search engines, meta search engines, Web
directories, and specialty search services. A Web search engine
uses software known as a Web crawler to follow the hyperlinks
connecting the pages on the World Wide Web. The information on
these Web pages is indexed and stored by the search engine. To
access this information, a user enters keywords in a search form
and the search engine queries its algorithms, which take into
consideration the location and frequency of keywords on a Web
page, along with the quality and number of external hyperlinks
pointing at the Web page.

A Meta search engine enables users to enter a search query once

and it runs against multiple search engines simultaneously,
creating a list of aggregated search results. Since no single search
engine covers the entire web, a meta search engine can produce a
more comprehensive search of the web. Most Meta search
engines automatically eliminate duplicate search results. However,
Meta search engines have a significant limitation because the
most popular search engines, such as Google, are not included
because of legal restrictions.

A Web directory organizes subjects in a hierarchical fashion that

lets users investigate the breadth of a specific topic and drill down
to find relevant links and content. Web directories can be
assembled automatically by algorithms or handcrafted. Human-
edited Web directories have the distinct advantage of higher
quality and reliability, while those produced by algorithms can offer
more comprehensive coverage. The scope of Web directories are

231
generally broad, such as DOZ, Yahoo! and The WWW Virtual
Library, covering a wide range of subjects, while others focus on
specific topics.

Specialty search tools enable users to find information that

conventional search engines and Meta search engines cannot
access because the content is stored in databases. In fact, the
vast majority of information on the web is stored in databases that
require users to go to a specific site and access it through a
search form. Often, the content is generated dynamically. As a
consequence, Web crawlers are unable to index this information.
In a sense, this content is "hidden" from search engines, leading to
the term invisible or deep Web. Specialty search tools have
evolved to provide users with the means to quickly and easily find
deep Web content. These specialty tools rely on advanced robot
and intelligent agent technologies to search the deep Web and
automatically generate specialty Web directories, such as the
Virtual Private Library.

14.2.2 Website authorship

When using the Internet for research, countless websites appear

for whatever search query is entered. Each of these sites has one
or more authors or associated organizations. Who authored or
sponsored a website is very important to the accuracy and
reliability of the information presented on the website.

While it is very imperative that the authorship be determined for

every website during Internet research, which authored or
sponsored a website, is essential culture when one cares about
the accuracy and reliability of the information, bias, and/or web
safety. For example, a website about civil rights that is authored by
a member of an extremist group most likely will not contain
accurate or unbiased information.

The author or sponsoring organization of a website may be found

in several ways. Sometimes the author or organization can be
found at the bottom of the website home page. Another way is by
looking in the ‘Contact Us’ section of the website. It may be directly

232
listed, determined from the email address, or by emailing and
asking. If the author's name or sponsoring organization cannot be
determined, one should question the trustworthiness of the
website. If the author's name or sponsoring organization is found,
a simple Internet search can provide information that can be used
to determine if the website is reliable and unbiased.

14.2.3 Internet research software

Internet research software captures information while performing

Internet research. This information can then be organized in
various ways included tagging and hierarchical trees. The goal is
to collect information relevant to a specific research project in one
place, so that it can be found and accessed again quickly.

These tools also allow captured content to be edited and

annotated and some allow the ability to export to other formats.
Other features common to outliners include the ability to use full
text search which aids in quickly locating information and filters
enable you to drill down to see only information relevant to a
specific query. Captured and kept information also provides an
additional backup in case web pages and sites disappear or are
inaccessible later.

LET US SUM UP

Computers have always assisted to solve the problems faced by

the mankind, research is not an exception. There are five major
phases of the research process where computer plays different
vital roles. They are: 1) Role of Computer in Conceptual phase 2)
Role of Computer in Design and planning phase 3) Role of
Computer in Empirical phase 4) Role of Computer in Analytic
phase and 5) Role of Computer in Dissemination phase. Though
computers are machines that only compute, but do not think; there
is the need for researchers to acquire the necessary skills and
knowledge required to efficiently conduct research using computer
technology. A basic understanding of the ways and manners in

233
 which a computer works will help researchers to apply and
appreciate the utility of this powerful tool.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. _________is a software’s available to calculate the sample size

required for a proposed study.

2. SPSS, NCSS-PASS, STATA and Sysat are the software’s

widely used for __________

3. ____________ (aka message boards, BBS's) can provide direct

access to experts and other individuals with relevant interests and
knowledge.

4. Web search engines, Meta search engines, Web directories,

and specialty search services are the most popular ______for
finding information on the Internet.

5. ______can produce a more comprehensive search of the web

and also it automatically eliminate duplicate search results.

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. NCSS-PASS-GESS

2. Data analysis

3. Online discussion forums

4. Search tools

5. Meta search engines

GLOSSARY

Internet research software:are used for finding information on

the Internet include Web search engines, Meta search engines,
Web directories, and specialty search services.

Internet-based research:method refers to any research method

that uses the Internet to collect data.

Website authorship:refers to one or more authors or associated

organizations that authored or sponsored a website.

MODEL QUESTIONS

234
1. Explain in detail about the role of computers in data collection and data
processing in research.

2. Discuss about the usage of computers in collecting the review of

related literature

3. What are internet research softwares? How it facilitates the research

process?

SUGESSTED READINGS

• Source :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_research
• C.R. Kothari, 2004, Research Methodology – Methods and
Techniques, New Age International (P) Limited Publishers, New
Delhi.
• Evans,A.N.,&Rooney,B.J.(2008).Methodsin
Psychologicalresearch.NewDelhi,India: Sage PublicationsIndia
Pvt. Ltd.

235
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1Final Research Guide Book Print Ready.pdf

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URL: https://www.scribbr.com/frequently-asked-questions/difference-between-questionnaires-
and-surveys/ 5
Fetched: 2022-05-02T10:42:24.6100000

URL: https://askanydifference.com/difference-between-method-and-methodology/
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URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3267294/
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URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6322175/
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MASTER OF SCIENCE IN PSYCHOLOGY

THEORIES OF PERSONIALITY
MSYS – 15
Semester - I

Department of Psychology
School of Social Sciences
Tamil Nadu Open University
577, Anna Salai, Saidapet, Chennai – 600 015.
www.tnou.ac.in
December 2021
Course Reviewer:
Dr. M.V. Sudhakaran
Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychology
School of Social Sciences
Tamil Nadu Open University
Chennai - 600 015

©Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences

Tamil Nadu Open University
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, mimeograph or any other
means, without permission in writing from the Tamil Nadu Open University. Further information
of the Tamil Nadu Open University Programmes may be obtained from the University office at :

577, Anna Salai, Saidapet, Chennai - 600 015.

December 2021
www.tnou.ac.in
 15.12.2021

My Dear Beloved Learners!

Vanakkam,
The Tamil Nadu Open University (TNOU) that is marching towards the motto
‘Education for Anyone at Anytime’ is very much pleased to cordially invite you to
join in it’s noble educational journey.
It is impressive that every one of you can feel proud yourself for studying
in the University which is duly recognised by the UGC-DEB, New Delhi for offering
academic Programmes through open and distance mode. As you are aware, the
Government of Tamil Nadu vide G.O (Ms) No.107 dated 18.08.2009 have assured
that the degrees issued by the University under 10+2+3 pattern are duly eligible for
government jobs.
The University has designed it’s overhauled curricula, updated syllabi
and revised Self-Learning Materials (SLMs) with the unwavering support of ripe
academics. After thorough study, you can clarify your doubts during the Academic
Counselling Classes and can also get further clarifications, if needed, from the
respective Programme Co-ordinators. There is a provision that a learner of a UG
or a PG Programme in any University can simultaneously pursue a Diploma or a
Certificate Programme in open and distance mode. In addition, it runs the skill-
oriented Vocational Programmes through the Community Colleges.
For admission, you can submit your application either in-person or through
online (https://tnouadmissions.in/onlineapp/). Your academic needs are fulfilled
instantaneously through the Regional Centres functioning in Chennai, Coimbatore,
Dharmapuri, Madurai, The Nilgiris, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelveli and Viluppuram.
The TNOU constantly supports you for not only completion of your Programme
successfully but also for placements.

At this momentous juncture, I wish you all bright and future endeavours.

With warm regards,

(K. PARTHASARATHY)
 SYLLABUS

MSYS-15 THEORIES OF PERSONALITY

BLOCK I Introduction
Definition, Brief history of personality, Personality, the internet and social networking,
types of personality – determinants of personality – Varieties of personality measures:
Objective tests – projective tests – Situational tests.

BLOCK II Socio- Psychological and Personology Approach

Erich Fromm (Freedom Theory): Nature of human beings, Structure of personality,
Development of Personality, application and evaluation.
Harry Stack Sullivan (Interpersonal Theory): Nature of human beings, Structure of
personality, Development of personality, Application and evaluation.
Henry Murray (Personology): Structure of personality, Development of personality,
Current status and evaluation.

BLOCK III Existential and Trait Approach

Rollo May: Nature of human beings, Structure of personality, Development of
personality, Application and evaluation.
Victor Frankl: View of Human Nature, Key Concepts: Phenomenology, Death and Non-
Being, Freedom, Responsibility, Isolation, Meaninglessness, Anxiety, Guilt, Will To
Meaning and Authenticity.
Gordon Allport: Nature of human beings, Structure of personality, Development of
personality, Assessment in Allport’s theory, Application and evaluation.
Raymond Cattell: Nature of human beings, Structure of personality, Development of
personality, Assessment in Cattell’s theory, Application and evaluation.
BLOCKIV: Social Learning and Cognitive Approach
George Kelley (Personal construct theory): Nature of human beings, Structure of
personality, Development of personality, Assessment in George Kelley’s theory,
Application and evaluation.
McClelland: Theory of motivation: Need for achievement, Power and Affiliation
Eric Berne: Basic Assumptions, Theoretical Principles, Eight Fundamental TA
“Therapeutic Operations”.

BLOCK V: Other Approaches to Personality

Kurt Lewin (Field Theory): Structure of Personality: Psychological environment, Life
space, Differentiated person and environment, Connections between regions, Number
of regions, Person in Environment, Locomotion and Communication, Restructuring of
Life space, Levels of Reality, Time dimension, Development of Personality.
Julian Rotter: Locus of Control: Internal vs External control of Reinforcement, Age,
Cultural, Behavioural and Physical Health Differences, Developing Locus of Control in
Childhood and Reflections on Locus of Control.
Marvin Zuckerman: Sensation Seeking: Characteristics of sensation seekers, Behavioral
and Personality differences, Cognitive process, Occupational preferences, Heredity vs
Environment, Reflections on Sensation seeking.
Martin E.P. Seligman: Learned Helplessness in Elderly person, learned helplessness and
Emotional Health; Explanatory Style: optimism and pessimism, Pessimism and
depression, Development of learned helplessness in childhood, Reflections on learned
helplessness

References:
1. Albert, B. Even (2010). An introduction to theories of personality (7th Ed.). New
York, NY: Psychology Press.
2. Bishop, L.J. (1970) Interpreting personality theories. (2nd Ed.). New York, NY:
Harper International.
3. Byrne, D. (1966). An introduction to personality. (2nd Ed.). Upper
Saddle River: NY: Prentice Hall.
4. Felltham, C., Hanley, T., Winter, L.A. (2017). The SAGE handbook
of counselling and psychotherapy. (4th Ed.). London, England:
SAGE Publications Ltd.
5. Forager, R & Fadiman, J. (2009). Personality and personal growth
(6th Ed.). Noida, India: Dorling Kindersley India Pvt. Ltd.
6. Friedman, H.S., & Schustack, M.W. (2009). Personality: Classic
theories and modern research (3rd Ed.). Noida, India: Dorling
Kindersley India Pvt. Ltd.
7. Hall, C.S., Lindzey, G., & Campbell, J.B. (2007). Theories of
personality (4th Ed.).New Delhi, India: Wiley India Pvt. Ltd.
8. McClelland, D.C. (1988). Human motivation. London, England:
Cambridge University Press.
9. Neukrug, E.S. (2012). Counselling theory and practice. (1st Ed.).
Delhi, India: Thomson Press (India) Ltd.
10. Reeves, A (2012). An Introduction to counselling and
psychotherapy: From theory to practice. (1st Ed.). London,
England: SAGE Publications Ltd.
11. Schultz, D.P., & Schultz, S.E. (2013). Theories of personality (10th
Ed.). New Delhi, India: Cengage Learning India Pvt. Ltd.
12. Shaffer, D.V. (2009). Social and personality development. (6th Ed.).
Belmont, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
 CONTENTS
S.No Title Page No
1 BLOCK 1 - INTRODUCTION TO PERSONALITY 1

2 Unit 1: Personality – An Introduction 2

3 Unit 2: Personality Measures - Inventories 19

4 Unit 3: Personality Measures – Projective Techniques 35

5 BLOCK II SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONOLOGY 49

APPROACH
6 Unit 4: Erich Fromm 50

7 Unit 5: Harry Stack Sullivan 61

8 Unit 6: Henry Murray 70

9 BLOCK – 3 EXISTENTIAL AND TRAIT APPROACH 81

10 Unit 7: Existential Approach – Rollo May 82

11 Unit 8: Existential Approach – Victor Frankl 92

12 Unit 9: Trait Approach – Allport 102

13 Unit 10: Trait Approach - Cattell 113

14 BLOCK 4 SOCIAL LEARNING AND COGNITIVE APPROACH 123

15 Unit 11: Cognitive Approach 124

16 Unit 12: Mc Clelland and Eric Berne 134

17 BLOCK 5 OTHER APPROACHES TO PERSONALITY 149

18 Unit 13: Field Theory 150

19 Unit 14: Modern Approaches to Personality – 160

Rotter And Zuckerman
20 Unit 15: Modern Approaches to Personality – 172
Martin Seligman
21 Appendix -I Plagiarism Certificate 182
 BLOCK 1

INTRODUCTION TO PERSONALITY

UNIT 1: PERSONALITY – AN INTRODUCTION

UNIT 2: PERSONALITY MEASURES - INVENTORIES

UNTI 3: PERSONALITY MEASURES – PROJECTIVE

TECHNIQUES

1
UNIT 1
PERSONALITY – AN INTRODUCTION
STRUCTURE
Overview

Learning Objectives
1.1 Personality: The Study of Individuals
1.2 Different Perspectives of Personality
1.3 Brief History of Personality
1.4 Types of Personality
1.5 Determinants of Personality

Let us sum up

Check Your Progress

Key Words

Answers to check your progress

Glossary
Model Questions

Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

Most basically, personality psychology asks the question, what does it

mean to be a person? In other words, how are we unique as individuals?
What is the nature of the self? Personality psychologists answer these
fascinating questions through systematic observations about how and
why individuals behave as they do. Personality psychologists tend to
avoid abstract philosophical or religious musings and focus instead on
the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of real people. Personality is
generally not studied in terms of non-psychological concepts such as
profits and losses, souls and spirits, or molecules and electromagnetism.
Personality is a subfield of psychology. Personality psychology can be
defined as the scientific study of the psychological forces that make
people uniquely themselves. In this unit let us know about the definition
of personality and factors influencing personality

2
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit, you will be able to:

• state the definition of personality

• explain the History of personality
• illustrate the Types of personality
• explain the various Determinants of personality

1.1 PERSONALITY: THE STUDY OF INDIVIDUALS

Psychology as a science, that has been used for understanding the

human nature and the individual difference. Personality, within the field
of scientific psychology studies the individual difference. Everybody has
one—a personality, that is—and yours will help determine the
boundaries of your success and life fulfillment. It is no exaggeration to
say that your personality is one of your most important assets. It has
already helped shape your experiences and certainly will continue to do
so. All your achievements to date, your expectations for the future,
whether you will be a good spouse or parent, even your health can be
influenced by your personality and the personalities of the people with
whom you interact.

We often use the word personality when we are describing other people
and ourselves, and we all believe we know what it means. Personality
derives from the Latin word persona, which refers to a mask used by
actors in a play. It is easy to see how persona came to refer to outward
appearance, the public face we display to the people around us. Based
on its derivation, then, we might conclude that personality refers to our
external and visible characteristics, those aspects of us that other people
can see. Our personality would then be defined in terms of the
impression we make on others—that is, what we appear to be. One
definition of personality in a standard dictionary agrees with this
reasoning. It states that personality is the visible aspect of one’s
character.

Personality is an enduring and unique cluster of characteristics that may

change in response to different situations. In other words personality is
the sum totality of the individual. However various psychologists define
personality based on the theory they proposed. We will look into all
those definition in the coming paragraphs.

3
1.2 DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES OF PERSONALITY

Table 1.1 Eight Basic Aspects of Personality

Perspectives Key strengths

Psychoanalytic Attention to unconscious influences;
importance of sexual drives even in
nonsexual spheres
Neo analytic/ ego Emphasis on the self as it struggles to cope
with emotions and drives on the inside and
the demands of others on the outside
Biological Focus on tendencies and limits imposed by
biological inheritance; easily combined with
most other approaches
Behaviorist Emphasis on a more scientific analysis of the
learning experiences that shape personality
Cognitive Emphasis on active nature of human thought;
uses modern knowledge from cognitive
psychology
Trait Focus on good individual assessment
techniques
Humanistic/ Appreciation of the spiritual nature of a
existential person; emphasizes struggles for self-
fulfillment and dignity
Interactionist Understanding that we are different selves in
different Situations

1.3 BRIEF HISTORY OF PERSONALITY

A number of scientific and philosophical forces that converged early in

the twentieth century made possible the birth of personality psychology.
The publication of Sigmund Freud “Interpretation of dreams”, in the year
1900 gave a new avenue to the field of personality psychology.
Personality psychology is only about a century old, but its roots go back
through human history. Some roots of personality psychology can be
traced to the theater. Theophrastus, a pupil of Aristotle, is one of the
earliest known creators of character sketches—brief descriptions of a
type of person that can be recognized across time and place. In the
nineteenth century, the existential philosopher Soren Kierkegaard
warned of the mid-night hour when everyone has to throw off his mask,

4
and of what would be found underneath, saying that he who cannot
reveal himself cannot love (Kierkegaard, 1843).

At the same time, social philosophers began considering the idea of a

relative self: that is, there is no underlying self beneath an outward-
facing mask, but rather the “true” self is comprised merely of masks
(Hare & Blumberg, 1988; G. H. Mead, 1968). In other words, these
twentieth-century musings challenged the idea that there is any core self
or personality to be discovered.

All these theatrical notions have subsequently been addressed in

personality psychology, especially in understanding the importance of
the social situation. They have also influenced existential and humanistic
psychologists who have speculated about what it means to be a human
being. But where theater gives momentary insight, personality
psychology seeks lasting and universal scientific principles.

Eastern philosophies and religions emphasize self-awareness and

spiritual self-fulfillment. These Eastern concerns with consciousness,
self-fulfillment, and the human spirit came to play an important role in
certain aspects of modern personality theory, most clearly seen in the
work of humanistic and existential psychologists such as Abraham
Maslow.

The nature of the human spirit was not taken for granted but was
analyzed and observed. This concern continued to develop for the next
two centuries. In modern personality theory, these influences show up
as concerns with the integration and unity of the individual personality.
They are also seen in attempts to integrate biological with psychological
knowledge—join the mind with the body.

The most direct influences on modern personality psychology can be

traced to developments in the biological sciences during the nineteenth
century. The greatest development in biological thinking in the
nineteenth century was the theory of evolution. Charles Darwin argued
that individual characteristics that enabled an organism to pass on
genes to offspring become more prevalent in the population over
generations. Individuals who were not well adapted to the demands of
their environment would not survive to reproduce. Once it became clear
that people are subject to the laws of nature, and then scientists began
to study human behavior systematically. Lot of empirical studies was
conducted to measure the personality dimension of human beings.

5
Much psychological research on personality has been supported by
wartime strategies for combat or peacetime efforts for the national
defense. Even today the U.S. armed forces employ hundreds of
psychologists to conduct research and testing on uniformed personnel.
This was the foundation for the modern personality questionnaires.

Modern personality theory began to take formal shape in the 1930s. It

was heavily influenced by the work of three men—Gordon Allport, Kurt
Lewin, and Henry Murray. Allport defined personality as “the dynamic
organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that
determine his unique adjustment to his environment” (Allport, 1937, p.
48). Kurt Lewin came out of the Gestalt tradition in Europe. The Gestalt
psychologists emphasized the integrative and active nature of
perception and thought, suggesting that the whole may be greater than
the sum of its parts. Lewin’s approach, like Allport’s, was dynamic, as he
looked for systems that underlie observable behavior. Lewin drew
attention to “the momentary condition of the individual and the structure
of the psychological situation” (Lewin, 1935, p. 41).

The third main sculptor of modern personality theory was Henry Murray.
Murray attempted to integrate clinical issues (problems of real patients)
with theory and assessment issues. It is important that he believed in a
comprehensive orientation, including longitudinal research—studying the
same people over time. Murray took a broad approach to personality,
defining it as the “branch of psychology which principally concerns itself
with the study of human lives and the factors which influence their
course, [and] which investigates individual differences” (Murray, 1938, p.
4). He emphasized the integrated, dynamic nature of the individual as a
complex organism responding to a specific environment, as well as the
importance of needs and motivations.

In short, Allport, Lewin, Murray, and their associates set the stage for
modern personality theory by emphasizing that the whole human being
should be the focus of study, not parts of the being and not collections of
organisms.

1.4 TYPES OF PERSONALITY

In looking at personality, it’s important to be able to make a distinction

between trait and type perspectives. Individual differences is a term
relating to the variations in possession of traits that everyone possesses
to a greater or lesser extent, whereas types, which can be inferred, with
varying degrees of success, from behaviours are about essential
characteristics, in Myers/ Jung terms different ways of perceiving and
judging. Type is not about behaviours in themselves, but reasons for a

6
behavior. According to trait perspective personality is a situational
response, flexibility and so on. It is simply a matter of behavioural
adjustment, even a response to a stimulus. A type perspective,
presuming consciousness of some kind, differs in that it presumes
intentionality or purpose, and adjustment as dependent on essential
factors. Traits are the default method of looking at personality because
it suits a particular interpretation of the scientific method and ideas of
“normal” distributions. For some, anything innate, such as mental
activity, cannot be scientifically investigated other than through direct
ways of seeing and observing. This view of course is at variance with
aspects of contemporary scientific investigation e.g. physics, cosmology
etc. Scientific investigators into early childhood such as Jerome Kagan
are also critical of aspects of this approach (e.g. Kagan 2013). Jung’s
typology, and the temperament typology developed by David Keirsey are
associated with the new” century old science, which is less concerned
with things that are directly observable. These typologies also presume
the interaction of nature and nurture, two constructs becoming less
useful as distinct categories, as it is difficult to see where one begins and
the other ends. Some current trait approaches are investigating the
relationship between traits and genes. In typologies, the whole is greater
than the sum of the parts, so types are not just bundles of traits. Trait
approaches are also usually associated with pathologies like
neuroticism, an idea not taken up by Isabel Myers. Some personality
typologies have a psychopathological perspective e.g. Keirseyan
Temperament and the Enneagram, and so discuss defense
mechanisms, unconscious games associated with shame and so on. T
types of personality are thus classified based on the theorists who
proposed it. Types of personality is not unique set however, it refers to
the dimension of personality like neuroticism, extraversion,
conscientiousness, agreeableness etc.

1.5 DETERMINANTS OF PERSONALITY

There are so many factors which influences the development of

personality of an individual. Nature Vs Nurture debate is still continuing
on the major role in personality development. Apart from the hereditary
and environmental influences, learning and culture also plays a major
role in determining the personality of the individual. Each theorist has
contributed vital pieces to the puzzle of personality development. After
analyzing various personality theories, the factors, that have emerged
are:

7
 • Genetic factor
• Environmental factor
• Learning factor
• Parental factor
• Developmental factor
• Consciousness factor
• Unconscious factor
1.5.1 Genetic factor

At the moment of conception each new human being receives a genetic

inheritance which provides all the potentialities for his behaviour and
development throughout his lifetime. This endowment includes
potentialities for an individual's bodily equipment, for the development of
specific skills, abilities and kinds of behaviour and for patterns of growth
and change throughout a predictable life cycle.

The Mechanics of Heredity

At Fertilization, the male and female germ cells unite to form a fertilized
ovum containing about 46 chromosomes, half from each parent. The
chromosomes are minute, threadlike structures containing many
hundreds of ultramicroscopic particles called 'genes', which are the real
carriers of a person's heredity. Together, the chromosomes probably
contain from 10 to 15 thousand genes, of them a complex molecule
consisting of thousands of atoms in special arrangements. The genes
carry the blueprint for an individual's development and direct his growth
from a one-celled unit to an adult. Within this inherited structure, lie the
potentialities for behaviour
The principal raw materials of personality-physique, intelligence and
temperament are the results of heredity. How a person will develop
depends on the environmental influences within which a person grows. -
The significance of hereditary foundations in determining the personality
pattern has been stressed by many researchers. It is generally held that
personality is formed from the interaction of significant figures (first the
mother, later the father and siblings, later extra familial figures) with the
child. The child brings to this interaction biological constitution, a set of
needs and intellectual capacities which determine the way in which a
person is acted upon by the Thus personality pattern develops through
interactions with the environment which an individual himself has
initiated. One reason for stressing the role of heredity in the
development of personality is to recognize the fact that personality
pattern is subject to limitations. A person who inherits a low level of
intelligence, for example, cannot, even under the most favourable

8
environmental conditions, develop a personality pattern that will lead to
adequate personal and social adjustment, than a person with high level
of adjustment. Thus, heredity sets limits to a person's development.

There is increasingly strong evidence that many personality traits or

dimensions are inherited (Caspi, Roberts, & Shiner, 2005). These
include the following:

■ Eysenck’s dimensions of psychoticism, neuroticism, and extraversion

(the latter derived from the work of Jung)

■ McCrae and Costa’s five-factor model of personality including

neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and
conscientiousness

■ Buss and Plomin’s three temperaments: emotionality, activity, and

sociability.

In addition, Zuckerman’s proposed trait of sensation seeking is primarily

influenced by genetic factors. Thus, the trait approach, with its emphasis
on the impact of heredity, remains a useful and growing area of
personality research. What remains to be determined is precisely how
many inherited factors, traits, or temperaments there are.
Selective breeding and the domestication of animals is perhaps the
earliest evidence that humans considered the idea that individual
differences in behaviour could be due to natural causes. The prominent
areas of Genetical contribution to personality are i) Animal studies, ii)
Twin and family studies, iii) Measured genetic variants, iv) Quasi-
experimental designs.
The next notable area is Behaviour genetics, also
called psychogenetics, the study of the influence of an organism’s
genetic composition on its behaviour and the interaction
of heredity and environment insofar as they affect behaviour.

Top 10 Replicated Findings from Behavioral Genetics

1. All psychological traits show significant and substantial genetic

influence

Psychological domains that have traditionally focused on individual

differences are those that have been studied most using genetically
sensitive designs, primarily the twin method that compares resemblance
in pairs of identical and fraternal twins: cognitive abilities and disabilities,
psychopathology, personality, substance use and abuse, and health
psychology.

9
2. No traits are 100% heritable

Although heritability estimates are significantly greater than 0%, they are
also significantly less than 100%.

3. Heritability is caused by many genes of small effect

The two salient findings come from family-based genetic designs,

primarily twin and adoption studies. Although the quantitative genetic
model underlying these methods assumes that many genes affect
complex traits and common disorders.

4. Phenotypic correlations between psychological traits show

significant and substantial genetic mediation

Much psychological research is about the relationship between traits.

For example, a recent issue in this journal included reports on
associations between creativity and mental health, stress reactivity and
neuroticism, empathy and moral behavior, and personality and job
performance.

5. The heritability of intelligence increases throughout development

The heritability of intelligence has consistently been found to increase

linearly throughout the life course in longitudinal as well as cross-
sectional analyses and in adoption.

6. Age-to-age stability is mainly due to genetics

Longitudinal genetic studies consistently show that phenotypic

correlations from age to age are largely due to genetic stability. In other
words, genetic effects contribute to continuity (the same genes affect the
trait across age), whereas age-to-age change is primarily the
provenance of environmental factors.

7. Most measures of the ‘environment’ show significant genetic

influence

Although it might seem a peculiar thing to do, measures of the

environment widely used in psychological science – such as parenting,
social support, and life events – can be treated as dependent measures
in genetic analyses.

8. Most associations between environmental measures and

psychological traits are significantly mediated genetically

If genetic factors affect environmental measures as well as behavioral

measures, it is reasonable to ask the extent to which associations
between environmental measures and behavioral measures are
mediated genetically. For example, rather than assuming that

10
correlations between parenting and children’s behavior are caused by
the environmental effect of parenting on children’s behavior, it is
important to consider the possibility that the correlation is in part due to
genetic factors that influence both parenting and children’s behavior.

9. Most environmental effects are not shared by children growing

up in the same family

It is reasonable to think that growing up in the same family makes

brothers and sisters similar psychologically, which is what
developmental theorists from Freud onwards assumed. However, for
most behavioral dimensions and disorders, it is genetics that accounts
for similarity among siblings. Although environmental effects have a
major impact, the salient environmental influences do not make siblings
growing up in the same family similar.

10. Abnormal is normal

There are thousands of rare single-gene disorders such as

phenylketonuria (PKU), which causes intellectual disability and has a
frequency of about 1 in 10,000. This is the way we often think about
disorders – as qualitatively different from the normal range of behavior.
However, disorders studied by psychologists are much more common,
including learning disabilities and psychopathology such as
schizophrenia, autism, and hyperactivity.

1.5.2 The Environmental factor

Every personality theorist we have discussed acknowledged the

importance of the social environment. Adler spoke of the impact of birth
order, arguing that personality is influenced by our position in the family
relative to our siblings. Horney believed that the culture and time period
in which we are reared shows its effects. Even Allport and Cattell, who
inaugurated the trait approach to the study of personality, agreed on the
importance of the environment. Allport noted that although genetics
supplies the basic raw material of personality, it is the social
environment that shapes the material into the finished product.

Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development are innate, but the

environment determines the ways in which those genetically based
stages are realized. He believed that social and historical forces
influence the formation of ego identity. Maslow and Rogers contended
that self-actualization was innate but recognized that environmental
factors could inhibit or promote the self-actualization need. Large-scale
societal events such as wars and economic recessions can restrict life
choices and influence the formation of self-identity. More ordinary life

11
changes (such as becoming parents, getting a divorce, or changing jobs)
can also affect personality. Ethnic background and whether we are part
of a minority or majority culture, helps determine personality.

For all these reasons, then, it is impossible to deny the impact of diverse
environmental and social forces on personality. The most significant way
in which that impact is exerted is through learning.

1.5.2 Learning factor

Evidence is overwhelming that learning plays a major role in influencing

virtually every aspect of behavior. All of the social and environmental
forces that shape personality do so by the techniques of learning. Even
inherited facets of personality can be modified, disrupted, prevented, or
allowed to flourish by the process of learning. Skinner (based on earlier
work by Watson and Pavlov) taught us the value of positive
reinforcement, successive approximation, superstitious behavior, and
other learning variables in shaping what others call personality, but
which he described as simply an accumulation of learned responses.
Bandura introduced the idea that we learn from watching models
(observational learning) and through vicarious reinforcement. Bandura
agreed with Skinner that most behaviors are learned and that genetics
plays only a limited role.

1.5.3 Parental factor

Although Freud was the first theorist to emphasize parental influences
on the formation of personality, virtually every theorist echoed his views.
Adler’s focused on the consequences for a child who feels unwanted or
rejected by his or her parents. Such parental rejection can lead to
insecurity, leaving the person angry, and deficient in self-esteem.
Horney wrote from her own experience about how lack of parental
warmth and affection can undermine a child’s security and result in
feelings of helplessness. Allport and Cattell, whose work was, based on
the importance of traits, also recognized the parental factor in
personality formation. Allport considered the infant’s relationship with the
mother to be the primary source of affection and security, conditions
crucial to later personality development. Cattell saw infancy as the major
formative period, with the behavior of parents and siblings shaping the
child’s character. Erikson held that the child’s relationship with the
mother in the first year of life was vital in promoting a trusting attitude.
Maslow commented on how necessary it was for parents to satisfy their
child’s physiological and safety needs in the first 2 years of life. This was
a prerequisite for the emergence of higher-order needs. Rogers spoke of

12
the parents’ responsibility for supplying unconditional positive regard to
their children.

1.5.4 Developmental factor

Freud believed that personality was shaped and fixed by the age of 5
and that it was difficult thereafter to alter any aspect of it. We accept that
the childhood years are crucial to personality formation, but it is also
clear that personality continues to develop well beyond childhood,
perhaps throughout the entire life span. Theorists such as Cattell,
Allport, Erikson, and Murray viewed childhood as important but agreed
that personality could be modified in later years. Some theorists
suggested that personality development is ongoing in adolescence.
Jung, Maslow, Erikson, and Cattell noted middle age as a time of major
personality change.

The question is, how long does our personality continue to change and
grow? Do you at age 20 indicate what you will be like at 40? As with
most questions about personality, this has become a highly complex
issue. Perhaps it is not even the right question to ask. It may not surprise
you to learn that empirical evidence supports diverse viewpoints. Does
personality change? Well, yes. Does personality also remain stable? Uh,
probably, yes. But if we were to refine the question and ask whether
some personality characteristics remain stable over a lifetime while other
characteristics change, then we would be able to answer with an
unqualified yes.

Cultural and personal challenges leave their impact on the personality.

One theorist suggested that personality continues to develop on three
levels: dispositional traits, personal concerns, and life narrative
(McAdams, 1994). Dispositional traits are inherited traits of the kind
discussed by McCrae and Costa, those characteristics found to remain
stable and relatively unchanging from age 30 on. Personal concerns
refer to conscious feelings, plans, and goals; what we want, how we try
to achieve it, and how we feel about the people in our life. These may
change often over the life span as a result of the diverse situations and
influences to which we are exposed. Although these situations can alter
our feelings and intentions, our underlying dispositional traits (such as
our basic level of neuroticism or extraversion) with which we confront
these life situations remain relatively stable. Life narrative implies
shaping the self, attaining an identity, and finding a unified purpose in
life. We are constantly writing our life story, creating who we are and
how we fit into the world. Like personal concerns, the life narrative
changes in response to social and environmental situations. As adults

13
we may adjust our narrative to adapt to each stage of life and its needs,
challenges, and opportunities. In sum, then, this view holds that the
underlying dispositional traits of personality remain largely constant,
while our conscious judgments about who we are and who we would like
to be are subject to change. That idea leads to another factor the
theorists have considered: consciousness.

1.5.5 Consciousness factor

Almost every personality theory we have described deals explicitly or

implicitly with conscious (cognitive) processes. Even Freud and Jung,
who focused on the unconscious, wrote of an ego or conscious mind
that perceives, thinks, feels, and remembers, enabling us to interact with
the real world. Adler described humans as conscious, rational beings
capable of planning and directing the course of our life. We formulate
hopes, plans, and dreams and delay gratification, and we consciously
anticipate future events.
Allport believed that people who are not neurotic will function in a
conscious, rational way, aware and in control of the forces that motivate
them. Rogers thought people were primarily rational beings, governed
by a conscious perception of themselves and their world of experience.
Maslow also recognized the role of consciousness; he proposed
cognitive needs to know and to understand.
Kelly offered the most complete theory based on cognitive factors. He
argued persuasively that we form constructs about our environment and
about other people and that we make predictions (anticipations) about
them based on these constructs. Based on everyday evidence, it is
difficult to deny that people construe, predict, and anticipate how others
will behave and then modify or adapt their behavior accordingly. Thus,
there is widespread agreement that consciousness exists and is an
influence on personality. However, there is less agreement on the role or
even the existence of another influence, that of the unconscious

1.5.6 Unconscious factor

Sigmund Freud introduced us to the world of the unconscious, that

murky repository of our darkest fears and conflicts, forces that affect our
conscious thoughts and behaviors. Psychologists have found some
evidence to support Freud’s notion that thoughts and memories are
repressed in the unconscious, and that repression (as well as other
defense mechanisms) may operate at the unconscious level.

14
Although the unconscious is an ongoing research topic in psychology
today, many of the personality theorists who followed Freud ignored it.
We may suggest that the emotional unconscious as Freud envisioned
it—the startling idea that signaled the formal beginning of the study of
personality—remains the least understood factor and still very much
what it was in Freud’s time, mysterious and inaccessible.

LET US SUM UP

From the unit we understood that the personality is the sum total of the
individual and varies from one to other. Individual differences make
human being unique. Personality is not a single factor, there are many
dimensions of personality which combines and called behavioural
characteristic. There are many factors which determine the
development of the personality. However, it can be broadly categorized
as hereditary and environment. Personality theories suggest that they
are: genetic factor, environmental factor, learning factor, parental factor,
developmental factor, consciousness factor and unconscious factors.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Choose the correct answer

1. The principal raw materials of personality-physique, intelligence and

temperament are the results of ____________ factor.

a) Genetic b) Environmental c) Learning d) Parental factor

2. Allport noted that although genetics supplies the basic raw material of
personality, it is the social environment that shapes the material into the
finished product refers to the ___________ factor.

a) Genetic b) Environmental c) Learning d) Parental factor

3. Bandura introduced the idea that we learn from watching models and
through vicarious reinforcement represents _____________ factor.

a) Genetic b) Environmental c) Learning d) Parental factor

4. Freud is of opinion that personality continues to develop well beyond

childhood, perhaps throughout the entire life span refers to __________
factor.

a) Genetic b) Environmental c) Learning d) Developmental

5. Sigmund Freud introduced ___________ factor, which holds our

darkest fears and conflicts, forces that affect our conscious thoughts and
behaviors.

15
 a) Developmental b) Learning c) Consciousness d) Unconscious
factor

Say True or False

6. Personality is nothing but the values you hold.

7. Every human being is unique
8. You inherit certain characteristics from your parents
9. Personality can be changed
10. Temperament cannot be changed
11. Personality of the individual is different at different ages.

Behavior Characteristics

Determinants Environment

Genetic Hereditary

Learning Personality

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. a) Genetic

2. b) Environmental

3. c) Learning

4. d) Developmental

5. d) Unconscious

6. False
7. True
8. True
9. True
10. True
11. True

GLOSSARY

Behaviour genetics : study of the influence of an organism’s

genetic composition on its behaviour and
the interaction of heredity and environment
insofar as they affect behaviour.

Behaviorist : Emphasis on a more scientific analysis of

approach the learning experiences that shape
personality

Biological approach : Focus on tendencies and limits imposed by

16
 biological inheritance; easily combined with
most other approaches

Cognitive approach : Emphasis on active nature of human

thought; uses modern knowledge from
cognitive psychology

Neoanalytic/ ego : Emphasis on the self as it struggles to cope

approach with emotions and drives on the inside and
the demands of others on the outside

Psychoanalytic : Attention to unconscious influences;

approach importance of sexual drives even in
nonsexual spheres

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Define personality
2. Write a brief history on development of personality psychology.
3. Discuss the factors that influence personality.
4. Can personality be change? Substantiate your answer.

SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Schultz, D.P., &Schultz, S.E. (2013). Theories of Personality (10th
Ed). New Delhi, India: Cengage Learning India Pvt. Ltd.
2. Albert, B. Even (2010). An Introduction to theories of Personality
(7th Ed.) New York, NY: Psychology Press.
3. Freidman, H.S., & Schustack, M.W. 2009) Personality Classic
theories and Modern Research (3rd Ed.) Noida, Inida: Dorling
Kindersley,
4. Hall, C.S., Lindzey, G., & Campbell, J.B. (2007). Theories of
Personality (4th Ed). New Delhi, India: Wiley India Pvt. Ltd.
5. Shaffer, D.V.(2009). Social and Personality Development (6th Ed)
Belmont, MA:Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
6. Reeves, A (2012). An Introduction to Counselling and
Psychotherapy: From Theory to Practice. (1st Ed>) London,
England: SAGE Publications Ltd.
7. Neukrug, E.S. (2021). Counselling Theory and Practice, (1st Ed.
Delhi, India: Thomson Press ( India) Ltd.
8. Mc Clelland, D.C. (1988). Human Motivation. London, England:
Cambridge University Press

17
 9. Frager, R & Fadiman, J (2009). Personality and Personal
Growth (6th Ed. ( Noida, India: Dorling Kindersley India Pvt. Ltd.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4739500/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26817721/

18
UNIT 2
PERSONALITY MEASURES -
INVENTORIES
STRUCTURE

Overview

Learning Objectives

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Reliability and Validity of the Measures

2.3 Methods of Assessment

2.3.1 Self-report or objective inventories

2.3.2 Clinical interviews

2.3.3 Behavioral assessment procedures

2.3.4 Thought- and experience-sampling procedures

Let us sum up

Check Your Progress

Key Words
Answers to check your progress

Glossary

Model Questions

Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

Charismatic leaders were able to attract and inspire large numbers of

followers. But we meet people every day who show a kind of personal
charisma—people who are attractive, influential, expressive, and often
the center of attention. In fact, in a seminar class or other small group,
there is usually considerable agreement among the members as to
which one of them is the most charismatic. How can we assess whether
someone is especially expressive and likely to be an influential
emotional leader in a group? The present unit helps us to understand
the valid methods of measuring personality.

19
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit, you will be able to

• explain the Reliability and Validity of the Measures

• explain about the various Methods of Assessment
• write about Self-report or objective inventories
• write a note on Clinical interviews
• explain Behavioral assessment procedures
• write about Thought- and experience-sampling procedures
• understand the various standardized method of assessing
personality

2.1 INTRODUCTION

To assess something means to evaluate it. The assessment of

personality is a major area of application of psychology to real-world
concerns. Consider a few everyday examples. Clinical psychologists try
to understand the symptoms of their patients or clients by attempting to
assess their personalities, by differentiating between normal and
abnormal behaviors and feelings. Only by evaluating personality in this
way can clinicians diagnose disorders and determine the best course of
therapy. School psychologists evaluate the personalities of the students
referred to them for treatment in an attempt to uncover the causes of
adjustment or learning problems. Industrial/organizational psychologists
assess personality to select the best candidate for a particular job.
Counseling psychologists measure personality to find the best job for a
particular applicant, matching the requirements of the position with the
person’s interests and needs.
No matter what you do in your life or your working career, it is difficult to
avoid having your personality assessed in some way. Indeed, much of
your success in the workplace will be determined by your performance
on various psychological tests. Therefore, it is important that you have
some understanding of what they are and how they work.

2.2 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE MEASURES

Assessment techniques differ in their degree of objectivity or subjectivity;

some techniques are wholly subjective and therefore open to bias. The
results obtained by subjective techniques may be distorted by the
personality characteristics of the person making the assessment. The
best techniques of personality assessment adhere to the principles of
reliability and validity.

20
Reliability

Reliability involves the consistency of response to an assessment

device. If you took the same test on two different days and received two
widely different scores, the test could not be considered reliable because
its results were so inconsistent. No one could depend on that test for an
adequate assessment of your personality. It is common to find some
slight variation in scores when a test is retaken, but the variation is large,
and then it is likely that something is wrong with the test or with the
method of scoring it. Several procedures are available to determine the
reliability of a test before it is used for assessment or research.

Validity

Validity refers to whether an assessment device measures what it is

intended to measure. Does an intelligence test truly measure
intelligence? Does a test of anxiety actually evaluate anxiety? If a test
does not measure what it claims to, then it is not valid and its results
cannot be used to predict behavior. For example, your score on an
invalid intelligence test, no matter how high, will be useless for predicting
how well you will do in college or in any other situation that requires a
high level of intelligence. A personality test that is not valid may provide
a misleading portrait of your emotional strengths and weaknesses. As
with reliability, validity must be determined precisely before a test is
applied. Psychologists use several kinds of validity, including predictive
validity, content validity, and construct validity.

2.3 METHODS OF ASSESSMENT

The personality theorists devised unique methods for assessing
personality, ways that were appropriate for their theories. By applying
these methods, they derived the data on which they based their
formulations. Their techniques vary in objectivity, reliability, and validity,
and they range from dream interpretation and childhood recollections to
paper-and-pencil and computer-administered tests. In psychology today,
the major approaches to personality assessment are:

• Self-report or objective inventories

• Clinical interviews
• Behavioral assessment procedures
• Thought- and experience-sampling procedures
• Projective techniques
• Situational tests
It is important to note that assessment for diagnostic and therapeutic
purposes should not be based solely on a single approach. Ideally,

21
multiple assessment measures are used to provide a range of
information about a person. The last two types of assessment namely;
Projective techniques and Situational tests will be addressed in the next
unit.

2.3.1 Self-Report Inventories

The self-report inventory approach involves asking people to report on

themselves by answering questions about their behavior and feelings in
various situations. These tests include items dealing with symptoms,
attitudes, interests, fears, and values. Test-takers indicate how closely
each statement describes their characteristics or how much they agree
with each item. The most frequently used ones are Minnesota
Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), California Personality
Inventory (CPI), Eysenck’s Personality Inventory (EPI), Eysenck’s
Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), Neo Personality Inventory/ Big Five
factor (NEO PI), Myers- Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Few sample
inventories are given below:
a) Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

The MMPI was authored by Starke R. Hathaway, PhD, and J. C.

McKinley, MD. This has been translated into more than 140 languages
and may be the world’s most widely used psychological test. In 1992, a
separate version for adolescents, the MMPI-A, was published. In 2008,
another alternative version of the test, the MMPI-2 Restructured Form
(MMPI-2-RF), published, adopts a different theoretical approach to
personality test development.
First published in 1943, the MMPI was revised in 1989 to make the
language more contemporary and nonsexist. Items were also rewritten
to eliminate words that over the years had acquired alternative meanings
or interpretations. The 1989 revision, the MMPI-2, is a true-false test that
consists of 567 statements. These items cover physical and
psychological health; political and social attitudes; educational,
occupational, family, and marital factors; and neurotic and psychotic
behavior tendencies. The test’s clinical scales measure such personality
characteristics as gender role, defensiveness, depression, hysteria,
paranoia, Hypochondriasis, and schizophrenia. Some items can be
scored to determine if the test-taker was faking or careless or
misunderstood the instructions.

Now Current versions of the test (MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF) can be

completed on optical scan forms or administered directly to individuals
on the computer. Computer scoring is available and highly

22
recommended over hand-scoring to reduce scoring errors. Computer
scoring programs for the MMPI-2 (567 items) and MMPI-2-RF (338
items) are licensed by the University of Minnesota Press to Pearson
Assessments and other companies located in different countries. The
computer scoring programs provide a range of scoring profile choices.
The MMPI-2 can generate a Score Report The MMPI-2-RF computer
scoring offers an option for the administrator to select a specific
reference group with which to contrast and compare an individual's
obtained scores; comparison groups include clinical, non-clinical,
medical, forensic, and pre-employment settings, to name a few. The
newest version of the Pearson Q-Local computer scoring program offers
the option of converting MMPI-2 data into MMPI-2-RF reports as well as
numerous other new features. Use of the MMPI is tightly controlled for
ethical and financial reasons.

Description about the Dimensions in MMPI

Sl Abbreviations Descriptions Dimensions of Items

No. Measurement
1 Hs Hypochondriasis Concern with bodily 32
Scale symptoms
2 D Depression Depressive 57
Symptoms
3 Hy Hysteria Awareness of 60
problems and
vulnerabilities
4 Pd Psychopathic Deviate Conflict, 50
struggle, anger,
respect for society's
rules
5 MF Masculinity/ Stereotypical 56
Femininity masculine or
feminine interests/
behaviors
6 Pa Paranoia Level of trust, 40
suspiciousness,
sensitivity
7 Pt Psychasthenia Worry, Anxiety, 48
tension, doubts,
obsessiveness
8 Sc Schizophrenia Odd thinking and 78

23
 social alienation 78
9 Ma Hypomania Level of excitability 46
46
10 Si Social People orientation 69
Introversion

This is the most widely used and researched standardized psychometric

test of adult personality and psychopathology. Psychologists and other
mental health professionals use various versions of the MMPI to develop
treatment plans; assist with differential diagnosis; and a therapeutic
assessment procedure.

b) California Psychological Inventory (CPI)

Developed in 1957 and revised in 1987, this test is designed for use with
normal people ages 12 to 70. It consists of 434 items that call for a true
or false response. The CPI has three scales to measure test-taking
attitudes and provides scores on 17 personality dimensions, including
sociability, dominance, self-control, self-acceptance, and responsibility.
Subsequently a revised version was developed named as New CPI
scale comprising new CPI scales-CPI-Sociability, CPI-Ambition, CPI-
Likeability, CPI-Prudence, CPI-Adjustment, CPI-Intellectance, and CPI-
Ego Control- are presented next.

• CPI-Sociability reflects simply a preference for being with people

versus being alone. Liking people is one aspect of Factor I of the
FFM (McCrae & John, 1992). CPI-Sociability scale concerns
enjoying parties, participating in groups, and pursuing social
interaction.
• CPI-Ambition represents another aspect of an energetic striving
to impose one's will on the environment (Johnson & Ostendorf,
1993; cf. White, 1959). CPI-Ambition items generally reflect two
themes: (a) leading and influencing others, and (b) working hard.
• CPI-Likeability is viewed by socioanalytic theory as an
unconscious strategy for garnering support from others by doing
things that other people find pleasing (e.g., treating others with
tolerance, kindness, care, and trust). Unlikable behavior, in
contrast, manipulates others through irritation or intimidation.
• CPI-Prudence is defined as the wisdom to avoid risky, self-
defeating behavior, especially the violation of social norms and
expectations.
• CPI-Adjustment, emphasis on the social causes and
consequences of emotional adjustment rather than the private
experience of emotions (Johnson & Ostendorf, 1993). Social

24
 anxiety was central to this conceptualization of this domain and
the items of this dimension concern poise and composure in
social situations.
• CPI-Intellectance, describes an interpersonal style that causes
others to describe a person as intelligent (Hogan, 1986). The
content of CPI-Intellectance items pertains to competence,
especially success in school, but also to broad interests in
science, the arts, and world affairs.
• CPI-Ego Control - describes the suppression of primary process
(pace Freud) ideation. Because primary process includes
impulses toward antisocial activities.

Applications

The CPI has been successful in profiling potential delinquents and high
school dropouts and in predicting success in various occupations, such
as medicine, dentistry, nursing, and teaching.

c) Eysenck’s Personality Inventory (EPI)

The Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) was developed to measure
the personality dimensions of Extraversion and Neuroticism (S. B. G.
Eysenck, & Eysenck, H.J., 1964). The Eysenck Personality
Inventory (EPI) is a self-report instrument designed to measure two
central dimensions of personality, extraversion and neuroticism.
This instrument is comprised of 57 yes/no items and yields total
scores for extraversion and neuroticism as well as a validity score
(e.g., Lie Scale).
The EPI is a 57 item true-false self-report personality measure
assessing Neuroticism (24 items) and Extraversion (24 items). It also
includes a Lie scale (9 items). Nine items were negatively keyed on
the Extraversion scale, six on the “Lie” scale, and none on the
Neuroticism scale.

Individuals are generally classified as “high” or “low” on the two

dimensions. Persons high in extraversion are seen as social,
carefree, and optimistic, while low scorers are generally quiet,
introspective, and reserved. Individuals classified as high in
neuroticism are prone to emotional distress/instability, while those
low in this dimension are generally calm and emotionally stable.

d) Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire (EPQ)

The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) is a measure that

assesses individual personality traits that was developed by Hans and

25
Sybil Eysenck. Hans Eysenck, the German psychologist who theorized
that personality traits develop from innate genetic influences that are
biological and inherited. Eysenck's main focus was on temperament
which he saw as long-term patterns of behavior.
He originally identified two areas of temperament: neuroticism and
extroversion/introversion. Neuroticism is a temperament level that
ranges from calm to nervous. The extroversion and introversion area of
temperament is a range between shyness and an outgoing nature. On
this spectrum individuals vary widely. Later on, Eysenck added a third
area of psychoticism to incorporate people with mental illness. The EPQ
contains 100 yes/no questions on the normal version with a short scale
that contains 48 questions.

Now, another version called EPQ- R was introduced. The Eysenck

Personality Questionnaire - Revised (EPQ-R) measures three major
dimensions of personality: Extraversion/Introversion, Neuroticism,
and Psychoticism or Tough-mindedness.
• Extraversion-Introversion: High E scores indicate extraversion,
and individuals who score high tend to be outgoing, impulsive,
uninhibited, have many social contacts, and often take part in
group activities.
• Neuroticism: High N scores indicate strong emotional imbalance
and over activity. People with high scores tend to be emotionally
over responsive, and encounter difficulties in calming down.
• Psychoticism/Tough-Mindedness: High P scores display
tendencies to developing psychotic disorders while at the same
time falling short of actual psychotic conditions.
• Lie Scale: This scale is included to determine the validity of
responses. A high score demonstrates the tendency to "fake
good".

Applications

The EPQ-R is an excellent assessment tool to measure the

personality domain. It is useful in numerous applications such as
human resources, career counseling, clinical settings, and research.

e) Big five model Questionnaire

Lewis Goldberg (1946) may be the most eminent researcher in the

field of personality psychology. His groundbreaking work whittled
down Raymond Cattell’s 16 “fundamental factors” of personality into
five primary factors, similar to the five factors found by fellow
psychology researchers in the 1960s. This five factor model caught

26
the attention of two other renowned personality researchers, Paul
Costa and Robert McCrae (1992), who confirmed the validity of this
model. This model was termed the “Big Five”, (OCEAN) and
launched thousands of explorations of personality within its
framework, across multiple continents and cultures and with a wide
variety of populations.

The five factors Goldberg (1992) identified as primary factors of

personality are:
Dimensions Explanation
Openness to experience Openness reflects the degree of intellectual
curiosity, creativity and a preference for
novelty and variety a person has.
Conscientiousness Conscientiousness is the tendency to be
organized and dependable, show self-
discipline, aim for achievement and prefer
planned behaviour.
Extroversion This factor has two familiar ends of the
spectrum: extroversion and introversion. It
concerns where an individual draws their
energy and how they interact with others.
Agreeableness Agreeableness is the tendency to be
compassionate and cooperative rather than
suspicious and antagonistic towards others.
Neuroticism It is the tendency to experience unpleasant
emotions easily, such as anger, anxiety,
depression and vulnerability.

The big-five are not associated with any particular test, a variety of
measures have been developed to measure them. This test uses the
Big-Five Factor Markers from the International Personality Item Pool,
developed by Goldberg (1992).

Procedure

The test consists of fifty items that the participant you must rate on how
true they are about themselves on a five point scale where 1=Disagree,
3=Neutral and 5=Agree. It takes most people 3-8 minutes to complete.

Applications
Big Five traits are predictors of future performance outcomes. Job
outcome measures include job and training proficiency and personnel
data. It helps to predict social and physical activity during later childhood
and may represent. This was also used for attempts to predict

27
satisfaction in romantic relationships, relationship quality in dating,
engaged and married couples.

f) Myers- Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator is a self-report

inventory designed to identify a person's personality type, strengths, and
preferences. The original developers of the personality inventory were
Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers. The
questionnaire was developed by Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs
based on their work with Carl Jung's theory of personality types. Today,
the MBTI inventory is one of the most widely used psychological
instruments in the world. By helping people understand themselves,
Myers and Briggs believed that they could help people select
occupations that were best suited to their personality types and lead
healthier, happier lives.

As the MBTI Manual states, the indicator "is designed to implement a

theory; therefore, the theory must be understood to understand the
MBTI". Fundamental to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is
the theory of psychological type as originally developed by Carl Jung.
Jung proposed the existence of two dichotomous pairs of cognitive
functions:

• The "rational" (judging) functions: thinking and feeling

• The "irrational" (perceiving) functions: sensing and intuition

Jung went on to suggest that these functions are expressed in either an

introverted or extraverted form. From Jung's original concepts, Briggs
and Myers developed their own theory of psychological type, described
below, on which the MBTI is based.

The current North American English version of the MBTI Step I includes
93 forced-choice questions (there are 88 in the European English
version). Forced-choice means that the individual has to choose only
one of two possible answers to each question. The choices are a
mixture of word pairs and short statements. Choices are not literal
opposites but chosen to reflect opposite preferences on the same
dichotomy. Participants may skip questions if they feel they are unable
to choose. Using psychometric techniques, such as item response
theory, the MBTI will then be scored and will attempt to identify the
preference, and clarity of preference, in each dichotomy.

28
Based on the answers to the questions on the inventory, people are
identified as having one of 16 personality types. The goal of the MBTI is
to allow respondents to further explore and understand their own
personalities including their likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses,
possible career preferences, and compatibility with other people. No one
personality type is "best" or "better" than another. It isn't a tool designed
to look for dysfunction or abnormality. Instead, its goal is simply to help
you learn more about yourself. The questionnaire itself is made up of
four different scales.

i) Extraversion (E) – Introversion (I): Extraverts (also often spelled

extroverts) are "outward-turning" and tend to be action-oriented, enjoy
more frequent social interaction, and feel energized after spending time
with other people. Introverts are "inward-turning" and tend to be thought-
oriented, enjoy deep and meaningful social interactions, and feel
recharged after spending time alone.

ii) Sensing (S) – Intuition (N): People who prefer sensing tend to pay a
great deal of attention to reality, particularly to what they can learn from
their own senses. They tend to focus on facts and details and enjoy
getting hands-on experience. Those who prefer intuition pay more
attention to things like patterns and impressions. They enjoy thinking
about possibilities, imagining the future, and abstract theories.
iii) Thinking (T) – Feeling (F): People who prefer thinking place a
greater emphasis on facts and objective data. They tend to be
consistent, logical, and impersonal when weighing a decision. Those
who prefer feeling are more likely to consider people and emotions when
arriving at a conclusion.

iv) Judging (J) – Perceiving (P): The final scale involves how people
tend to deal with the outside world. Those who lean toward judging
prefer structure and firm decisions. People who lean toward perceiving
are more open, flexible, and adaptable. These two tendencies interact
with the other scales.

Applications

Mostly this is used as a self- assessment test, to find out the career
interest/preference as well as predisposition to a certain extent. This is
at times used for the Matrimonial alliance also. The indicator is
frequently used in the areas of pedagogy, career counseling, team
building, group dynamics, professional development, marketing, family
business, leadership training, executive coaching, life coaching,
personal development and marriage counseling,

29
S.N Dimensions Acron Occupation/
o yms
Job title

1 Introversion Sensing Thinking Judging ISTJ Inspector

2 Introversion Sensing Thinking Perceiving ISTP Crafter

3 Introversion Sensing Feeling Judging ISFJ Protector

4 Introversion Sensing Feeling Perceiving ISFP Artist

5 Introversion Intuition Thinking Judging INTJ Architect

6 Introversion Intuition Thinking Perceiving INTP Thinker

7 Introversion Intuition Feeling Judging INFJ Advocate

8 Introversion Intuition Feeling Perceiving INFP Mediator

9 Extraversion Sensing Thinking Judging ESTJ Director

10 Extraversion Sensing Thinking Perceiving ESTP Persuader

11 Extraversion Sensing Feeling Judging ESFJ Caregiver

12 Extraversion Sensing Feeling Perceiving ESFP Performer

13 Extraversion Intuition Thinking Judging ENTJ Commander

14 Extraversion Intuition Thinking Perceiving ENTP Debater

15 Extraversion Intuition Feeling Judging ENFJ Giver

16 Extraversion Intuition Feeling Perceiving ENFP Champion

Other Measures

In this tradition of using personality tests to help therapists design

treatments, the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory is a thorough attempt
to assess personality disorders (Craig, 1993; Millon, 1997). For example,
it helps in diagnosing clinical syndromes, such as alcohol dependency,
and personality patterns, such as the so-called passive-aggressive, in
which people hide their aggressiveness through a phony pleasantness
(talking sweetly to the spouse but refusing sexual relations).

30
 Most self-report inventories can be taken on your PC or laptop at home.
Many organizations prefer that job applicants take tests in this way as a
prescreening method, rather than taking up time and space at the
company’s office. A sizable body of research has confirmed the
usefulness of this approach. No significant differences in responses to
self-report inventories have been found between paper-and-pencil tests
and the same tests administered online.

2.3.3 Clinical Interviews

In addition to the specific psychological tests used to measure an

individual’s personality, the assessment procedure often includes clinical
interviews. After all, it is reasonable to assume that valuable information
can be obtained by talking to the person being evaluated and asking
relevant questions about past and present life experiences, social and
family relationships, and the problems that led the person to seek
psychological help. A wide range of behaviors, feelings, and thoughts
can be investigated in the interview, including general appearance,
demeanor, and attitude; facial expressions, posture, and gestures;
preoccupations; degree of self-insight; and level of contact with reality.

2.3.4 Behavioral Assessment

In the behavioral assessment approach, an observer evaluates a

person’s behavior in a given situation. The better the observers know the
person being assessed, the more accurate their evaluations are likely to
be. Psychologists Arnold Buss and Robert Plomin developed a
questionnaire to assess the degree of various temperaments present in
twins of the same sex (Buss & Plomin, 1984). The mothers of the twins
were asked, on the basis of their observations of their children, to check
those items on the questionnaire that best described specific and easily
discernible instances of their children’s behavior.

2.3.5 Thought and Experience Sampling

In the behavioral approach to personality assessment described in the

preceding paragraphs, specific behavioral actions are monitored by
trained observers. In the thought-sampling approach to assessment, a
person’s thoughts are recorded systematically to provide a sample over
a period of time. Because thoughts are private experiences and cannot
be seen, the only person who can make this type of observation is the
individual whose thoughts are being studied. In this procedure, then, the
observer and the person being observed are the same.

31
LET US SUM UP

One criterion for a useful personality theory is that it must stimulate

research. In other words, a theory must be testable. Psychologists must
be able to conduct research on its propositions to determine which to
accept and which to reject. Ideally, a theory will be shaped, modified,
and elaborated on—or discarded—on the basis of the research it
generates. Psychologists study personality in different ways. The
method used depends on the aspect of personality under investigation.
Some psychologists are interested only in overt behavior—what we do
and say in response to certain stimuli. Other psychologists are
concerned with feelings and conscious experiences as measured by
tests and questionnaires. Such self-report inventories are among the
most frequently used research techniques. Still other investigators try to
understand the unconscious forces that may motivate us. A method
useful for examining one aspect of personality may be inappropriate for
another aspect. Clinical interviews are used to assess personality, but
the interpretation of interview results is subjective. In the behavioral
assessment approach, an observer evaluates a subject’s responses in
specific situations. In thought and experience sampling, people record
their thoughts, feelings, and experiences over a period of time.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Choose the correct answers

1. The Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory was developed by

___________
a) Lewis Goldberg b) Carl Jung
c) Sigmund Freud d) Hathaway and McKinley,
2. The ____________ _____________ ___________ approach
involves asking people to report on themselves by answering
questions about their behavior and feelings in various situations.
a) self-report inventory b) Clinical Interview

c) Behavioural Assessment d) Projective test

3. Fundamental to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is

the theory of psychological type as originally developed
by ___________.
a) Carl Jung b) Sigmund Freud
b) c) Lewis Goldberg d) Hathaway and McKinley,
4. Fundamental factors” of personality into five primary factors,
similar to the five factors found by __________
a) Lewis Goldberg b) Carl Jung

32
 c) Sigmund Freud d) Hathaway and McKinley,

5. Abbreviate: MMPI, TAT, MBTI,

6. Give examples for self-report measures

KEY WORDS

Inventories Observation

Personality Measures Projective tests

Self-report Situation tests

Thought sampling

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. d) Hathaway and McKinley,

2. a) Self Report Inventory
3. b) Carl Jung
4. a)Lewis Goldberg
5. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Thematic
apperception tests, Myers Brigg’s type indicator,
6. MMPI, CPI, NEO PI, MBTI

GLOSSARY

Behavioral : an observer evaluates a person’s behavior

assessment in a given situation.

Clinical interviews : valuable information is obtained by talking

to the person, asking relevant questions
about past and present life experiences,
social and family relationships, and the
problems that led the person to seek
professional help.

Self-report or : approach involves asking people to report

objective inventories on themselves by answering questions
about their behavior and feelings include
items dealing with symptoms, attitudes,
interests, fears, and values.

Thought and : a person’s thoughts are recorded

experience-sampling systematically to provide a sample over a
period of time.

33
MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Define assessment.
2. How do you measure personality?
3. Explain various methods of measuring personality.
4. Explain the Reliability and Validity of the Measures
5. Explain about the various Methods of Assessment
6. Write about Self-report or objective inventories
7. Write a note on Clinical interviews
8. Explain Behavioral assessment procedures
9. Write about Thought- and experience-sampling procedures

SUGGESTED READINGS

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4430725/

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-0-387-
79948-3_2025

https://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Eysenck+Pe
rsonality+Questionnaire+%28EPQ%29
https://www.edits.net/products/epq-r/

https://www.verywellmind.com/the-myers-briggs-type-indicator-2795583

34
UNIT 3
PERSONALITY MEASURES –
PROJECTIVE TESTS
STRUCTURE

Overview

Learning Objectives

3.1 Projective Techniques

3.2 Rorschach Inkblot Techniques

3.3 Thematic Apperception Test

3.4 Other Projective Tests

3.4.1 Picture Frustration Test

3.4.2 Word Association Test

3.4.3 The Sentence Completion test

Let us sum up

Check Your Progress

Key words
Answers to check your progress

Glossary

Model Questions

Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

A projective test is a type of personality test in which you offer responses

to ambiguous scenes, words, or images. The goal of such tests is to
uncover the hidden conflicts or emotions that you project onto the test
with the hope that these issues can then be addressed
through psychotherapy or other appropriate treatments. The two most
widely known and used projective tests are the Rorschach inkblot and
the Thematic Apperception Test, or TAT. Both of these instruments are
pivotal in the history of clinical psychology. Since Rorschach's test, first
described in 1922, involves direct comparisons among various groups of
mental illnesses and is often associated with the diagnosis of
psychological disorders, we will discuss it first and subsequently about

35
Thematic Apperception Test, and followed by the other Projective Tests:
Picture Frustration Test, Word Association Test and Sentence
Completion test.

Rorschach inkblot and the Thematic Apperception Test, or TAT.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit, you will be able to:

• explain the Projective Techniques

• explain the Rorschach Inkblot Technique
• explain the Thematic Apperception Test
• brief about Picture Frustration Test
• write about Word Association Test
• use the Sentence Completion test

3.1 PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES

Clinical psychologists developed projective tests of personality for their

work with emotionally disturbed persons. Inspired by Sigmund Freud’s
emphasis on the importance of the unconscious, projective tests attempt
to probe that invisible portion of our personality. The theory underlying
projective techniques is that when we are presented with an ambiguous
stimulus, such as an inkblot or a picture that can be understood or
interpreted in more than one way, we will project our needs, fears, and
values onto the stimulus when asked to describe it. Because the
interpretation of the results of projective tests is so subjective, these
tests are not high in reliability or validity. It is not unusual for different test
administrators to form different impressions of the same person, based
on the results of a projective test; in such a case, the inter scorer
reliability of the test is considered to be low. Nevertheless, such tests are
widely used for assessment and diagnostic purposes. Two popular
projective tests are the Rorschach Inkblot Technique and the Thematic
Apperception Test (TAT).

3.2. RORSCHACH INKBLOT TECHNIQUE

The Rorschach was developed in 1921 by the Swiss psychiatrist

Hermann Rorschach (1884–1922), who had been fascinated by inkblots
since childhood. Rorschach noticed consistent differences between the
responses of patients and the responses offered by school children to
the same inkblots. After trying numerous patterns, he settled on 10 blots
because he could not afford to have more than 10 printed.

36
The inkblot cards (5 are black & White and 5 are in color) are shown one
at a time, and test-takers are asked to describe what they see. Then the
cards are shown a second time, and the psychologist asks specific
questions about the earlier answers. The examiner also observes
behavior during the testing session, noting test-takers’ gestures,
reactions to particular inkblots, and general attitude. Responses can be
interpreted in several ways, depending on whether the subject or patient
reports seeing movement, human or animal figures animate or inanimate
objects, and partial or whole figures. Attempts have been made to
standardize the administration, scoring, and interpretation of the
Rorschach.

A projective test presents a person with an ambiguous stimulus and

assumes that the person will project his or her inner or unconscious
psychological processes onto it. In the case of Rorschach's test, the
stimulus is nothing more than a symmetrical inkblot that can be
perceived to be virtually anything. Rorschach suggested that what a
person sees in the inkblot often reveals a great deal about his or her true
psychological nature. He called this the interpretation of accidental
forms.

Administration and Scoring

Rorschach's form interpretation test is administered simply by handing a

subject each figure, one at a time, and asking, "What might this be?"
Subjects are free to turn the card in any direction and to hold it as close
to or as far from their eyes as they wish. The researcher or therapist
administering the test notes down all the responses for each figure
without suggestions to the subjects. There is no imposed time limit.
Rorschach pointed out that subjects almost always think the test is
designed to study imagination. However, he is very careful to explain
that it is not a test of imagination, and the creativity of a person's
imagination does not significantly alter the result. It is, Rorschach
claimed, a test of perception involving the processes of sensation,
memory, and unconscious and conscious associations between the
stimulus forms and other psychological forces within the individual.

Rorschach listed the following guidelines for scoring the subjects'

responses to the 10 inkblots:

1. How many responses were made? What was the reaction time;
that is, how long did the subject look at the figure before
responding? How often did the subject refuse to interpret a
figure?

37
 2. Was the subject's interpretation only determined by the shape of
the figure, or were color or movement included in the perception?
3. Was the figure seen as a whole or in separate parts? Which parts
were separated, and how were they interpreted?
4. What did the subject see? Interestingly, Rorschach considered
the content of the subject's interpretation the least important
factor in the responses given to the inkblots.

Theoretical Propositions

The theory underlying Rorschach's technique was that in the course of

interpreting a random inkblot, attention would be drawn away from the
subject so that the person's usual psychological defenses would be
weakened. This, in turn, would allow normally hidden aspects of the
psyche to be revealed. When the stimulus being perceived is ambiguous
(that is, having few clues as to what it really is), the interpretation of the
stimulus has to come from inside the person doing the perceiving (see
Murray's Thematic Apperception Test). In Rorschach's
conceptualization, inkblots were about as ambiguous as you can get
and, therefore, would allow for the greatest amount of projection from a
person's unconscious.

Scoring of the Rorschach inkblot test

The scoring of the Rorschach inkblot test is complex and requires

extensive training and experience in administering the test. Only
psychologists are properly trained and have the experience necessary to
correctly interpret test results. Therefore, any generic “inkblot test” you
may take online or administered by another professional may be of little
use or validity. The core of scoring revolves around coding the response
according to all of the blot features that have contributed to the formation
of the response. The following characteristics are coded:

• Form

• Movement – when any movement occurred in the response

• Chromatic Color – when color is used in the response

• Achromatic Color – when black, white or grays are used in the

response

• Shading-texture – when texture is used in the response

• Shading-dimension – when dimension is used in the response
with reference to shading

• Shading-diffuse – when shading is used in the response

38
 • Form dimension – when dimension is used in the response
without reference to shading

• Pairs and reflections – when a pair or reflection is used in the

response

Because many people respond to the inkblots in a complicated, detailed

way, the scoring system uses the concept of “blends” to account for
complex answers that take into account multiple objects or the way used
to describe the object. Organizational activity of the response assesses
how well-organized the response is.

Rorschach Interpretation

Once each card’s responses is properly coded by a psychologist, an

interpretative report is formulated based upon the responses’ scoring.
The interpretative report seeks to integrate the findings from across all
the responses on the test, so that one outlying response is not likely to
impact the overall test’s findings.
The psychologist will first examine the validity of the test, stress
tolerance and the amount of resources that are available to the
individual being examined versus the demands being made upon the
individual at this time. Further, the cognitive operations of the individual,
their perceptual accuracy, flexibility of ideas and attitudes, their ability to
temper and control their emotions, goal orientation, self-concept and
interest and relationships with others will be examined.

Applications

This also helps to find out if there are any suicidal ideation, depression,
schizophrenia and other concerns. Usually these things can be more
quickly assessed through a clinical interview, but this test will help to
flesh out areas of concern in an individual where some questions
remain. Recent research evidences suggest that: regarding the Victim
screening researchers found that sexually abused girls responded to the
Rorschach test in ways that indicated a greater concern about their
bodies than did their nonabused counterparts. Rorschach may provide
a valuable means of predicting which teens are at highest risk of
violently criminal behaviors and enhance intervention strategies.

39
3.3 THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST (TAT)
Henry Murray and Christiana Morgan developed the TAT (Morgan &
Murray, 1935). Theme refers to the specific focus point of assessment,
Apperception refers to the process of projecting fantasy imaginary on
an objective stimuli and Test refers to the tool. The test consists of 19
ambiguous pictures, showing one or more persons, and 1 blank card.
The original test material of TAT consists of totally 20 cards on which
ambiguous pictures are presented. Murray originally recommended
using approximately 20 cards and selecting those that depicted
characters similar to the subject. M for males, F for females, B for Boys,
G for Girls, BM for boys/males, GF for girls/females. The complete
version of the TAT includes 31 cards. A sample TAT pictures are shown
below.
The TAT involves showing people a series of picture cards depicting a
variety of ambiguous characters (that may include men, women, and/or
children), scenes, and situations. The pictures are vague about the
events depicted and can be interpreted in several ways. They are then
asked to tell as dramatic a story as they can for each picture presented,
including:

• what has led up to the event shown

• what is happening in the scene

• the thoughts and feelings of characters

• the outcome of the story

Persons taking the test are asked to construct a story about the people
and objects in the picture, describing what led up to the situation shown,

40
what the people are thinking and feeling, and what the outcome is likely
to be. Then the client's responses to and interpretations of a series of
provocative yet ambiguous pictures are analyzed by a psychologist. In
clinical work, psychologists consider several factors in interpreting these
stories, including the kinds of personal relationships involved, the
motivations of the characters, and the degree of contact with reality
shown by the characters.

Applications of the TAT

• To assess someone for psychological conditions: used as a

tool to assess personality or thought disorders.
• To learn more about a person: the test acts as something of an
icebreaker while providing useful information about potential
emotional conflicts the client may have.
• To help people express their feelings: often used as a
therapeutic tool to allow clients to express feelings in a non-direct
way. A client may not yet be able to express a certain feeling
directly, but they might be able to identify the emotion when
viewed from an outside perspective.
• To explore themes related to the person's life experiences:
Clients dealing with problems such as job loss, divorce, or health
issues might interpret the ambiguous scenes and relating to their
unique circumstances, allowing deeper exploration over the
course of therapy.
• To evaluate crime suspects: administered to criminals
to assess the risk of recidivism or to determine if a person
matches the profile of a crime suspect.
• To screen job candidates: used to determine if people are
suited to particular roles, especially positions that require coping
with stress and evaluating vague situations such as military
leadership and law enforcement positions.

3.4 OTHER PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES

Apart from the above-mentioned tests, Picture Frustration Test, Word

Association and Sentence Completion tests are additional projective
techniques that psychologists use to assess personality.

3.4.1 Picture Frustration Test

A projective test administered to assess personality characteristics, in

which the subject is shown scenes depicting moderately frustrating
situations and asked what the frustrated person depicted would probably
do, or how the subject would react in such situations.

41
Rosenzweig Picture Frustration Study

The Rosenzweig Picture Frustration test consists of 24 cartoon pictures,

each portraying two persons in a frustrating situation. Each picture
contains two "speech balloons," a filled one for the "frustrator" or
antagonist, and a blank one for the frustrated person, or protagonist. The
subject is asked to fill in the blank balloon with his or her response to the
situation, and the responses are scored in relation to a number of
psychological defense mechanisms. For example, responses are scored
as to whether, and to what degree, they indicate that the subject
exhibits aggression toward the source of the frustration, assumes blame
or guilt as the cause of the frustration, or justifies, minimizes, or denies
the frustration. The score is based on a total of nine factors, derived from
combinations of three types of aggression (obstacle-dominance, ego-
defense, and need-persistence) and three directions of aggression
(extra-aggression, imaggression, and intra-aggression). However,
testers often analyze the subject's responses more informally and
intuitively.

Originally developed for adults by Saul Rosenzweig, the test is now

available in versions for children and adolescents. The empirical validity
of the Rosenzweig Picture Frustration Study and other projective
techniques is at times disputed by some researchers.

Picture-Frustration Study, Children's Form

This was developed by Saul Rosenzweig (1948). The children's form of

the author's well-known P-F Study has been made available for
experimental and for tentative clinical use. The 24 pictured situations
represent everyday frustrating situations in the life of a child, involving
both ego-blocking (obstacle) and superego-blocking (accusation). As in
the adult form, scores are assigned each response as to direction of
aggression and reaction type. Extensive scoring samples are provided in
the manual, and tentative age norms for each category are given by two-
year intervals. As those familiar with the technique might expect, the age
norms show a decrease in extrapunitiveness and increases in
intropunitiveness and impunitiveness with maturation. This can be
administered to the group of 4-13 age children.

Rosenzweig Picture Frustration Test (Adult Indian Adaptation)

This is an India adaptation of Rosenzweig picture frustration test

developed in 1944(a). It is called as a ‘controlled semi-projective
technique’ because it is created in such a way that it provides objective
advantage of tests like word association test as well as it gives

42
opportunity of in-depth exploration of molar aspects of projective
techniques, while measuring an individual’s reactions to frustrating
situations. This test contains ‘24’ situations depicted in the form of
cartoons following with conversations between those characters of
cartoons, thus creating ego-blocking and super-ego situations through
these conversations. It is thus found to be highly useful in psychiatric
conditions to find one’s deviation pattern, super-ego pattern, obsessions,
and like.

3.4.2 Word Association Test

Word-association test a test of personality and mental function in

which the subject is required to respond to each of a series of words
with the first word that comes to mind or with a word of a specified
class of words (such as antonyms). The technique was invented by
Francis Galton in 1879 for use in exploring individual differences, and
Emil Kraepelin was the first to apply it to the study of abnormality. Galton
used a list of 75 stimulus words with which he read and noted his
responses. He thought that there might be link between a person’s
Intelligence Quotient and word association.

Carl Jung and other psychoanalysts later adapted it for use as

a projective technique. His test consists of 100 stimulus words, that were
singly read out to the client, who has to answer as quickly as possible
with the first word that which comes to his/her mind. He used this to
identify the abnormal patterns of responses to identify psychological
complexes, along with what he called as “Intellectual and Emotional
Deficiencies”. The stimulus words like Gold, Bank, Work, Pennies etc.
will be presented to the subject.

Procedure

• A stimulus word from the list will be read to the subject

• The subject will be asked to respond with the first word comes to
her/his mind.
• The results will be recorded in a sheet containing three columns,
namely, Test Word, Reaction Time and Patient Response.
• Speed of response is considered important.
• In case of Delayed response, the time will be recorded.

The careful observations will lead to identify the associative disturbances

like Perseveration, Unrelated reaction, delayed reaction, distant reaction,
Neologisms, Affective reactions, Alternatives, Vulgar reactions,
mishearing the stimulus words, not knowing the stimulus words

43
Applications

In the word-association test, a list of words is read to the subject, and he

or she is asked to respond with the first word that comes to mind.
Response words are analyzed for their commonplace or unusual nature,
for their possible indication of emotional tension, and for their
relationship to sexual conflicts. Freud believed that such responses
provided clues to peoples' personalities (free association). Cognitive
psychologists, however, use this procedure to investigate how semantic
information is stored in memory. Studies have demonstrated that word
associations are almost always based on a word's meaning, as opposed
to its physical properties.

3.4.3 The Sentence-Completion Test

The sentence completion method of studying personality is a semi

structured projective technique in which the subject is asked to finish a
sentence for which the first word or words are supplied. As in other
projective devices, it is assumed that the subject reflects his own wishes,
desires, fears and attitudes in the sentences he makes. Historically, the
incomplete sentence method is related most closely to the word
association test.

Ebbinghaus invented this method in 1879 to test the mental ability of

school children in Germany. He used this test to study his interest in the
development of intellectual capacity and reasoning ability in Children
(Hersen, 2003). Carl Jung was the first to look at it that whether it can be
used for personality assessment. He thought that the inner notions could
be analyzed through people’s associations of different words.
Sentence Completion Methods are presentations of the beginning of
sentences which then requests that the subjects complete the sentence
any way they would like. This method is based on the idea that it will
reveal more about thoughts, fantasies, and emotional conflicts than
testing with direct questions (Weiner & Greene, 2008).

The sentence-completion test also requires verbal responses. Subjects

are asked to finish such sentences as “My ambition is . . .” or “What
worries me . . .” Interpretation of the responses with both of these
approaches can be highly subjective. The items shall be prepared as
Vague as possible, so most of the possible projection can occur and if
the items are too clear, it will not produce free expression of thoughts
and feelings.

44
Specimen Items

• Life is a ……………………… (full of opportunity/ full of problems)

• By chance ………………………… (he get an opportunity)
• He realized that he must do ………………………………………
(do hard work/an attempt to escape)
• His success made him………………………………….. (to work
more/ more lazy)

Types of tests

Some of the most widely used sentence completion tests are:

• Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank (assesses personality traits;

perhaps the most widely used of all sentence completion tests).

• Miner Sentence Completion Test (measures

managerial motivations).

• Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT)

from Jane Loevinger (measures ego development).

Applications

This test is used to Personality analysis, clinical applications, attitude

assessment, achievement motivation, and measurement of other
constructs. They are used in several disciplines,
including psychology, management, education, and marketing.

3.5. SITUATIONAL TESTS

Many work situations require the job incumbent to make a judgment
about aspects of the situation and respond to the practical situational
demands. An effective response to the practical demands of a situation
may require the appropriate use of some combination of one’s abilities
and other personal attributes. Situational tests or situational judgment
tests (SJTs) are psychometric tests that are specifically designed to
assess individual differences in this overall ability to make effective
judgments or responses to a wide variety of situations.

Situational judgment tests are typically administered in a paper-and-

pencil mode, although they may be implemented in other modes, such
as video-based items and interview questions. The SJT is made up of
several situations, each presenting a hypothetical critical incident and
several courses of action in response to the situation. The instructional
and response format is dependent on the specific SJT. In many SJTs,
respondents are required to rate each possible course of action on a
five-point effectiveness scale or indicate the best and worst action

45
among the alternatives provided. In other SJTs, respondents are asked
to rate each possible action in terms of the likelihood that they would
adopt it or indicate their most likely and least likely actions among the
possible actions provided.

LET US SUM UP

Projective type of tests emerged from the psychoanalytic school of

thought, which suggested that people have unconscious thoughts or
urges. Projective tests are intended to uncover feelings, desires, and
conflicts that are hidden from conscious awareness. In this section we
have discussed about the Rorschach Inkblot Technique, Thematic
Apperception Test, and Other Projective Tests: Picture Frustration Test,
Word Association Test and Sentence Completion test.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Choose the correct answer

1. A semi structured projective technique in which the subject is asked to

finish a sentence for which the first word or words are supplied is called
as _______________.

a) Picture Frustration Test, b) Word Association Test

c) Sentence Completion test d) Rorschach inkblot Test

2. A test of personality and mental function in which the subject is

required to respond to each of a series of words with the first word that
comes to mind or with a word of a specified class of words is called as
____________ ____________

a) Picture Frustration Test, b) Word Association Test

c) Sentence Completion test d) Rorschach inkblot Test

3. The technique which involves showing people a series of picture

cards depicting a variety of ambiguous characters (that may include
men, women, and/or children), scenes, and situations is called as
__________ ___________ ______________

a) Picture Frustration Test, b) Word Association Test

c) Sentence Completion test d) Thematic Apperception inkblot Test

4. A projective test presents a person with an ambiguous stimulus in the

form of Ink blots, and assumes that the person will project his or her
inner or unconscious psychological processes onto it is called as
_____________ _____________ __________.

46
a) Picture Frustration Test, b) Word Association Test

c) Sentence Completion test d) Rorschach inkblot Test

KEY WORDS

Picture Frustration Test Rorschach inkblot

Sentence Completion test Thematic Apperception Test

Word Association Test

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. c) Sentence Completion test

2. b) Word Association Test

3. b) Thematic Apperception Test

4. d) Rorschach inkblot Test

GLOSSARY

Picture Frustration : consists of 24 cartoon pictures, each

Test portraying two persons in a frustrating
situation, contains two "speech balloons," a
filled one for the "frustrator" or antagonist,
and a blank one for the frustrated person,
or protagonist.

Rorschach Inkblot : Contains 10 inkblot cards (5 black and

Technique White, 5 in color) are shown one at a time,
and test-takers are asked to describe what
they see. Then the cards are shown a
second time, and the psychologist asks
specific questions about the earlier
answers.

Sentence : a test in which the participant must

Completion Test complete an unfinished sentence by filling
in the specific missing word or phrase.

Thematic : It consists of 30 cards, which involves

Apperception Test showing people a series of picture cards
depicting a variety of ambiguous
characters, asking them to record their
responses.

47
Word-association : a test of personality and mental function in
test which the subject is required to respond to
each of a series of words with the first word
that comes to mind or with a word of a
specified class of words (such as
antonyms).

MODEL QUESTIONS

1. What are Projective Techniques?

2. Discuss about the Rorschach Inkblot Technique.
3. Describe the Thematic Apperception Test.
4. What is Picture Frustration Test? Explain.
5. Write about Word Association Test.
6. Explain the Sentence Completion test.

SUGGESTED READINGS
https://psychology.jrank.org/pages/656/Word-Association-
Test.html#ixzz79WzURSQC

https://psychcentral.com/lib/rorschach-inkblot-test#The-Scoring-of-the-
Rorschach

https://psychcentral.com/lib/rorschach-inkblot-test#Rorschach-
Interpretation
https://www.mayfieldschools.org/Downloads/25%20Projections%20of%2
0Who%20You%20Are.pdf

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-thematic-apperception-test-
tat-2795588

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-thematic-apperception-test-tat-card-
135015893.html

https://www.slideshare.net/blessmaramag/thematic-apperception-test

https://projectivetests.umwblogs.org/popular-tests/sentence-completion-
test

https://psychology.jrank.org/pages/656/Word-Association-
Test.html#ixzz79WzURSQC

48
 BLOCK II

SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL AND
PERSONOLOGY APPROACH

UNIT 4: ERICH FROMM

UNIT 5: HARRY STACK SULLIVAN

UNIT 6: HENRY MURRAY

49
UNIT 4
ERICH FROMM
STRUCTURE
Overview

Learning Objectives
4.1 Overview of Eric Fromm’s Concept
4.2 Fromm’s Basic Assumptions

4.3 Human Needs

4.4 Mechanisms of Escape

4.5 Character Orientation

4.6 Applications of Fromm Theory

Let us sum up

Check Your Progress

Key Words

Answers to check your progress

Glossary

Model Questions

Suggested Readings
OVERVIEW

Erich Fromm’s basic thesis is that modern-day people have been torn
away from their prehistoric union with nature and also with one another,
yet they have the power of reasoning, foresight, and imagination. This
combination of lack of animal instincts and presence of rational thought
makes humans the freaks of the universe. Self-awareness contributes to
feelings of loneliness, isolation, and homelessness. To escape from
these feelings, people strive to become reunited with nature and with
their fellow human beings. In this chapter let us look into the concepts of
Erich Fromm.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit, you will be able to:

• understand the nature of human beings,
• explain the structure of personality,
• explain the mechanisms of escape

50
 • give an orientation about character
• explain development of personality according to Fromm and
Sullivan.

4.1 OVERVIEW OF ERIC FROMM’S CONCEPT

Trained in Freudian psychoanalysis and influenced by Karl Marx, Karen

Horney, and other socially oriented theorists, Fromm developed a theory
of personality that emphasizes the influence of socio-biological factors,
history, economics, and class structure. His humanistic psychoanalysis
assumes that humanity’s separation from the natural world has
produced feelings of loneliness and isolation, a condition called basic
anxiety.

Fromm takes an evolutionary view of humanity. When humans emerged

as a separate species in animal evolution, they lost most of their animal
instincts but gained “an increase in brain development that permitted
self-awareness, imagination, planning, and doubt” (Fromm, 1992, p. 5).
This combination of weak instincts and a highly developed brain makes
humans distinct from all other animals.

4.2 FROMM’S BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

Fromm (1947) believed that humans, unlike other animals, have been
“torn away” from their prehistoric union with nature. They have no
powerful instincts to adapt to a changing world; instead, they have
acquired the facility to reason—a condition Fromm called the human
dilemma. People experience this basic dilemma because they have
become separate from nature and yet have the capacity to be aware of
themselves as isolated beings. The human ability to reason, therefore, is
both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it permits people to survive,
but on the other, it forces them to attempt to solve basic insoluble
dichotomies.

The first and most fundamental dichotomy is that between life and death.
Self-awareness and reason tell us that we will die, but we try to negate
this dichotomy by postulating life after death, an attempt that does not
alter the fact that our lives end with death. A second existential
dichotomy is that humans are capable of conceptualizing the goal of
complete self-realization, but we also are aware that life is too short to
reach that goal. The third existential dichotomy is that people are
ultimately alone, yet we cannot tolerate isolation. They are aware of
themselves as separate individuals, and at the same time, they believe
that their happiness depends on uniting with their fellow human beings.

51
4.3 HUMAN NEEDS

As animals, humans are motivated by such physiological needs as

hunger, sex, and safety; but they can never resolve their human
dilemma by satisfying these animal needs. Only the distinctive human
needs can move people toward a reunion with the natural world. These
existential needs have emerged during the evolution of human culture,
growing out of their attempts to find an answer to their existence and to
avoid becoming insane. Healthy individuals are better able to find ways
of reuniting to the world by productively solving the human needs of
relatedness, transcendence, rootedness, a sense of identity, and a
frame of orientation.

4.3.1 Relatedness

The first human, or existential, need is relatedness, the drive for union
with another person or other persons. Fromm postulated three basic
ways in which a person may relate to the world: (1) submission, (2)
power, and (3) love. A person can submit to another, to a group, or to an
institution in order to become one with the world. Whereas submissive
people search for a relationship with domineering people, power seekers
welcome submissive partners. When a submissive person and a
domineering person find each other, they frequently establish a
symbiotic relationship, one that is satisfying to both partners. Although
such symbiosis may be gratifying, it blocks growth toward integrity and
psychological health.

People in symbiotic relationships are drawn to one another not by love

but by a desperate need for relatedness, a need that can never be
completely satisfied by such a partnership. Underlying the union are
unconscious feelings of hostility. People in symbiotic relationships blame
their partners for not being able to completely satisfy their needs.

Fromm believed that love is the only route by which a person can
become united with the world and, at the same time, achieve
individuality and integrity. He defined love as a “union with somebody, or
something outside oneself under the condition of retaining the
separateness and integrity of one’s own self” (Fromm, 1981, p. 3). Love
involves sharing and communion with another, yet it allows a person the
freedom to be unique and separate.

4.3.2 Transcendence

Like other animals, humans are thrown into the world without their
consent or will and then removed from it—again without their consent or
will. But unlike other animals, human beings are driven by the need for

52
transcendence, defined as the urge to rise above a passive and
accidental existence and into “the realm of purposefulness and freedom”
(Fromm, 1981, p. 4). Just as relatedness can be pursued through either
productive or nonproductive methods, transcendence can be sought
through either positive or negative approaches. People can transcend
their passive nature by either creating life or by destroying it. Although
other animals can create life through reproduction, only humans are
aware of themselves as creators. Also, humans can be creative in other
ways. They can create art, religions, ideas, laws, material production,
and love. To create means to be active and to care about that which we
create. But we can also transcend life by destroying it and thus rising
above our slain victims. In The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness,
Fromm (1973) argued that humans are the only species to use
malignant aggression: that is, to kill for reasons other than survival.

4.3.3 Rootedness

A third existential need is for rootedness, or the need to establish roots

or to feel at home again in the world. When humans evolved as a
separate species, they lost their home in the natural world. At the same
time, their capacity for thought enabled them to realize that they were
without a home, without roots. The consequent feelings of isolation and
helplessness became unbearable. Rootedness, too, can be sought in
either productive or nonproductive strategies. With the productive
strategy, people are weaned from the orbit of their mother and become
fully born; that is, they actively and creatively relate to the world and
become whole or integrated. This new tie to the natural world confers
security and reestablishes a sense of belongingness and rootedness.
However, people may also seek rootedness through the nonproductive
strategy of fixation—a tenacious reluctance to move beyond the
protective security provided by one’s mother. People who strive for
rootedness through fixation are “afraid to take the next step of birth, to
be weaned from the mother’s breast. [They] . . . have a deep craving to
be mothered, nursed, protected by a motherly figure; they are the
externally dependent ones, who are frightened and insecure when
motherly protection is withdrawn” (Fromm, 1955, p. 40).

4.3.4 Sense of Identity

The fourth human need is for a sense of identity, or the capacity to be

aware of ourselves as a separate entity. Because we have been torn
away from nature, we need to form a concept of our self, to be able to
say, “I am I,” or “I am the subject of my actions.” Fromm (1981) believed
that primitive people identified more closely with their clan and did not

53
see themselves as individuals existing apart from their group. Without a
sense of identity, people could not retain their sanity, and this threat
provides a powerful motivation to do almost anything to acquire a sense
of identity. Neurotics try to attach themselves to powerful people or to
social or political institutions. Healthy people, however, have less need
to conform to the herd, less need to give up their sense of self.

4.3.5 Frame of Orientation

A final human need is for a frame of orientation. Being split off from
nature, humans need a road map, a frame of orientation, to make their
way through the world. Without such a map, humans would be
“confused and unable to act purposefully and consistently” (Fromm,
1973, p. 230). A frame of orientation enables people to organize the
various stimuli that impinge on them. People who possess a solid frame
of orientation can make sense of these events and phenomena, but
those who lack a reliable frame of orientation will, nevertheless, strive to
put these events into some sort of framework in order to make sense of
them. A road map without a goal or destination is worthless. Humans
have the mental capacity to imagine many alternative paths to follow. To
keep from going insane, however, they need a final goal or “object of
devotion” (Fromm, 1976, p. 137). According to Fromm, this goal or
object of devotion focuses people’s energies in a single direction,
enables us to transcend our isolated existence, and confers meaning to
their lives.

4.4 MECHANISM OF ESCAPE

Because basic anxiety produces a frightening sense of isolation and
aloneness, people attempt to flee from freedom through a variety of
escape mechanisms. In Escape from Freedom, Fromm (1941) identified
three primary mechanisms of escape — authoritarianism,
destructiveness, and conformity.

4.4.1 Authoritarianism

Fromm (1941) defined authoritarianism as the “tendency to give up the

independence of one’s own individual self and to fuse one’s self with
somebody or something outside oneself, in order to acquire the strength
which the individual is lacking” (p.141) Masochism results from basic
feelings of powerlessness, weakness, and inferiority and is aimed at
joining the self to a more powerful person or institution. Masochistic
strivings often are disguised as love or loyalty, but unlike love and
loyalty, they can never contribute positively to independence and
authenticity. Compared with masochism, sadism is more neurotic and

54
more socially harmful. Like masochism, sadism is aimed at reducing
basic anxiety through achieving unity with another person or persons.
Fromm (1941) identified three kinds of sadistic tendencies, all more or
less clustered together. The first is the need to make others dependent
on one self and to gain power over those who are weak. The second is
the compulsion to exploit others, to take advantage of them, and to use
them for one’s benefit or pleasure. A third sadistic tendency is the desire
to see others suffer, either physically or psychologically.

4.4.2 Destructiveness

Like authoritarianism, destructiveness is rooted in the feelings of

aloneness, isolation, and powerlessness. Unlike sadism and
masochism, however, destructiveness does not depend on a continuous
relationship with another person; rather, it seeks to do away with other
people. Both individuals and nations can employ destructiveness as a
mechanism of escape. By destroying people and objects, a person or a
nation attempts to restore lost feelings of power. However, by destroying
other persons or nations, destructive people eliminate much of the
outside world and thus acquire a type of perverted isolation.

4.4.3 Conformity

A third means of escape is conformity. People who conform try to

escape from a sense of aloneness and isolation by giving up their
individuality and becoming whatever other people desire them to be.
Thus, they become like robots, reacting predictably and mechanically to
the whims of others. They seldom express their own opinion, cling to
expected standards of behavior, and often appear stiff and automated.
People in the modern world are free from many external bonds and are
free to act according to their own will, but at the same time, they do not
know what they want, think, or feel.

4.5 CHARACTER ORIENTATION

In Fromm’s theory, personality is reflected in one’s character orientation,

that is, a person’s relatively permanent way of relating to people and
things. Fromm (1947) defined personality as “the totality of inherited and
acquired psychic qualities which are characteristic of one individual and
which make the individual unique” (p. 50). The most important of the
acquired qualities of personality is character, defined as “the relatively
permanent system of all non-instinctual strivings through which man
relates himself to the human and natural world” (Fromm, 1973, p. 226).

55
People relate to the world in two ways—by acquiring and using things
(assimilation) and by relating to self and others (socialization). In general
terms, people can relate to things and to people either nonproductively
or productively.

4.5.1 Nonproductive Orientations

People can acquire things through any one of four nonproductive

orientations: (1) receiving things passively, (2) exploiting, or taking things
through force, (3) hoarding objects, and (4) marketing or exchanging
things. Fromm used the term “nonproductive” to suggest strategies that
fail to move people closer to positive freedom and self-realization.
Nonproductive orientations are, however, not entirely negative; each has
both a negative and a positive aspect. Personality is always a blend or
combination of several orientations, even though one orientation is
dominant.

a) Receptive
Receptive characters feel that the source of all good lies outside
themselves and that the only way they can relate to the world is to
receive things, including love, knowledge, and material possessions.
They are more concerned with receiving than with giving, and they want
others to shower them with love, ideas, and gifts.

b) Exploitative
Like receptive people, exploitative characters believe that the source of
all good is outside themselves. Unlike receptive people, however, they
aggressively take what they desire rather than passively receive it. In
their social relationships, they are likely to use cunning or force to take
someone else’s spouse, ideas, or property.

c) Hoarding

Rather than valuing things outside themselves, hoarding characters

seek to save that which they have already obtained. They hold
everything inside and do not let go of anything. They keep money,
feelings, and thoughts to themselves. In a love relationship, they try to
possess the loved one and to preserve the relationship rather than
allowing it to change and grow. They tend to live in the past and are
repelled by anything new.
d) Marketing

The marketing character is an outgrowth of modern commerce in which

trade is no longer personal but carried out by large, faceless
corporations. Consistent with the demands of modern commerce,

56
marketing characters see themselves as commodities, with their
personal value dependent on their exchange value, that is, their ability to
sell themselves. Marketing, or exchanging, personalities must see
themselves as being in constant demand; they must make others
believe that they are skillful.

4.5.2 The Productive Orientation

The single productive orientation has three dimensions—working, loving,

and reasoning. Because productive people work toward positive
freedom and a continuing realization of their potential, they are the
healthiest of all character types. Only through productive activity can
people solve the basic human dilemma: that is, to unite with the world
and with others while retaining uniqueness and individuality. This
solution can be accomplished only through productive work, love, and
thought. Healthy people value work not as an end in itself, but as a
means of creative self-expression. They do not work to exploit others, to
market themselves, to withdraw from others, or to accumulate needless
material possessions. They are neither lazy nor compulsively active, but
use work as a means of producing life’s necessities. Productive love is
characterized by the four qualities of love discussed earlier—care,
responsibility, respect, and knowledge. In addition to these four
characteristics, healthy people possess biophilia: that is, a passionate
love of life and all that is alive.

Biophilic people desire to further all life—the life of people, animals,

plants, ideas, and cultures. They are concerned with the growth and
development of themselves as well as others. Biophilic individuals want
to influence people through love, reason, and example—not by force.
Fromm believed that love of others and self-love is inseparable but that
self-love must come first. All people have the capacity for productive
love, but most do not achieve it because they cannot first love
themselves. Productive thinking, which cannot be separated from
productive work and love, is motivated by a concerned interest in
another person or object.

Healthy people see others as they are and not as they would wish them
to be. Similarly, they know themselves for who they are and have no
need for self-delusion. Fromm (1947) believed that healthy people rely
on some combination of all five character orientations. Their survival as
healthy individuals depends on their ability to receive things from other
people, to take things when appropriate, to preserve things, to exchange
things, and to work, love, and think productively.

57
4.6 APPLICATION OF FROMM’S THEORY

Although Erich Fromm’s writings are stimulating and insightful, his ideas
have produced very little empirical research in the field of personality
psychology. One reason for this may be due to the broad approach
Fromm takes. In many ways his ideas are more sociological than
psychological in that his theory deals with alienation from culture and
nature in general, two topics that are more typically covered in sociology
class than a psychology class. The modern society in which we live
provides us with innumerable conveniences and benefits. But those
conveniences do come at a cost. Personal freedom and a sense of
individuality are important, but when those forces lead people to be
estranged from their community, it can be harmful to their well-being.

LET US SUM UP

In addition to physiological or animal needs, people are motivated by five

distinctively human needs—relatedness, transcendence, rootedness, a
sense of identity, and a frame of orientation. These needs have evolved
from human existence as a separate species and are aimed at moving
people toward a reunion with the natural world. Fromm believed that lack
of satisfaction of any of these needs is unbearable and results in
insanity. Thus, people are strongly driven to fulfill them in some way or
another, either positively or negatively. To relieve basic anxiety, people
use various mechanisms of escape, especially authoritarianism,
destructiveness, and conformity. Psychologically healthy people acquire
the syndrome of growth, which includes (1) positive freedom, or the
spontaneous activity of a whole, integrated personality; (2) biophilia, or a
passionate love of life; and (3) love for fellow humans. Other people,
however, live nonproductively and acquire things through passively
receiving things, exploiting others, hoarding things, and marketing or
exchanging things, including themselves.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Tendency to give up the independence of one’s own individual

self and to fuse one’s self with somebody or something outside
oneself is referred to ____________________.
a) Authoritarianism b) Destructiveness

c) Conformity d) Receptive

2. The feelings of aloneness, isolation, and powerlessness is

referred to _______________

58
 a) Authoritarianism b) Destructiveness
c) Conformity d) Receptive
3. Tendency to escape from a sense of aloneness and isolation by
giving up their individuality and becoming whatever other people
desire them to be __________________.
a) Authoritarianism b) Destructiveness

c) Conformity d) Receptive

4. The tendency which is more concerned with receiving than with

giving, and they want others to shower them with love, ideas, and
gifts is referred as ______________
a) Authoritarianism b) Destructiveness
c) Conformity d) Receptive
5. Self-awareness contributes to feelings of
______,________,_________
6. Human needs of ______, _______, _______, ________,
________ can move people toward a reunion with the natural
world.
7. ____is the need for people to rise above their passive existence
and create or destroy life.
8. A sense of identity gives a person a feeling of _________
9. To relieve basic anxiety, people use various mechanisms of
escape like ____,____,____
10. Two aspects of experience are ________ and _________.

KEY WORDS

Authoritarianism Conformity
Destructiveness Frame of orientation

Homelessness Isolation

Loneliness Relatedness

Rootedness Self-awareness

Sense of identity Transcendence

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1) a) Authoritarianism
2) b) Destructiveness
3) c) Conformity
4) d) Receptive
5. loneliness, isolation, and homelessness

59
 6. relatedness, transcendence, rootedness, sense of identity, and a
frame of orientation
7. Transcendence
8. “I” or “me.”
9. Authoritarianism, destructiveness, and conformity.
10. tensions and energy transformations

GLOSSARY

Biophilia : that is, a passionate love of life and all that

is alive.

Mechanism of : Because basic anxiety produces a

Escape frightening sense of isolation and
aloneness, people attempt to flee from
freedom through a variety of escape
mechanisms.

Relatedness : the drive for union with another person or

other persons.

Conformity : People who conform try to escape from a

sense of aloneness and isolation by giving
up their individuality and becoming
whatever other people desire them to be.

MODEL QUESTIONS
1. Explain the techniques used by human to reunite with nature.
2. What is the various mechanism used to relieve from basic
anxiety according to Fromm?
3. Explain productive and non-productive characters.
4. Explain the mechanisms of escape
5. What is character orientation?
6. Describe the development of personality according to Fromm
and Sullivan.

60
UNIT 5
HARRY STACK SULLIVAN
STRUCTURE
Overview

Learning Objectives

5.1 Interpersonal theory by Harry Stack Sullivan

5.2 Anxiety

5.3 Energy Transformations

5.4 Personifications
5.5 Stages of Development

5.6 Applications of Sullivan’s Theory

Let us sum up

Check Your Progress

Key Words

Answers to check your progress

Glossary

Model Questions

Suggested Readings
OVERVIEW

After Freud’s time, the neo-analysts Karen Horney and Erich Fromm had
begun the turning away from Freud’s focus on internal drives and
struggles and had begun emphasizing the social environment. But a
major shift was launched by Harry Stack Sullivan. For Sullivan (1953),
personality is inextricably tied to social situations; personality is “the
relatively enduring pattern of recurrent interpersonal situations” that
characterizes a person’s life (p. 111). In this chapter let us look into the
concepts of Sullivan.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit, you will be able to:

• explain the nature of human beings,

• explain the Energy Transformations
• give a note on Personifications

61
 • illustrate the Stages of Development

5.1 INTERPERSONAL THEORY BY HARRY STACK SULLIVAN

Sullivan insisted that knowledge of human personality can be gained

only through the scientific study of interpersonal relations. His
interpersonal theory emphasizes the importance of various
developmental stages—infancy, childhood, the juvenile era,
preadolescence, early adolescence, late adolescence, and adulthood.
Healthy human development rests on a person’s ability to establish
intimacy with another person, but unfortunately, anxiety can interfere
with satisfying interpersonal relations at any age. Perhaps the most
crucial stage of development is preadolescence—a period when children
first possess the capacity for intimacy but have not yet reached an age
at which their intimate relationships are complicated by lustful interests.
Before turning to Sullivan’s ideas on the stages of development, let us
look into some of his unique terminology.

5.1.1 Tensions
Like Freud and Jung, Sullivan (1953b) saw personality as an energy
system. Energy can exist either as tension (potentiality for action) or as
actions themselves (energy transformations). Energy transformations
transform tensions into either covert or overt behaviors and are aimed at
satisfying needs and reducing anxiety. Tension is a potentiality for action
that may or may not be experienced in awareness. Thus, not all tensions
are consciously felt. Many tensions, such as anxiety, premonitions,
drowsiness, hunger, and sexual excitement, are felt but not always on a
conscious level.
5.1.2 Needs

Needs are tensions brought on by biological imbalance between a

person and the physiochemical environment, both inside and outside the
organism. Needs are episodic—once they are satisfied, they temporarily
lose their power, but after a time, they are likely to recur. Although needs
originally have a biological component, many of them stem from the
interpersonal situation. The most basic interpersonal need is tenderness.
An infant develops a need to receive tenderness from its primary
caretaker.
Tenderness is a general need because it is concerned with the overall
wellbeing of a person. General needs, which also include oxygen, food,
and water, are opposed to zonal needs, which arise from a particular
area of the body. Several areas of the body are instrumental in satisfying
both general and zonal needs. For example, the mouth satisfies general

62
needs by taking in food and oxygen, but it also satisfies the zonal need
for oral activity.

5.2 ANXIETY

A second type of tension, anxiety, differs from tensions of needs in that it

is disjunctive, is more diffuse and vaguer, and calls forth no consistent
actions for its relief. If infants lack food (a need), their course of action is
clear; but if they are anxious, they can do little to escape from that
anxiety. How does anxiety originate? Sullivan (1953b) postulated that it
is transferred from the parent to the infant through the process of
empathy. Anxiety in the mothering one inevitably induces anxiety in the
infant. Because all mothers have some amount of anxiety while caring
for their babies, all infants will become anxious to some degree. Just as
the infant does not have the capacity to reduce anxiety, the parent has
no effective means of dealing with the baby’s anxiety. Any signs of
anxiety or insecurity by the infant are likely to lead to attempts by the
parent to satisfy the infant’s needs. Sullivan insisted that anxiety and
loneliness are unique among all experiences in that they are totally
unwanted and undesirable. Because anxiety is painful, people have a
natural tendency to avoid it, inherently preferring the state of euphoria,
or complete lack of tension. Sullivan (1954) summarized this concept by
stating simply that “the presence of anxiety is much worse than its
absence”.

5.3 ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS

Tensions that are transformed into actions, either overt or covert, are
called energy transformations. This somewhat awkward term simply
refers to our behaviors that are aimed at satisfying needs and reducing
anxiety—the two great tensions. Not all energy transformations are
obvious, overt actions; many take the form of emotions, thoughts, or
covert behaviors that can be hidden from other people.

Dynamisms

Energy transformations become organized as typical behavior patterns

that characterize a person throughout a lifetime. Sullivan (1953b) called
these behavior patterns dynamisms, a term that means about the same
as traits or habit patterns. Dynamisms are of two major classes: first,
those related to specific zones of the body, including the mouth, anus,
and genitals; and second, those related to tensions. This second class is
composed of three categories—the disjunctive, the isolating, and the
conjunctive. Disjunctive dynamisms include those destructive patterns of
behavior that are related to the concept of malevolence.

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Malevolence is the disjunctive dynamism of evil and hatred,
characterized by the feeling of living among one’s enemies (Sullivan,
1953b). It originates around age 2 or 3 years when children’s actions
that earlier had brought about maternal tenderness are rebuffed,
ignored, or met with anxiety and pain. When parents attempt to control
their children’s behavior by physical pain or reproving remarks, some
children will learn to withhold any expression of the need for tenderness
and to protect themselves by adopting the malevolent attitude.

Intimacy grows out of the earlier need for tenderness but is more specific
and involves a close interpersonal relationship between two people who
are more or less of equal status. Intimacy must not be confused with
sexual interest. In fact, it develops prior to puberty, ideally during
preadolescence when it usually exists between two children, each of
whom sees the other as a person of equal value.
On the other hand, lust is an isolating tendency, requiring no other
person for its satisfaction. It manifests itself as autoerotic behavior even
when another person is the object of one’s lust. Lust is an especially
powerful dynamism during adolescence, at which time it often leads to a
reduction of self-esteem. Attempts at lustful activity are often rebuffed by
others, which increases anxiety and decreases feelings of self-worth.
The most complex and inclusive of all the dynamisms is the self-system,
a consistent pattern of behaviors that maintains people’s interpersonal
security by protecting them from anxiety. Like intimacy, the self-system
is a conjunctive dynamism that arises out of the interpersonal situation.
However, it develops earlier than intimacy, at about age 12 to 18
months. As children develop intelligence and foresight, they become
able to learn which behaviors are related to an increase or decrease in
anxiety. This ability to detect slight increases or decreases in anxiety
provides the self system with a built-in warning device. The warning,
however, is a mixed blessing. On one hand, it serves as a signal,
alerting people to increasing anxiety and giving them an opportunity to
protect themselves. On the other, this desire for protection against
anxiety makes the self system resistant to change and prevents people
from profiting from anxiety-filled experiences.

5.4 PERSONIFICATIONS

Beginning in infancy and continuing throughout the various

developmental stages, people acquire certain images of themselves and
others. These images, called personifications, may be relatively

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accurate, or because they are colored by people’s needs and anxieties,
they may be grossly distorted. Sullivan (1953b) described three basic
personifications that develop during infancy: the bad-mother, the
godmother, and the me. In addition, some children acquire an eidetic
personification (imaginary playmate) during childhood.

Sullivan’s notion of the bad-mother and good-mother is similar to Klein’s

concept of the bad breast and good breast. The bad-mother
personification, in fact, grows out of the infant’s experiences with the
bad-nipple: that is, the nipple that does not satisfy hunger needs.
Whether the nipple belongs to the mother or to a bottle held by the
mother, the father, a nurse, or anyone else is not important. The bad-
mother personification is almost completely undifferentiated, inasmuch
as it includes everyone involved in the nursing situation. It is not an
accurate image of the “real” mother but merely the infant’s vague
representation of not being properly fed. After the bad-mother
personification is formed, an infant will acquire a good mother
personification based on the tender and cooperative behaviors of the
mothering one. These two personifications, one based on the infant’s
perception of an anxious, malevolent mother and the other based on a
calm, tender mother, combine to form a complex personification
composed of contrasting qualities projected onto the same person. Until
the infant develops language, however, these two opposing images of
mother can easily coexist (Sullivan, 1953b).

During mid-infancy a child acquires three me personifications (bad-me,

good-me, and not-me) that form the building blocks of the self-
personification. Each is related to the evolving conception of me or my
body. The bad-me personification is fashioned from experiences of
punishment and disapproval that infants receive from their mothering
one. The resulting anxiety is strong enough to teach infants that they are
bad, but it is not so severe as to cause the experience to be dissociated
or selectively unattended. Like all personifications, the bad-me is shaped
out of the interpersonal situation; that is, infants can learn that they are
bad only from someone else, ordinarily the bad-mother. The good me
personification results from infants’ experiences with reward and
approval. Infants feel good about themselves when they perceive their
mother’s expressions of tenderness. Such experiences diminish anxiety
and foster the good-me personification. Sudden severe anxiety,
however, may cause an infant to form the not-me personification and to
either dissociate or selectively in attend experiences related to that
anxiety. An infant denies these experiences to the me image so that they
become part of the not-me personification. These shadowy not-me

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personifications are also encountered by adults and are expressed in
dreams, schizophrenic episodes, and other dissociated reactions.

5.5 STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

Stage Age Significant Interpersonal Important
others process learning
Infancy 0 to Mothering Tenderness Good mother/
2 one bad mother;
good me/bad
me
Childhood 2 to Parents Protect security Syntaxic
6 through language
imaginary
playmates
Juvenile era 6 to Playmates Orientation Competition,
81/2 of equal toward living in compromise,
status the world of cooperation
peers
Preadolescence 81/2 Single Intimacy Affection and
to 13 chum respect from
peers
Early 13 to Several Intimacy and Balance of
adolescence 15 chums lust toward lust, intimacy
different and security
persons operations
Late 15 - Lover Fusion of Discovery of
adolescence intimacy and self and the
lust world outside
of self

5.6 APPLICATION OF SULLIVAN’S THEORY

Because he believed that psychic disorders grow out of interpersonal

difficulties, Sullivan based his therapeutic procedures on an effort to
improve a patient’s relationship with others. To facilitate this process, the
therapist serves as a participant observer, becoming part of an
interpersonal, face-to-face relationship with the patient and providing the
patient an opportunity to establish syntaxic communication with another
human being.

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In general terms, Sullivanian therapy is aimed at uncovering patients’
difficulties in relating to others. To accomplish this goal, the therapist
helps patients to give up some security in dealing with other people and
to realize that they can achieve mental health only through consensually
validated personal relations. The therapeutic ingredient in this process is
the face-to-face relationship between therapist and patients, which
permits patients to reduce anxiety and to communicate with others on
the syntaxic level. Although they are participants in the interview,
Sullivanian therapists avoid getting personally involved. They do not
place themselves on the same level with the patient; on the contrary,
they try to convince the patient of their expert abilities. In other words,
friendship is not a condition of psychotherapy—therapists must be
trained as experts in the difficult business of making discerning
observations of the patient’s interpersonal relations (Sullivan, 1954).

LET US SUM UP

People develop their personality through interpersonal relationships.

Experience takes place on three levels—prototaxic (primitive,
presymbolic), parataxic (not accurately communicated to others), and
syntaxic (accurate communication). Two aspects of experience are
tensions (potential for action) and energy transformations (actions or
behaviors). Tensions are of two kinds—needs and anxiety. Needs are
conjunctive in that they facilitate interpersonal development. Anxiety is
disjunctive in that it interferes with the satisfaction of needs and is the
primary obstacle to establishing healthy interpersonal relationships.
Energy transformations become organized into consistent traits or
behavior patterns called dynamisms. Typical dynamisms include
malevolence (a feeling of living in enemy country), intimacy (a close
interpersonal relationship with a peer of equal status, and lust
(impersonal sexual desires).Sullivan’s chief contribution to personality
was his concept of various developmental stages.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. ______________ is the disjunctive dynamism of evil and hatred,

characterized by the feeling of living among one’s enemies.

a) Malevolence b) Intimacy

c) Self System d) Needs

2. ____________ grows out of the earlier need for tenderness but

is more specific and involves a close interpersonal relationship
between two people who are more or less of equal status.
a) Malevolence b) Intimacy c) Self System d) Needs

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 3. _______________ a consistent pattern of behaviors that
maintains people’s interpersonal security by protecting them from
anxiety.
a) Malevolence b) Intimacy
c) Self System d) Needs
4. ___________ are tensions brought on by biological imbalance
between a person and the physiochemical environment, both
inside and outside the organism.
a) Malevolence b) Intimacy

c) Self System d) Needs

5. Tensions are of two kinds ___________ ___________

6. Needs are________; Anxiety is_______.
7. _____become organized into consistent traits or behavior
patterns called dynamisms
8. Typical dynamisms include_____, _______, _______.
9. According to Sullivan Juvenile era is from _________

KEY WORDS

Conjunctive Disjunctive

Energy transformations Interpersonal relationships

Intimacy Lust

Parataxic Prototaxic

Tensions

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. a) Malevolence
2. b) Intimacy
3. c) Self System
4. d) Needs
5. Needs and anxiety.
6. Conjunctive; disjunctive
7. Energy transformations
8. Malevolence, intimacy ,and lust
9. Six to eight and half years.

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GLOSSARY

Energy : Tensions that are transformed into actions,

Transformations either overt or covert, are called energy
transformations.

Needs : are tensions brought on by biological

imbalance between a person and the
physiochemical environment, both inside
and outside the organism.

Personifications : Beginning in infancy and continuing

throughout the various developmental
stages, people acquire certain images of
themselves and others.

Tension : Tension is a potentiality for action that may

or may not be experienced in awareness.

MODEL QUESTIONS

1 Explain the stages of development according to Sullivan.

2 Explain tensions and needs
3 Explain the energy transformations.
4 Explain personification proposed by Sullivan.

SUGGESTED READINGS

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UNIT 6
HENRY MURRAY
STRUCTURE
Overview

Learning Objectives

6.1 Principle of Personology

6.2 Divisions of Personality

6.3 Needs: The Motivators of Behaviour

6.4 Types of Needs

6.5 Characteristics of Needs

6.6 Personality Development in Childhood

6.7 Applications of Henry Murray

Let us sum up

Check Your Progress

Key Words
Glossary

Answers to check your progress

Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

Henry Murray designed an approach to personality that includes

conscious and unconscious forces; the influence of the past, present,
and future; and the impact of physiological and sociological factors. The
influence of Freudian psychoanalysis can be seen in Murray’s
recognition of the effect on adult behavior of childhood experiences and
in his notions of the id, ego, and superego. Although Freud’s imprint is
clear, Murray gave unique interpretations to these phenomena. In this
unit let us look into the Murray’s Personology.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit you will be able to:

• explain the Principle of Personology
• illustrate the Divisions of Personality

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 • explain the role of Needs as Motivators of Behaviour
• illustrate the Types of Needs
• explain the Characteristics of Needs
• explain the Personality Development in Childhood
• highlight the Applications of Henry Murray

6.1 PRINCIPLE OF PERSONOLOGY

The first principle in Murray’s Personology, his term for the study of
personality, is that personality is rooted in the brain. The individual’s
cerebral physiology guides and governs every aspect of the personality.
A simple example of this is that certain drugs can alter the functioning of
the brain, and so the personality. A second principle in Murray’s system
involves the idea of tension reduction. Murray agreed with Freud and
other theorists that people act to reduce physiological and psychological
tension, but this does not mean we strive for a tension-free state.

A third principle of Murray’s Personology is that an individual’s

personality continues to develop over time and is constructed of all the
events that occur during the course of that person’s life. Therefore, the
study of a person’s past is of great importance. Murray’s fourth principle
involves the idea that personality changes and progresses; it is not fixed
or static. Fifth, Murray emphasized the uniqueness of each person while
recognizing similarities among all people. As he saw it, an individual
human being is like no other person, like some other people, and like
every other person.

6.2 DIVISIONS OF PERSONALITY

Murray divided personality into three parts, using the Freudian terms id,
superego, and ego, but his concepts are not what Freud envisioned.
Like Freud, Murray suggested that the id is the repository of all innate
impulsive tendencies. As such, it provides energy and direction to
behavior and is concerned with motivation. The id contains the primitive,
amoral, and lustful impulses as Freud described. However, in Murray’s
Personology system the id also encompasses innate impulses that
society considers acceptable and desirable.

Murray defined the superego as the internalization of the culture’s values

and norms, by which rules we come to evaluate and judge our behavior
and that of others. The substance of the superego is imposed on
children at an early age by their parents and other authority figures.
Other factors may shape the superego, including one’s peer group and
the culture’s literature and mythology. Thus, Murray deviated from
Freud’s ideas by allowing for influences beyond the parent–child

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interaction. The superego must try to thwart the socially unacceptable
impulses, but it also functions to determine when, where, and how an
acceptable need can be expressed and satisfied. While the superego is
developing, so is the ego-ideal, which provides us with long-range goals
for which to strive. The ego-ideal represents what we could become at
our best and is the sum of our ambitions and aspirations.

The ego is the rational governor of the personality; it tries to modify or

delay the id’s unacceptable impulses. Murray extended Freud’s
formulation of the ego by proposing that the ego is the central organizer
of behavior. It consciously reasons, decides, and wills the direction of
behavior. Thus, the ego is more active in determining behavior. The ego
is also the arbiter between the id and the superego and may favor one
over the other.

6.3 NEEDS: THE MOTIVATORS OF BEHAVIOUR

Murray’s most important contribution to theory and research in

personality is his use of the concept of needs to explain the motivation
and direction of behavior. He said that “motivation is the crux of the
business and motivation always refers to something within the organism”
(quoted in Robinson, 1992, p. 220). A need involves a physicochemical
force in the brain that organizes and directs intellectual and perceptual
abilities. Needs may arise either from internal processes such as hunger
or thirst, or from events in the environment. Needs arouse a level of
tension; the organism tries to reduce this tension by acting to satisfy the
needs. Thus, needs energize and direct behavior. They activate
behavior in the appropriate direction to satisfy the needs. Murray’s
research led him to formulate a list of 20 needs.

List of needs

• Abasement: To submit passively to external force. To accept

injury, blame, criticism, and punishment. To admit inferiority,
error, wrongdoing, or defeat. To blame, belittle, or mutilate the
self. To seek and enjoy pain, punishment, illness, and
misfortune.
• Achievement: To accomplish something difficult. To master,
manipulate, or organize physical objects, human beings, or
ideas. To overcome obstacles and attain a high standard. To
rival and surpass others.

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• Affiliation: To draw near and enjoyably cooperate or reciprocate
with an allied other who resembles one or who likes one. To
adhere and remain loyal to a friend.
• Aggression: To overcome opposition forcefully. To fight, attack,
injure, or kill another. To maliciously belittle, censure, or ridicule
another.
• Autonomy: To get free, shake off restraint, or break out of
confinement. To resist coercion and restriction. To be
independent and free to act according to impulse. To defy
conventions.
• Counteraction: To master or make up for a failure by rest riving.
To obliterate a humiliation by resumed action. To overcome
weaknesses and to repress fear. To search for obstacles and
difficulties to overcome. To maintain self-respect and pride on a
high level.
• Dependence: To defend the self against assault, criticism, and
blame. To conceal or justify a misdeed, failure, or humiliation.
• Deference: To admire and support a superior other. To yield
eagerly to the influence of an allied other. To conform to custom.
• Dominance: To control one’s environment. To influence or direct
the behavior of others by suggestion, seduction, persuasion, or
command. To get others to cooperate. To convince another of
the rightness of one’s opinion.
• Exhibition: To make an impression. To be seen and heard. To
excite, amaze, fascinate, entertain, shock, intrigue, amuse, or
entice others.
• Harmavoidance: To avoid pain, physical injury, illness, and
death. To escape from a dangerous situation. To take
precautionary measures.
• Infavoidance: To avoid humiliation. To quit embarrassing
situations or to avoid conditions that may lead to the scorn,
derision, or indifference of others. To refrain from action because
of the fear of failure.
• Nurturance: To give sympathy to and gratify the needs of a
helpless other, an infant or one who is weak, disabled, tired,
inexperienced, infirm, humiliated, lonely, dejected, or mentally
confused.
• Order: To put things in order. To achieve cleanliness,
arrangement, organization, balance, neatness, and precision.
• Play: To act for fun, without further purpose.

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 • Rejection: To exclude, abandon, expel, or remain indifferent to
an inferior other. To snub or jilt another.
• Sentience: To seek and enjoy sensuous impressions.
• Sex: To form and further an erotic relationship. To have sexual
intercourse.
• Succorance: To be nursed, supported, sustained, surrounded,
protected, loved, advised, guided, indulged, forgiven, or
consoled. To remain close to a devoted protector.
• Understanding: To be inclined to analyze events and to
generalize. To discuss and argue and to emphasize reason and
logic. To state one’s opinions precisely. To show interest in
abstract formulations in science, mathematics, and philosophy.

6.4 TYPES OF NEEDS

Primary and secondary needs

Primary needs (viscerogenic needs) arise from internal bodily states and
include those needs required for survival (such as food, water, air, and
harmavoidance), as well as such needs as sex and sentience.
Secondary needs (psychogenic needs) arise indirectly from primary
needs, in a way Murray did not make clear, but they have no specifiable
origin within the body. They are called secondary not because they are
less important but because they develop after the primary needs.
Secondary needs are concerned with emotional satisfaction and include
most of the needs on Murray’s original list.

Reactive and proactive needs

Reactive needs involve a response to something specific in the
environment and are aroused only when that object appears. For
example, the harmavoidance need appears only when a threat is
present. Proactive needs do not depend on the presence of a particular
object. They are spontaneous needs that elicit appropriate behavior
whenever they are aroused, independent of the environment. For
example, hungry people look for food to satisfy their need; they do not
wait for a stimulus, such as a television ad for a hamburger, before
acting to find food. Reactive needs involve a response to a specific
object; proactive needs arise spontaneously.

6.5 CHARACTERISTICS OF NEEDS

Some needs are complementary and can be satisfied by one behavior or

a set of behaviors. Murray called this a fusion of needs. For instance, by
working to acquire fame and wealth, we can satisfy the needs for
achievement, dominance, and autonomy.

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The concept of subsidiation refers to a situation in which one need is
activated to aid in satisfying another need. For example, to satisfy the
affiliation need by being in the company of other people, it may be
necessary to act deferentially toward them, thus invoking the deference
need. In this case, the deference need is subsidiary to the affiliation
need.

Murray recognized that childhood events can affect the development of

specific needs and, later in life, can activate those needs. He called this
influence press because an environmental object or event presses or
pressures the individual to act a certain way. Because of the possibility
of interaction between need and press,

Murray introduced the concept of thema (or unity thema). The thema
combines personal factors (needs) with the environmental factors that
pressure or compel our behavior (presses). The thema is formed
through early childhood experiences and becomes a powerful force in
determining personality. Largely unconscious, the thema relates needs
and presses in a pattern that gives coherence, unity, order, and
uniqueness to our behavior.

6.6 PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDHOOD

Drawing on Freud’s work, Murray divided childhood into five stages,

each characterized by a pleasurable condition that is inevitably
terminated by society’s demands. Each stage leaves its mark on our
personality in the form of an unconscious complex that directs our later
development. According to Murray, everyone experiences these five
complexes because everyone passes through the same developmental
stages. There is nothing abnormal about them except when they are
manifested in the extreme, a condition that leaves the person fixated at
that stage. The personality is then unable to develop spontaneity and
flexibility, a situation that interferes with the formation of the ego and
superego.

6.6.1 STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

i) The claustral stage: The fetus in the womb is secure, serene, and
dependent, conditions we may all occasionally wish to reinstate. The
simple claustral complex is experienced as a desire to be in small,
warm, dark places that are safe and secluded. For example, one might
long to remain under the blankets instead of getting out of bed in the
morning. People with this complex tend to be dependent on others,
passive, and oriented toward safe, familiar behaviors that worked in the

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past. The in support form of the claustral complex centers on feelings of
insecurity and helplessness that cause the person to fear open spaces,
falling, drowning, fires, earthquakes, or simply any situation involving
novelty and change. The anti-claustral or egression form of the claustral
complex is based on a need to escape from restraining womblike
conditions. It includes a fear of suffocation and confinement and
manifests itself in a preference for open spaces, fresh air, travel,
movement, change, and novelty.

ii) The oral stage: The oral Succorance complex features a combination
of mouth activities, passive tendencies, and the need to be supported
and protected. Behavioral manifestations include sucking, kissing,
eating, drinking, and a hunger for affection, sympathy, protection, and
love. The oral aggression complex combines oral and aggressive
behaviors, including biting, spitting, shouting, and verbal aggression
such as sarcasm. Behaviors characteristic of the oral rejection complex
include vomiting, being picky about food, eating little, fearing oral
contamination (such as from kissing), desiring seclusion, and avoiding
dependence on others.

iii) The anal stage: In the anal rejection complex, there is a

preoccupation with defecation, anal humor, and feces-like material such
as dirt, mud, plaster, and clay. Aggression is often part of this complex
and is shown in dropping and throwing things, firing guns, and setting off
explosives. Persons with this complex may be dirty and disorganized.
The anal retention complex is manifested in accumulating, saving, and
collecting things, and in cleanliness, neatness, and orderliness.
iv) The urethral stage: Unique to Murray’s system, the urethral complex
is associated with excessive ambition, a distorted sense of self-esteem,
exhibitionism, bedwetting, sexual cravings, and self-love. It is sometimes
called the Icarus complex, after the mythical Greek figure that flew so
close to the sun that the wax holding his wings melted. Like Icarus,
persons with this complex aim too high, and their dreams are shattered
by failure.

v) The genital or castration stage: Murray disagreed with Freud’s

contention that fear of castration is the core of anxiety in adult males. He
interpreted the castration complex in narrower and more literal fashion
as a boy’s fantasy that his penis might be cut off. Murray believed such a
fear grows out of childhood masturbation and the parental punishment
that may have accompanied it.

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6.7 APPLICATION OF MURRAY’S THEORY

Murray’s techniques for assessing personality differ from those of Freud

and the other neo psychoanalytic theorists. Because Murray was not
working with emotionally disturbed persons, he did not use such
standard psychoanalytic techniques as free association and dream
analysis.

During the World War II years (1941–1945), Murray directed an

assessment program for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), a
forerunner of the CIA. His goal was to select people to serve as spies
and saboteurs, operating behind enemy lines in hazardous situations.
This pioneering attempt at employee selection through large-scale
personality assessment has evolved into the successful assessment-
center approach widely used in business today to select promising
leaders and executives. The OSS program provides a striking example
of the practical application of assessment techniques.
The assessment technique most often associated with Murray is the
Thematic Apperception Test. The TAT consists of a set of ambiguous
pictures depicting simple scenes. The person taking the test is asked to
compose a story that describes the people and objects in the picture,
including what might have led up to the situation and what the people
are thinking and feeling. Murray derived the TAT, which is a projective
technique, from Freud’s defense mechanism of projection. In projection,
a person attributes or projects disturbing impulses onto someone else. In
the TAT, the person projects those feelings onto the characters in the
pictures and thereby reveals his or her troubling thoughts to the
researcher or therapist. Thus, the TAT is a device for assessing
unconscious thoughts, feelings, and fears.

Considerable research has been conducted on several of the needs

Murray proposed, notably the affiliation and achievement.

LET US SUM UP

The major principle of Murray’s work is the dependence of psychological

processes on physiological processes. Altering the level of need-
induced tension is vital to the personality. We generate tension to have
the satisfaction of reducing it. Three basic divisions of personality are the
id, superego, and ego. The id contains primitive, amoral impulses as well
as tendencies to empathy, imitation, and identification. The superego is
shaped by parents, peer groups, and cultural factors. The ego
consciously decides and wills the direction of behavior. Needs are
physiologically based hypothetical constructs that arise from internal

77
processes or environmental events. Needs arouse a tension level that
must be reduced; thus, they energize and direct behavior. Needs may
be primary (viscerogenic), arising from internal bodily processes, or
secondary (psychogenic), concerned with mental and emotional
satisfaction. Proactive needs are spontaneous and do not depend on
environmental objects; reactive needs involve a response to a specific
environmental object. A need’s prepotency is its urgency or insistence.
The fusion of needs refers to needs that can be satisfied by one
behavior or set of behaviors. Subsidiation involves a situation in which
one need is activated to aid in the satisfaction of another need. Press
refers to the pressure, caused by environmental objects or childhood
events, to behave in a certain way. Thema is an amalgamation of
personal factors (needs) and environmental factors (presses).
Complexes are patterns formed in the five childhood stages of
development that unconsciously direct adult development. The claustral
complex involves the secure existence within the womb. The oral
complex involves the sensuous enjoyment of sucking nourishment. The
anal complex involves the pleasure resulting from defecation. The
urethral complex involves the pleasure accompanying urination. The
castration complex involves genital pleasure and the fantasy that the
penis might be cut.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. The ____________ complex involves the secure existence within

the womb.
a) claustral b) oral c) anal d) urethral
2. The __________ complex involves the sensuous enjoyment of
sucking nourishment.
a) claustral b) oral c) anal d) urethral
3. The ______ complex involves the pleasure resulting from
defecation.
a) claustral b) oral c) anal d) urethral
4. The ____________ complex involves the pleasure
accompanying urination.
a) claustral b) oral c) anal d) urethral
5. The ________ complex involves genital pleasure and the fantasy
that the penis might be cut.
a) claustral b) oral c) anal d) castration
Say true or false

6. Murray’s personality theory is based only on physiological

process

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 7. Human being generate tension in order to satisfy the needs
8. Fusion of needs refer to set of behavioural satisfaction
9. Thema is based on environmental factors
10. The claustral complex involves the secure existence within the
womb.

KEY WORDS

Needs Physiological process

Press Proactive and reactive

Psychological process Subsidiation

Tension Thema

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. a) claustral
2. b) oral
3. c) anal
4. d) urethral
5. d) castration
6. False
7. True
8. True
9. False
10. True

GLOSSARY

Abasement : To submit passively to external force. To

accept injury, blame, criticism, and
punishment.

Achievement : To master, manipulate, or organize physical

objects, human beings, or ideas. To
overcome obstacles and attain a high
standard.

Affiliation : To draw near and enjoyably cooperate or

reciprocate with an allied other who
resembles one or who likes one

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Aggression : To overcome opposition forcefully, to fight,
attack, injure, or kill another.

Autonomy : To resist coercion and restriction, be

independent and free to act according to
impulse and to defy conventions.

Dependence : To defend the self against assault, criticism,

and blame.

Dominance : To influence or direct the behavior of others

by suggestion, seduction, persuasion, or
command.

Harmavoidance : To avoid pain, physical injury, illness, and

death and to take precautionary measures.

Infavoidance : To quit embarrassing situations or to avoid

conditions that may lead to the scorn,
derision, or indifference of others and to
refrain from action because of the fear of
failure.

MODEL QUESTIONS

1. What is the relationship between physiological processes and

psychological processes?
2. Define the concepts of subsidiation, thema, and press.
3. Explain the stages of development according to Murray.
4. Describe the role of tension in the development of personality.
5. Explain how TAT is assessed.

SUGGESTED READINGS

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 BLOCK - 3

EXISTENTIAL AND TRAIT APPROACH

UNIT 7: EXISTENTIAL APPROACH – ROLLO MAY

UNIT 8: EXISTENTIAL APPROACH – VICKTOR FRANKL

UNIT 9: TRAIT APPROACH – ALLPORT

UNIT 10: TRAIT APPROACH - CATTELL

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UNIT-7
EXISTENTIAL APPROACH
STRUCTURE
Overview

Learning Objectives

7.1 Introduction to Existentialism

7.2 Rollo May’s View of Human Nature

7.3 Care, Love and Will

7.4 Forms of Love

7.5 Freedom and Destiny

7.6 Psychopathology

7.7 Applications of Rollo May’s theory

Let us sum up

Check Your Progress

Key Words
Answers to check your progress

Glossary

Model Questions
Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
Shortly after World War II, a new psychology—existential psychology—
began to spread from Europe to the United States. Existential
psychology is rooted in the philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich
Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, and other European
philosophers. The first existential psychologists and psychiatrists were
also Europeans, and these included Ludwig Binswanger, Medard Boss,
Victor Frankl, and others. For nearly 50 years, the foremost
spokesperson for existential psychology in the United States was Rollo
May. In this unit we are going to study existential approach proposed by
Rollo May and Victor Frankl.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit you will be to:

• explain about Existentialism

• write about Care, Love and Will
• explain the Forms of Love
• write about Freedom and Destiny
• explain Psychopathology
• list out the key concepts proposed by Rollo May
7.1 INTRODUCTION TO EXISTENTIALISM

Modern existential psychology has roots in the writings of Søren

Kierkegaard (1813–1855), Danish philosopher and theologian.
Kierkegaard was concerned with the increasing trend in postindustrial
societies toward the dehumanization of people. He opposed any attempt
to see people merely as objects, but at the same time, he opposed the
view that subjective perceptions are one’s only reality. Instead,
Kierkegaard was concerned with both the experiencing person and the
person’s experience. He wished to understand people as they exist in
the world as thinking, active, and willing beings.

Although philosophers and psychologists interpret existentialism in a

variety of ways, some common elements are found among most
existential thinkers. First, existence takes precedence over essence.
Existence means to emerge or to become; essence implies a static
immutable substance. Existence suggests process; essence refers to a
product. Existence is associated with growth and change; essence
signifies stagnation and finality
Second, existentialism opposes the split between subject and object.
According to Kierkegaard, people are more than mere cogs in the
machinery of an industrialized society, but they are also more than
subjective thinking beings living passively through armchair speculation.
Instead, people are both subjective and objective and must search for
truth by living active and authentic lives. Third, people search for some
meaning to their lives. They ask (though not always consciously) the
important questions concerning their being: Who am I? Is life worth
living? Does it have a meaning? How can I realize my humanity? Fourth,
existentialists hold that ultimately each of us is responsible for who we
are and what we become. We cannot blame parents, teachers,
employers, God, or circumstances. As Sartre (1957) said, “Man is
nothing else but what he makes of himself. Such is the first principle of
existentialism”. Although we may associate with others in productive and
healthy relationships, in the end, we are each alone. We can choose to

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become what we can be or we can choose to avoid commitment and
choice, but ultimately, it is our choice. Fifth, existentialists are basically
anti-theoretical. To them, theories further dehumanize people and render
them as object.

Existentialists adopt a phenomenological approach to understanding

humanity. To them, we exist in a world that can be best understood from
our own perspective. When scientists study people from an external
frame of reference, they violate both the subjects and their existential
world. The basic unity of person and environment is expressed in the
German word Dasein, meaning to exist there. Hence, Dasein literally
means to exist in the world and is generally written as being-in-the-
world. The hyphens in this term imply an oneness of subject and object,
of person and world. Many people suffer from anxiety and despair
brought on by their alienation from themselves or from their world. They
either have no clear image of themselves or they feel isolated from a
world that seems distant and foreign. They have no sense of Dasein, no
unity of self and world. As people strive to gain power over nature, they
lose touch with their relationship to the natural world.

Alienation is the illness of our time, and it manifests itself in three areas:
(1) separation from nature, (2) lack of meaningful interpersonal relations,
and (3) alienation from one’s authentic self. Being-in-the-world
necessitates an awareness of self as a living, emerging being. This
awareness, in turn, leads to the dread of not being: that is, nonbeing or
nothingness.

7.2 ROLLO MAY’S VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE

Before May published The Meaning of Anxiety in 1950, most theories of
anxiety held that high levels of anxiety were indicative of neuroses or
other forms of psychopathology. Just prior to publishing this book, May
had experienced a great deal of anxiety while recovering from
tuberculosis. He and his first wife and their young son were basically
penniless, and he was unsure of his own recovery. In The Meaning of
Anxiety, may claimed that much of human behavior is motivated by an
underlying sense of dread and anxiety. The failure to confront death
serves as a temporary escape from the anxiety or dread of nonbeing.
But the escape cannot be permanent. Death is the one absolute of life
that sooner or later everyone must face. People experience anxiety
when they become aware that their existence or some value identified
with it might be destroyed.

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May (1958a) defined anxiety as “the subjective state of the individual’s
becoming aware that his [or her] existence can be destroyed, that he
can become ‘nothing’” (p. 50). At another time, May (1967) called
anxiety a threat to some important value. Anxiety, then, can spring either
from an awareness of one’s nonbeing or from a threat to some value
essential to one’s existence. It exists when one confronts the issue of
fulfilling one’s potentialities. This confrontation can lead to stagnation
and decay, but it can also result in growth and change.

No one can escape the effects of anxiety. To grow and to change one’s
values means to experience constructive or normal anxiety. May (1967)
defined normal anxiety as that “which is proportionate to the threat, does
not involve repression, and can be confronted constructively on the
conscious level” (p. 80). As people grow from infancy to old age, their
values change, and with each step, they experience normal anxiety. “All
growth consists of the anxiety-creating surrender of past values” (May,
1967, p. 80). Normal anxiety is also experienced during those creative
moments when an artist, a scientist, or a philosopher suddenly achieves
an insight that leads to recognition that one’s life, and perhaps the lives
of countless others, will be permanently changed.

May (1967) defined neurotic anxiety as “a reaction which is

disproportionate to the threat, involves repression and other forms of
intrapsychic conflict, and is managed by various kinds of blocking-off of
activity and awareness” (p. 80). Whereas normal anxiety is felt whenever
values are threatened, neurotic anxiety is experienced whenever values
become transformed into dogma. To be absolutely right in one’s beliefs
provides temporary security, but it is security “bought at the price of
surrendering [one’s] opportunity for fresh learning and new growth”

Anxiety arises when people are faced with the problem of fulfilling their
potentialities. Guilt arises when people deny their potentialities, fail to
accurately perceive the needs of fellow humans, or remain oblivious to
their dependence on the natural world (May, 1958a). Just as May used
the term “anxiety” to refer to large issues dealing with one’s being-in-the-
world, so too did he employ the concept of guilt. In this sense, both
anxiety and guilt are ontological; that is, they refer to the nature of being
and not to feelings arising from specific situations or transgressions.

The ability to make a choice implies some underlying structure upon

which that choice is made. The structure that gives meaning to
experience and allows people to make decisions about the future is
called intentionality (May, 1969b). Without intentionality, people could

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neither choose nor act on their choice. Action implies intentionality, just
as intentionality implies action; the two are inseparable.

CARE, LOVE AND WILL

To care for someone means to recognize that person as a fellow human

being, to identify with that person’s pain or joy, guilt or pity. Care is an
active process, the opposite of apathy. “Care is a state in which
something does matter”

Care is not the same as love, but it is the source of love. To love means
to care, to recognize the essential humanity of the other person, to have
an active regard for that person’s development. May (1953) defined love
as a “delight in the presence of the other person and an affirming of [that
person’s] value and development as much as one’s own” (p. 206).
Without care there can be no love—only empty sentimentality or
transient sexual arousal.

Care is also the source of will. May (1969b) called will “the capacity to
organize one’s self so that movement in a certain direction or toward a
certain goal may take place”

7.3 FORMS OF LOVE

May (1969b) identified four kinds of love in Western tradition— Sex,

Eros, Philia, and Agape.

Sex

Sex is a biological function that can be satisfied through sexual

intercourse or some other release of sexual tension. Although it has
become cheapened in modern Western societies, “it still remains the
power of procreation, the drive which perpetuates the race, the source at
once of the human being’s most intense pleasure and his [or her] most
pervasive anxiety” (May, 1969b, p. 38). May believed that in ancient
times sex was taken for granted, just as eating and sleeping were taken
for granted. In modern times, sex has become a problem.

Eros

In the United States, sex is frequently confused with Eros. Sex is a

physiological need that seeks gratification through the release of
tension. Eros is a psychological desire that seeks procreation or creation
through an enduring union with a loved one. Eros is making love; sex is
manipulating organs. Eros is the wish to establish a lasting union; sex is
the desire to experience pleasure. Eros “takes wings from human
imagination and is forever transcending all techniques, giving the laugh

86
to the entire how to’ books by gaily swinging into orbit above our
mechanical rules”). Eros is built on care and tenderness. It longs to
establish an enduring union with the other person, such that both
partners experience delight and passion and both are broadened and
deepened by the experience. Because the human species could not
survive without desire for a lasting union, Eros can be regarded as the
salvation of sex.

Philia

Eros, the salvation of sex, is built on the foundation of Philia, that is, an
intimate nonsexual friendship between two people. Philia cannot be
rushed; it takes time to grow, to develop, to sink its roots. Examples of
Philia would be the slowly evolving love between siblings or between
lifelong friends. “Philia does not require that we do anything for the
beloved except accept him, be with him, and enjoy him. It is friendship in
the simplest, most direct terms”

Agape
Just as Eros depends on Philia, so Philia needs agape. May (1969b)
defined agape as “esteem for the other, the concern for the other’s
welfare beyond any gain that one can get out of it; disinterested love,
typically, the love of God for man” (p. 319). Agape is altruistic love. It is a
kind of spiritual love that carries with it the risk of playing God. It does
not depend on any behaviors or characteristics of the other person. In
this sense, it is undeserved and unconditional.

7.4 FREEDOM AND DESTINY

A blend of the four forms of love requires both self-assertion and an
affirmation of the other person. It also requires an assertion of one’s
freedom and a confrontation with one’s destiny. Healthy individuals are
able both to assume their freedom and to face their destiny.

May (1981) recognized two forms of freedom—freedom of doing and

freedom of being. The first he called existential freedom; the latter,
essential freedom.

Existential Freedom

Existential freedom should not be identified with existential philosophy. It

is the freedom of action—the freedom of doing. Most middle-class adult
Americans enjoy large measures of existential freedom. They are free to
travel across state lines, to choose their associates, to vote for their
representatives in government, and so on. On a more trivial scale, they
are free to push their shopping carts through a supermarket and select

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from among thousands of items. Existential freedom, then, is the
freedom to act on the choices that one makes.

Essential Freedom

Freedom to act, to move around does not ensure essential freedom: that
is, freedom of being. In fact, existential freedom often makes essential
freedom more difficult. For example, prisoners and inmates in
concentration camps often speak enthusiastically of their “inner
freedom,” despite experiencing very limited existential freedom. Thus,
physical confinement or the denial of liberty seems to allow people to
face their destiny and to gain their freedom of being.

May (1981) defined destiny as “the design of the universe speaking

through the design of each one of us” (p. 90). Our ultimate destiny is
death, but on a lesser scale our destiny includes other biological
properties such as intelligence, gender, size and strength, and genetic
predisposition toward certain illnesses. In addition, psychological and
cultural factors contribute to our destiny. Destiny does not mean
preordained or foredoomed. It is our destination, our terminus, our goal.
Within the boundaries of our destiny, we have the power to choose, and
this power allows us to confront and challenge our destiny. It does not,
however, permit any change we wish. We cannot be successful at any
job, conquer any illness, and enjoy a fulfilling relationship with any
person. We cannot erase our destiny, “but we can choose how we shall
respond, how we shall live out our talents which confront us”

7.5 PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
According to May, apathy and emptiness—not anxiety and guilt—are the
malaise of modern times. When people deny their destiny or abandon
their myths, they lose their purpose for being; they become directionless.
Without some goal or destination, people become sick and engage in a
variety of self-defeating and self-destructive behaviors.

May saw psychopathology as lack of communication—the inability to

know others and to share oneself with them. Psychologically disturbed
individuals deny their destiny and thus lose their freedom. They erect a
variety of neurotic symptoms, not to regain their freedom, but to
renounce it. Symptoms narrow the person’s phenomenological world to
the size that makes coping easier. The compulsive person adopts a rigid
routine, thereby making new choices unnecessary.

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7.6 APPLICATION OF MAY’S VIEW

May believed that the purpose of psychotherapy is to set people free. He

argued that therapists who concentrate on a patient’s symptoms are
missing the more important picture. Neurotic symptoms are simply ways
of running away from freedom and an indication that patients’ inner
possibilities are not being used. When patients become more free, more
human, their neurotic symptoms usually disappear, their neurotic anxiety
gives way to normal anxiety, and their neurotic guilt is replaced by
normal guilt. But these gains are secondary and not the central purpose
of therapy. May insisted that psychotherapy must be concerned with
helping people experience their existence, and that relieving symptoms
is merely a by-product of that experience.

May (1991) also describe therapy as partly religion, partly science, and
partly friendship. The friendship, however, is not an ordinary social
relationship; rather, it calls for the therapist to be confronting and to
challenge the patient. May believed that the relationship itself is
therapeutic, and its transforming effects are independent of anything
therapists might say or any theoretical orientation they might have.

LET US SUM UP

A basic tenet of existentialism is that existence precedes essence,

meaning that what people do is more important than what they are. A
second assumption is that people are both subjective and objective: that
is, they are thinking as well as acting beings. People are motivated to
search for answers to important questions regarding the meaning of life.
People have an equal degree of both freedom and responsibility. The
unity of people and their phenomenological world is expressed by the
term Dasein, or being-in-the-world. Nonbeing, or nothingness, is an
awareness of the possibility of one’s not being, through death or loss of
awareness. People experience anxiety when they are aware of the
possibility of their nonbeing as well as when they are aware that they are
free to choose. Normal anxiety is experienced by everyone and is
proportionate to the threat. Neurotic anxiety is disproportionate to the
threat, involves repression, and is handled in a self-defeating manner.
People experience guilt as a result of their (1) separation from the
natural world, (2) inability to judge the needs of others, and (3) denial of
their own potentials. Intentionality is the underlying structure that gives
meaning to experience and allows people to make decisions about the
future. Love means taking delight in the presence of the other person
and affirming that person’s value as much as one’s own. Sex, a basic

89
form of love, is a biological function that seeks satisfaction through the
release of sexual tension. Eros, a higher form of love, seeks an enduring
union with a loved one. Philia is the form of love that seeks a nonsexual
friendship with another person. Agape, the highest form of love is
altruistic and seeks nothing from the other person.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. May saw _______________ as lack of communication—the

inability to know others and to share oneself with them.

a) Psychopathology b) Destiny c) Eros d) Agape

2. __________ is the design of the universe speaking through the

design of each one of us.
a) Psychopathology b) Destiny c) Eros d) Agape
3. A psychological desire that seeks procreation or creation through
an enduring union with a loved one is referred as
__________________
a) Psychopathology b) Destiny c) Eros d) Agape
4. _____________ is a kind of spiritual love that carries with it the
risk of playing God.
a) Psychopathology b) Destiny c) Eros d) Agape

Say true or false

5. A basic tenet of existentialism is that existence precedes
essence
6. The term Dasein, or not-being-in-the-world
7. Nonbeing, or nothingness, is an awareness of the possibility of
one’s not being.
8. Freedom is gained through confrontation with one’s destiny
9. Sex, a basic form of love, is a psychological function
10. Philia is the form of love that seeks a nonsexual friendship with
another person.

KEY WORDS

Agape Anxiety

Eros Existentialism
Freedom Guilt

Isolation Responsibility

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GLOSSARY

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1) a) Psychopathology
2) b) Destiny
3) c) Eros
4) d) Agape
5. True
6. False
7. True
8. True
9. False
10. True

MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Explain existential theory according to Rollo May

2. Explain human nature according to existential approach
according to May
3. Explain – being and Non-being, meaninglessness, Will and love,
isolation, responsibility
4. Explain the existential therapy.

SUGGESTED READINGS

91
UNIT 8
EXISTENTIAL APPROACH –
VICTOR FRANKL
STRUCTURE

Overview

Learning Objectives

8.1 Introduction Victor Frankl’s Theory

8.2 View of Human Nature

8.3 Existential Therapy

Let us sum up

Check Your Progress

Key Words

Answers to check your progress

Glossary

Model Questions

Suggested Readings
OVERVIEW

Existential therapy is a philosophical form of counselling and

psychotherapy, with long roots into philosophy and a century of
development. There are many forms of existential therapy, including an
analytical version, Dasein analysis (Binswanger, Boss), a meaning-
based approach, called Logo therapy, an existential/humanistic or
existential/integrative approach (Yalom, Schneider) and an existential
phenomenological approach. All these varied forms of existential therapy
search for a direct engagement with people’s problems in living, without
pathologizing these. Existential therapists consider human existence to
be intrinsically difficult. They aim to enable people to get better at
tackling their problems in living, by gaining greater understanding.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit, you will be able to:

• explain the concept of View of Nature

• give an Introduction to Victor Frankl’s Theory
• explain View of Human Nature

92
 • explain about Existential Therapy
• explain about Logo therapy
• illustrate the key concepts proposed by Victor Frankl

8.1 INTRODUCTION TO VICKTOR FRANKL’S THEORY

Viktor Frankl was a central figure in developing existential therapy in

Europe and also in bringing it to the United States. As a youth, Frankl
was deeply influenced by Freud, but he became a student of Adler.
Later, he was influenced by the writings of existential philosophers, and
he began developing his own existential philosophy and psychotherapy.
Frankl developed logo therapy, which means “therapy through
meaning.” Frankl’s philosophical model sheds light on what it means to
be fully alive. The central themes running through his works are life has
meaning, under all circumstances; the central motivation for living is the
will to meaning; we have the freedom to find meaning in all that we think;
and we must integrate body, mind, and spirit to be fully alive. Frankl said
that Freud viewed humans as motivated by the “will to pleasure” and that
Adler focused on the “will to power.” For Frankl, the most powerful
motivation for humans is the “will to meaning.” Frankl’s writings reflect
the theme that the modern person has the means to live, but often has
no meaning to live for. The therapeutic process is aimed at challenging
individuals to find meaning and purpose through, among other things,
suffering, work, and love.

8.2 VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE

The crucial significance of the existential movement is that it reacts
against the tendency to identify therapy with a set of techniques.
Instead, it bases therapeutic practice on an understanding of what it
means to be human. The existential movement stands for respect for the
person, for exploring new aspects of human behavior, and for divergent
methods of understanding people. It uses numerous approaches to
therapy based on its assumptions about human nature.

The existential tradition seeks a balance between recognizing the

limits and tragic dimensions of human existence on one hand and the
possibilities and opportunities of human life on the other hand. It grew
out of a desire to help people engage the dilemmas of contemporary life,
such as isolation, alienation, and meaninglessness. The current focus of
the existential approach is on the individual’s experience of being in the
world alone and facing the anxiety of this isolation. The existential view
of human nature is captured, in part, by the notion that the significance
of our existence is never fixed once and for all; rather, we continually

93
recreate ourselves through our projects. Humans are in a constant state
of transition, emerging, evolving, and becoming in response to the
tensions, contradictions, and conflicts in our lives. Being a person
implies that we are discovering and making sense of our existence.

The basic dimensions of the human condition, according to the

existential approach, include (1) the capacity for self-awareness; (2)
freedom and responsibility; (3) creating one’s identity and establishing
meaningful relationships with others; (4) the search for meaning,
purpose, values, and goals; (5) anxiety as a condition of living; and (6)
awareness of death and nonbeing.

8.2.1 The Capacity for Self-Awareness

Freedom, choice, and responsibility constitute the foundation of self-

awareness. The greater our awareness, the greater our possibilities for
freedom. We increase our capacity to live fully as we expand our
awareness in the following areas:
• We are finite and do not have unlimited time to do what we
want in life.
• We have the potential to take action or not to act; inaction is a
decision.
• We choose our actions, and therefore we can partially create
our own destiny.
• Meaning is the product of discovering how we are “thrown” or
situated in the world and then, through commitment, living
creatively.
• As we increase our awareness of the choices available to us,
we also increase our sense of responsibility for the
consequences of these choices.
• We are subject to loneliness, meaninglessness, emptiness,
guilt, and isolation.
• We are basically alone, yet we have an opportunity to relate to
other beings.

8.2.2 Freedom and Responsibility

A characteristic existential theme is that people are free to choose

among alternatives and therefore play a large role in shaping their own
destiny. Existential therapy embraces three values: (1) the freedom to
become within the context of natural and self-imposed limitations; (2) the
capacity to reflect on the meaning of our choices; and (3) the capacity to
act on the choices we make. A central existential concept is that
although we long for freedom, we often try to escape from our freedom

94
by defining ourselves as a fixed or static entity (Russell, 2007). We have
no choice about being thrust into the world, yet the manner in which we
live and what we become are the result of our choices. Because of the
reality of this freedom, our task is to accept responsibility for directing
our lives. However, it is possible to avoid this reality by making excuses.

Freedom implies that we are responsible for our lives, for our actions,
and for our failures to take action. Existential guilt is being aware of
having evaded a commitment, or having chosen not to choose. This
guilt is a condition that grows out of a sense of incompleteness, or a
realization that we are not what we might have become. Guilt may be a
sign that we have failed to rise to the challenge of our anxiety and that
we have tried to evade it by not doing what we know is possible for us to
do.

Frankl (1978) links freedom with responsibility. He suggested that the

Statue of Liberty on the East Coast should be balanced with a Statue of
Responsibility on the West Coast. His basic premise is that freedom is
bound by certain limitations. We are not free from conditions, but we are
free to take a stand against these restrictions. Ultimately, these
conditions are subject to our decisions, which means we are responsible

8.2.3 Striving for Identify and relationship to others

People are concerned about preserving their uniqueness and

centeredness, yet at the same time they have an interest in going
outside of themselves to relate to other beings and to nature. Each of us
would like to discover a self or, to put it more authentically, to create our
personal identity. This is not an automatic process, and creating an
identity takes courage. As relational beings, we also strive for
connectedness with others. Many existential writers discuss loneliness,
up rootedness, and alienation, which can be seen as the failure to
develop ties with others and with nature. The trouble with so many of us
is that we have sought directions, answers, values, and beliefs from the
important people in our world. Rather than trusting ourselves to search
within and find our own answers to the conflicts in our life, we sell out by
becoming what others expect of us. Our being becomes rooted in their
expectations, and we become strangers to ourselves.

The existentialists postulate that part of the human condition is the

experience of aloneness. But they add that we can derive strength from
the experience of looking to ourselves and sensing our separation. The
sense of isolation comes when we recognize that we cannot depend on
anyone else for our own confirmation; that is, we alone must give a
sense of meaning to life, and we alone must decide how we will live. If

95
we are unable to tolerate ourselves when we are alone, how can we
expect anyone else to be enriched by our company? Before we can
have any solid relationship with another, we must have a relationship
with ourselves. We are challenged to learn to listen to ourselves. We
have to be able to stand alone before we can truly stand beside another.

We humans depend on relationships with others. We want to be

significant in another’s world, and we want to feel that another’s
presence is important in our world. When we are able to stand alone and
tap into our own strength, our relationships with others are based on our
fulfillment, not our deprivation. If we feel personally deprived, however,
we can expect little but a clinging and symbiotic relationship with
someone else.

Because of our fear of dealing with our aloneness, Farha (1994) points
out that some of us get caught up in ritualistic behavior patterns that
cement us to an image or identity we acquired in early childhood. He
writes that some of us become trapped in a doing mode to avoid the
experience of being.

8.2.4 Search of Meaning

A distinctly human characteristic is the struggle for a sense of

significance and purpose in life. When the individual did not find any
meaning in their life, he or she wonders whether to continue the
struggling or even living. For Frankl (1978) such a feeling of
meaninglessness is the major existential neurosis of modern life.
Meaninglessness in life can lead to emptiness and hollowness, or a
condition that Frankl calls the existential vacuum. This condition is
often experienced when people do not busy themselves with routine or
with work. Because there is no preordained design for living, people are
faced with the task of creating their own meaning. At times people who
feel trapped by the emptiness of life withdraw from the struggle of
creating a life with purpose. Experiencing meaninglessness and
establishing values that are part of a meaningful life are issues that
become the heart of counseling.

8.2.5 Anxiety as a condition of Living

Anxiety arises from one’s personal strivings to survive and to maintain

and assert one’s being, and the feelings anxiety generates are an
inevitable aspect of the human condition. Existential anxiety is the
unavoidable result of being confronted with the “givens of existence”—
death, freedom, choice, isolation, and meaninglessness. Existential
anxiety arises as we recognize the realities of our mortality, our

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confrontation with pain and suffering, our need to struggle for survival,
and our basic fallibility.

Existential therapists differentiate between normal and neurotic anxiety,

and they see anxiety as a potential source of growth. Normal anxiety is
an appropriate response to an event being faced. Further, this kind of
anxiety does not have to be repressed, and it can be used as a
motivation to change. Because we could not survive without some
anxiety, it is not a therapeutic goal to eliminate normal anxiety.

Existential philosophers have argued that at the root of our normal (or
ontic) anxiety, which is an appropriate anxiety that relates to concrete
things in the world, is a more fundamental existential (or ontological)
anxiety, which is based on our awareness of our own temporality and is
present even when we do not have to face particularly difficult situations.
Neurotic anxiety, in contrast, is anxiety about concrete things that is out
of proportion to the situation. Neurotic anxiety is typically out of
awareness, and it tends to immobilize the person. Being psychologically
healthy entails living with as little neurotic anxiety as possible, while
accepting and struggling with the unavoidable existential anxiety that is a
part of living.

8.2.6 Awareness of Death and non-being

The existentialist does not view death negatively but holds that
awareness of death as a basic human condition gives significance to
living. A distinguishing human characteristic is the ability to grasp the
reality of the future and the inevitability of death. It is necessary to think
about death if we are to think significantly about life. Death should not
be considered a threat; death provides the motivation for us to take
advantage of appreciating the present moment. Instead of being frozen
by the fear of death, death can be viewed as a positive force that
enables us to live as fully as possible. Although the notion of death is a
wake-up call, it is also something that we strive to avoid (Russell, 2007).
If we defend ourselves against the reality of our eventual death, life
becomes insipid and meaningless. But if we realize that we are mortal,
we know that we do not have an eternity to complete our projects and
that the present is crucial. Our awareness of death is the source of zest
for life and creativity. Death and life are interdependent, and though
physical death destroys us, the idea of death saves us. We can turn our
fear of death into a positive force when we accept the reality of our
mortality.

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8.3 EXISTENTIAL THERAPY

Increasing self-awareness—which includes awareness of alternatives,

motivations, and factors influencing the person and personal goals—is
an aim of all counseling. Clients need to learn that a price must be paid
for increased awareness. As we become more aware, it is more difficult
to “go home again.” Ignorance of our condition may have brought
contentment along with a feeling of partial deadness, but as we open the
doors in our world, we can expect more turmoil as well as the potential
for more fulfillments.

The therapist assists clients in discovering how they are avoiding

freedom and encourages them to learn to risk using it. Not to do so is to
cripple clients and make them dependent on the therapist. Therapists
have the task of teaching clients that they can explicitly accept that they
have choices, even though they may have devoted most of their life to
evading them. Those who are in therapy often have mixed feelings when
it comes to choice.
Existential therapists may begin by asking their clients to allow
themselves to intensify the feeling that they are nothing more than the
sum of others’ expectations and that they are merely the introjects of
parents and parent substitutes.

Part of the therapeutic journey consists of the therapist challenging

clients to begin to examine the ways in which they have lost touch with
their identity, especially by letting others design their life for them. The
therapy process itself is often frightening for clients when they realize
that they have surrendered their freedom to others and that in the
therapy relationship they will have to assume their freedom again.

Existential therapy can provide the conceptual framework for helping

clients challenge the meaning in their lives. Logo therapy is designed to
help clients find meaning in life. The therapist’s function is not to tell
clients what their particular meaning in life should be but to point out that
they can create meaning even in suffering (Frankl, 1978). This view
holds that human suffering (the tragic and negative aspects of life) can
be turned into human achievement by the stand an individual takes
when faced with it. Frankl also contends that people who confront pain,
guilt, despair, and death can effectively deal with their despair and thus
triumph.

Yet meaning is not something that we can directly search for and obtain.
Paradoxically, the more rationally we seek it, the more likely we are to
miss it. Frankl (1978) and Yalom and Josselson (2011) are in basic

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agreement that, like pleasure, meaning must be pursued obliquely.
Finding satisfaction and meaning in life is a by-product of engagement,
which is a commitment to creating, loving, working, and building.

Many people who seek counseling want solutions that will enable them
to eliminate anxiety. Attempts to avoid anxiety by creating the illusion
that there is security in life may help us cope with the unknown, yet we
really know on some level that we are deceiving ourselves when we
think we have found fixed security. The existential therapist can help
clients recognize that learning how to tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty
and how to live without props can be a necessary phase in the journey
from dependence to autonomy.

LET US SUM UP

In this unit we made a outlook into the therapy put forth by Frankl.
Freedom is gained through confrontation with one’s destiny and through
an understanding that death or nonbeing is a possibility at any moment.
Existential freedom is freedom of action, freedom to move about, to
pursue tangible goals. Essential freedom is freedom of being, freedom to
think, to plan, to hope. As humans, according to the existentialist view,
we are capable of self-awareness, which is the distinctive capacity that
allows us to reflect and to decide. With this awareness we become free
beings who are responsible for choosing the way we live, and we
influence our own destiny. This awareness of freedom and responsibility
gives rise to existential anxiety, which is another basic human
characteristic. Whether we like it or not, we are free, even though we
may seek to avoid reflecting on this freedom. The knowledge that we
must choose, even though the outcome is not certain, leads to anxiety

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. ____________ ____________ can provide the conceptual

framework for helping clients challenge the meaning in their lives.
a) Existential Therapy b) Logo therapy
b) c) Freedom d) Existential Guilt

2. ____________ _________ is designed to help clients find

meaning in life.
a) Existential Therapy b) Logo therapy
b) c) Freedom d) Existential Guilt

3. _______________ implies that we are responsible for our lives,

for our actions, and for our failures to take action.

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 a) Existential Therapy b) Logo therapy
b) c) Freedom d) Existential Guilt

4. ______________ ____________ is being aware of having evaded

a commitment or having chosen not to choose.

a) Existential Therapy b) Logo therapy

b) c) Freedom d) Existential Guilt

Say true or false

5. Humans are not capable of self-awareness.

6. Awareness freedom leads to existential anxiety
7. Rollo May developed logo therapy
8. Central motivation for living is the will to meaning; we have the
freedom to find meaning.
9. Logo therapy is designed to help clients find meaning in life.

KEY WORDS

Anxiety Existentialism

Freedom Isolation

Logo therapy Meaning in life

Meaningless Motivation

Search for meaning

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1.a) Existential Therapy

2. b) Logo therapy
3. c) Freedom
4. d) Existential Guilt
5. False
6. True
7. False
8. True
9. True

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in contrast, is anxiety about concrete things that is out of proportion to
the situation.

GLOSSARY

Existential : Increasing self-awareness—which includes

Therapy awareness of alternatives, motivations, and
factors influencing the person and personal goals

Existential : Meaninglessness in life can lead to emptiness

vacuum and hollowness, or a condition that Frankl calls.

Neurotic anxiety : In contrast, is anxiety about concrete thigs that is

the situation

Normal anxiety : Normal anxiety is an appropriate response to an

event being faced

In contrast, is anxiety about concrete thigs that is the situation

MODEL QUESTIONS
1 Explain existential theory according to Victor Frankl
2 Explain human nature according to existential approach
according to Victor Frankl
3 Explain – being and Non-being, meaninglessness, search for
meaning
4 Explain the logo therapy.
5 Explain about Existential Therapy
6 What is Logo therapy? Explain.
7 Illustrate the key concepts proposed by Victor Frankl

SUGGESTED READINGS

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UNIT- 9
TRAIT APPROACH – ALLPORT
STRUCTURE
Overview

Learning Objectives

9.1 Trait theory by Allport - Introduction

9.2 Nature of Human Being

9.3 Development of Personality

9.4 Healthy Development of Personality

9.5 Application and Evaluation

Let us sum up

Check Your Progress

Key Words

Answers to check your progress

Glossary
Model Questions

Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

The trait approach to personality remains vital irrespective of the

criticisms. The field begun by Allport and Cattell several decades ago is
central to the study of personality today. These theorists differed from
most of the others we have discussed in one important respect. Their
insights are not based on the psychotherapeutic approach using case
studies or interviews with emotionally disturbed patients on a couch or in
a clinic. Instead, they studied personality by observing emotionally
healthy persons in an academic laboratory setting. Beyond that
similarity, and the fact that their goal was to identify personality traits,
Allport and Cattell each approached their study differently. Allport and
Cattell agreed on the importance of genetic factors in the formation of
traits. A growing body of research evidence supports the notion that
personality traits are influenced by inherited biological factors. In this
present chapter let us look into the trait approach proposed by Allport.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit, you will be able to:

• explain the theory proposed by Allport

• explain the Nature of human beings
• illustrate Development of personality
• explain the Assessment of theory
• explain the Application and evaluation by Allport

9.1 TRAIT THEORY BY ALLPORT - INTRODUCTION

Allport defined personality as “Personality is the dynamic organization

within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine the
unique characteristic behavior and thought” (Allport, 1961, p. 28). By
dynamic organization, Allport means that although personality is
constantly changing and growing, the growth is organized, not random.
Psychophysical means that personality is composed of mind and body
functioning together as a unit; personality is neither all mental nor all
biological. By determine, Allport means that all facets of personality
activate or direct specific c behaviors and thoughts. The phrase
characteristic behavior and thought means that everything we think and
do is characteristic, or typical, of us. Thus, each person is unique.

Allport considered personality traits to be predispositions to respond, in

the same or a similar manner, to different kinds of stimuli. In other
words, traits are consistent and enduring ways of reacting to our
environment. He summarized the characteristics of traits as follows
(Allport, 1937):
1. Personality traits are real and exist within each of us. They are
not theoretical constructs or labels made up to account for
behavior.
2. Traits determine or cause behavior. They do not arise only in
response to certain stimuli. They motivate us to seek appropriate
stimuli, and they interact with the environment to produce
behavior.
3. Traits can be demonstrated empirically. By observing behavior
over time, we can infer the existence of traits in the consistency
of a person’s responses to the same or similar stimuli.
4. Traits are interrelated; they may overlap, even though they
represent different characteristics.

For example, aggressiveness and hostility are distinct but related traits
and are frequently observed to occur together in a person’s behavior.

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 5. Traits vary with the situation. For example, a person
may display the trait of neatness in one situation and
the trait of disorderliness in another situation.

Initially, Allport proposed two types of traits: individual and common.

Individual traits are unique to a person and define his or her character.
Common traits are shared by a number of people, such as the members
of a culture.

Because Allport realized that some confusion could result from calling
both of these phenomena traits, he later revised his terminology. He
relabeled common traits as traits and individual traits as personal
dispositions. Our personal dispositions do not all have the same intensity
or significance. They may be cardinal traits, central traits, or secondary
traits.

A cardinal trait is so pervasive and influential that it touches almost every

aspect of a person’s life. Allport described it as a ruling passion, a
powerful force that dominates behavior. He offered the examples of
sadism and chauvinism. Not everyone has a ruling passion, and those
who do may not display it in every situation.

Everyone has a few central traits, some 5 to 10 themes that best

describe our behavior. Allport’s examples are aggressiveness, self-pity,
and cynicism. These are the kinds of characteristics we would mention
when discussing a friend’s personality or writing a letter of
recommendation.
The least influential individual traits are the secondary traits, which
appear much less consistently than cardinal and central traits.
Secondary traits may be so inconspicuous or weak that only a close
friend would notice evidence of them. They may include, for example, a
minor preference for a particular type of music or for a certain food.

9.2 NATURE OF HUMAN-BEING

As Allport developed his system, he argued that traits and personal

dispositions are distinct from other characteristics, such as habits and
attitudes. He agreed, however, that habits and attitudes are also capable
of initiating and guiding behavior. . Habits are relatively inflexible and
involve a specific response to a specific stimulus. Traits and personal
dispositions are broader because they arise from the integration of
several habits that share some adaptive function. To Allport, attitudes

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are similar to traits. However, attitudes have specific objects of reference
and involve either positive or negative evaluations.

Allport believed that the central problem for any personality theory is
how it treats the concept of motivation. Allport emphasized the influence
of a person’s present situation not only in his personality theory but also
in his view of motivation. It is the individual’s current state that is
important, not what happened in the past during toilet training, schooling,
or some other childhood crisis. Whatever happened in the past is exactly
that: past. It is no longer active and does not explain adult behavior
unless it exists as a current motivating force.

Allport’s concept of functional autonomy proposes that the motives of

mature, emotionally healthy adults are not functionally connected to the
prior experiences in which they initially appeared. Forces that motivated
us early in life become autonomous, or independent, of their original
circumstances. Similarly, when we mature, we become independent of
our parents. Although we remain related to them, we are no longer
functionally dependent on them and they should no longer control or
guide our life. Adult motives cannot be understood by exploring a
person’s childhood. The only way to understand them is to investigate
why people behave as they do today.

Allport proposed two levels of functional autonomy: perseverative

functional autonomy and propriate functional autonomy. Perseverative
functional autonomy, the more elementary level, is concerned with such
behaviors as addictions and repetitive physical actions such as habitual
ways of performing some everyday task. The behaviors continue or
persevere on their own without any external reward. The actions once
served a purpose but no longer do so and are at too low a level to be
considered an integral part of personality.

Propriate functional autonomy is more important than perseverative

functional autonomy and is essential to understanding adult motivation.
The word propriate derives from proprium, Allport’s term for the ego or
self. Propriate motives are unique to the individual. The ego determines
which motives will be maintained and which will be discarded. We retain
motives that enhance our self-esteem or self- image. Thus, a direct
relationship exists between our interests and our abilities: We enjoy
doing what we do well.

9.3 DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITY

Allport chose the term proprium for the self or ego. He rejected the
words self and ego because of the diversity of meanings ascribed to

105
them by other theorists. We can best understand the word proprium by
considering it in the sense of the adjective appropriate. The proprium
includes those aspects of personality that are distinctive and thus
appropriate to our emotional life. These aspects are unique to each of us
and unite our attitudes, perceptions, and intentions.

Allport described the nature and development of the proprium over

seven stages from infancy through adolescence.

Table 9.1 stage of development

Stages Development
1. Bodily self 1–3 stages emerge during the first three years.
In this stage, infants become aware of their
own existence and distinguish their own bodies
from objects in the environment.
2. Self-identity Children realize that their identity remains
intact despite the many changes that are
taking place.
3. Self-esteem Children learn to take pride in their
accomplishments.
4. Extension of self Stages 4 and 5 emerge during the fourth
through sixth year. In this stage, children come
to recognize the objects and people that are
part of their own world.
5. Self-image Children develop actual and idealized images
of themselves and their behavior and become
aware of satisfying (or failing to satisfy)
parental expectations.
6. Self as a rational Stage 6 develops during ages 6–12. Children
coping begin to apply reason and logic to the solution
of everyday problems.
7. Propriate striving Stages Stage 7 develops during adolescence.
Young people begin to formulate long-range
goals and plans.
8.Adulthood Normal, mature adults are functionally
autonomous, independent of childhood
motives. They function rationally in the present
and consciously create their own lifestyles.

Our social interaction with our parents is vitally important throughout the
stages of the development of the proprium. Of particular significance is
the infant-mother bond as a source of affection and security. If the
mother or primary caregiver provides sufficient affection and security,

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the proprium will develop gradually and steadily, and the child will
achieve positive psychological growth. Childhood motives will be free to
be transformed into the autonomous propriate strivings of adulthood. A
pattern of personal dispositions will form and the result will be a mature,
emotionally healthy adult.

9.4 HEALTHY ADULT PERSONALITY

In Allport’s view, the healthy personality changes from being a

biologically dominated organism in infancy to a mature psychological
organism in adulthood. Our motivations become separated from
childhood and are oriented toward the future.

He described six criteria for the normal, mature, emotionally healthy,

adult personality:

1. The mature adult extends his or her sense of self to people and to
activities beyond the self.
2. The mature adult relates warmly to other people, exhibiting
intimacy, compassion, and tolerance.
3. The mature adult’s self-acceptance helps him or her achieve
emotional security.
4. The mature adult holds a realistic perception of life, develops
personal skills, and makes a commitment to some type of work.
5. The mature adult has a sense of humor and self-objectification (an
understanding of or insight into the self).
6. The mature adult subscribes to a unifying philosophy of life, which
is responsible for directing the personality toward future goals.
By meeting these six criteria, adults can be described as emotionally
healthy and functionally autonomous, independent of childhood motives.

9.5 ASSESSMENT IN ALLPORT’S THEORY

Allport wrote more about personality assessment techniques than most

other theorists did. In his popular book Pattern and Growth in Personality
(1961), he noted that, despite the existence of many approaches to
assessment, there was no single best technique. Personality is so
complex that to evaluate it we must employ many legitimate techniques.
He listed 11 major methods:

1. Constitutional and physiological diagnosis

2. Cultural setting, membership, and role
3. Personal documents and case studies
4. Self-appraisal
5. Conduct analysis

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 6. Ratings
7. Tests and scales
8. Projective techniques
9. Depth analysis
10. Expressive behavior
11. Synoptic procedures (combining information from several
sources in a synopsis)

Allport relied heavily on the personal-document technique and the Study

of Values.

The personal-document technique involves examining diaries,

autobiographies, letters, literary compositions, and other samples of a
person’s written or spoken records to determine the number and kinds of
personality traits.

Allport and two colleagues developed an objective self-report

assessment test called the Study of Values (Allport, Vernon, & Lindzey,
1960). They proposed that our personal values are the basis of our
unifying philosophy of life, which is one of the six criteria for a mature,
healthy personality. The categories of values are as follows:

1. Theoretical values are concerned with the discovery of truth

and are characterized by an empirical, intellectual, and rational
approach to life.
2. Economic values are concerned with the useful and practical.
3. Aesthetic values relate to artistic experiences and to form,
harmony, and grace.
4. Social values reflect human relationships, altruism, and
philanthropy.
5. Political values deal with personal power, influence, and
prestige in all endeavors, not just in political activities.
6. Religious values are concerned with the mystical and with
understanding the universe as a whole.

9.6 APPLICATION AND EVALUATION

Allport conducted considerable research on what he called expressive

behavior, described as behavior that expresses our personality traits. He
also identified coping behavior, which is oriented toward a specific
purpose and is consciously planned and carried out. Coping behavior is
determined by needs inspired by the situation and ordinarily is directed
toward bringing about some change in our environment. Expressive
behavior is spontaneous and reflects basic aspects of the personality. In
contrast to coping behavior, expressive behavior is difficult to change,

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has no specific purpose, and is usually displayed without our awareness.
Many research found mixed results of these concepts proposed by
Allport.

Although considerable research has been conducted on expressive

behavior, Allport’s theory as a whole has stimulated little research to test
its propositions. His idiographic research approach ran counter to the
main current of thought in contemporary psychology, which accepted
nomothetic research instead (the study of large subject groups through
sophisticated statistical analysis). Allport’s focus on emotionally healthy
adults was also at variance with the then prevalent position in clinical
psychology, which dealt with the neurotic and psychotic. Allport’s
emphasis on the uniqueness of personality has been challenged
because his position focuses so exclusively on the individual that it is
impossible to generalize from one person to another. Many
psychologists find it difficult to accept Allport’s proposed discontinuity
between child and adult, animal and human, normal and abnormal.
Research on expressive behavior reveals a consistency in expressive
facial movements and relates them to a variety of emotions and
personality patterns. Some research suggests a consistency of facial
expressions from one culture to another and that computer programs
can recognize facial expressions and can be used to recognize and to
communicate emotions to others. Allport’s theory has been criticized on
the grounds that it is difficult to test empirically such concepts as
functional autonomy. Allport’s focus on the uniqueness of personality
and on the discontinuity between childhood and adult personalities has
also been questioned.

Despite these criticisms, Allport’s theory has been well received in the
academic community. His approach to personality development, his
emphasis on uniqueness, and his focus on the importance of goals are
reflected in the work of the humanistic psychologists.

LET US SUM UP

Gordon Allport focused on the conscious instead of the unconscious. He

believed that personality is guided more by the present and future than
by the past. He studied normal rather than emotionally disturbed
persons. Personality is defined as the dynamic organization within the
individual of those psychophysical systems that determine unique
characteristic behavior and thought. It is a product of heredity and
environment and divorced from childhood experiences

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CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Infants become aware of their own existence and distinguish their own
bodies from objects in the environment is referred to ______________.

a) Bodily Self b) Self Identity

c) Self Image d) Propriate Striving

2. ____________ refers that Children realize that their identity remains

intact despite the many changes that are taking place.

a) Bodily Self b) Self Identity

c) Self Image d) Propriate Striving

3._____________ Children develop actual and idealized images of

themselves and their behavior and become aware of satisfying (or failing
to satisfy) parental expectations.
a) Bodily Self b) Self Identity

c) Self Image d) Propriate Striving

4. Propriate Striving Young people begin to formulate long-range goals

and plans.

a) Bodily Self b) Self Identity

c) Self Image d) Propriate Striving

KEY WORDS

Bodily self Cardinal traits

Central traits Common traits

Competence Energy level

Functional autonomy Individual traits

Propriate striving Proprium (self or ego)

Self-esteem Self-identity

Self-image

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. a) Bodily Self
2. b) Self Identity

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 3. c) Self Image
4. d) Propriate Striving

GLOSSARY

Attitudes : the perceptual outlook which have specific

objects of reference and are for or against
something

Cardinal Traits : a ruling passion, a powerful force that

dominates behavior.

Central Traits : Everyone has a few central traits, some 5 to

10 themes that best describe our behavior.

Functional : a motive in the normal adult is not

autonomy functionally related to the past experiences
in which it originally appeared

Habits : Habits are narrower than traits, are

relatively inflexible, and involve a specific
response to a specific stimulus

Traits : Traits are consistent, enduring

predispositions to respond in the same or a
similar way to different stimuli.

MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Explain the nature of Human-beings proposed by Allport and

Cattell.
2. Explain views of personality traits by Allport
3. Explain personality development by Allport
4. Explain the characteristics of healthy adult.
5. Explain the Nature of human beings
6. Illustrate Development of personality according to Allport
7. Explain the Assessment of theory

SUGGESTED READINGS

111
112
UNIT 10
TRAIT APPROACH –
RAYMOND CATTELL
STRUCTURE

Overview

Learning Objectives

10.1 Introduction to Cattell’s Theory

10.2 Structure of Personality by Cattell

10.3 Stages of Personality Development

10.4 Cattell’s View of Human Nature

10.5 Assessment in Cattell’s Theory

Let us sum up

Check Your Progress

Key Words

Answers to check your progress

Glossary
Model Questions

Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

Cattell defined traits as relatively permanent reaction tendencies that are

the basic structural units of the personality. He classified traits in several
ways such as common traits, unique traits, source traits and surface
traits. Cattell used factor analysis to identify the different personality
traits. In this chapter let us look into the personality traits proposed by
Cattell.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit you will be able to:

• give an introduction to Cattell’s Theory

• explain the Structure of Personality according to Cattell
• explain the Stages of Personality Development
• explain the Cattell’s View of Human Nature
• narrate the Assessment in Cattell’s Theory

113
10.1 INTRODUCTION TO CATTELL’S THEORY

Cattell’s goal in his study of personality was to predict how a person will
behave in response to a given stimulus situation. Cattell was not
interested in changing or modifying behavior from abnormal to normal,
which had been the approach of other personality theorists. Those more
clinically oriented theorists based their work on case studies of patients
who were unhappy or emotionally disturbed and wanted to change. In
contrast, Cattell’s subjects were normal people.

Cattell’s approach to personality was rigorously scientific, relying on

observations of behavior and masses of data. In his research, it was not
unusual for more than 50 kinds of measurements to be taken from a
single subject. The hallmark of Cattell’s approach was his treatment of
the data. He submitted them to the statistical procedure called factor
analysis, which involves assessing the relationship between each
possible pair of measurements taken from a group of subjects to
determine common factors.
10.2 STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY BY CATTELL

Cattell defined traits as relatively permanent reaction tendencies that are

the basic structural units of the personality. Cattell distinguished
between common traits and unique traits. A common trait is one that is
possessed by everyone to some degree. Intelligence, extraversion, and
gregariousness are examples of common traits. Everyone has these
traits, but some people have them to a greater extent than others.

People differ, as we said, in that they possess different amounts or

degrees of these common traits. They also differ because of their unique
traits, those aspects of personality shared by few other people. Unique
traits are particularly apparent in our interests and attitudes.

A second way to classify traits is to divide them into ability traits,

temperament traits, and dynamic traits. Ability traits determine how
efficiently we will be able to work toward a goal. Intelligence is an ability
trait; our level of intelligence will affect the ways in which we strive for
our goals. Temperament traits describe the general style and emotional
tone of our behavior; for example, how assertive, easygoing, or irritable
we are. These traits affect the ways we act and react to situations.
Dynamic traits are the driving forces of behavior. They define our
motivations, interests, and ambitions.

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A third class of traits is surface traits versus source traits according to
their stability and permanence. Surface traits are personality
characteristics that correlate with one another but do not constitute a
factor because they are not determined by a single source. For example,
several behavioral elements such as anxiety, indecision, and irrational
fear combine to form the surface trait labeled neuroticism. Of greater
importance are source traits, which are unitary personality factors that
are much more stable and permanent. Each source trait gives rise to
some aspect of behavior.

Source traits are classified by their origin as either constitutional traits or

environmental mold traits. Constitutional traits originate in biological
conditions but are not necessarily innate. For example, alcohol or drug
use can lead to behaviors such as carelessness, talkativeness, and
slurred speech. Environmental-mold traits derive from influences in our
social and physical environments. These traits are learned
characteristics and behaviors that impose a pattern on the personality.
Table 10.1 Cattell’s source traits (factors) of personality

FACTOR LOW SCORERS HIGH SCORERS

A Reserved, aloof, detached Outgoing, warmhearted,
easygoing
B Low in intelligence High in intelligence
C Low ego strength, easily High ego strength, calm,
upset, less emotionally emotionally stable
stable
E Submissive, obedient, Dominant, assertive, forceful
docile, unsure, meek
F Serious, sober, depressed, Happy-go-lucky, enthusiastic,
worrying cheerful
G Expedient, low in superego Conscientious, high in
superego
H Timid, shy, aloof, restrained Bold, adventurous
I Tough-minded, self-reliant, Tender-minded, sensitive,
demanding dependent
L Trusting, understanding, Suspicious, jealous,
accepting withdrawn
M Practical, down-to-earth, Imaginative, absentminded
concerned with detail
N Forthright, naïve, Shrewd, worldly, insightful
unpretentious

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 O Self-assured, secure, Apprehensive, insecure, self-
complacent reproaching
Q1 Conservative, holds Radical, liberal,
traditional values, dislikes experimenting, embraces
change change
Q2 Group-dependent, prefers to Self-sufficient, resourceful,
join and follow others independent
Q3 Uncontrolled, lax, impulsive Controlled, compulsive,
exacting
Q4 Relaxed, tranquil, Tense, driven, fretful
composed

10.3 STAGES OF PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

Cattell showed great interest in the relative influences of heredity and

environment in shaping personality. He investigated the importance of
hereditary and environmental factors by statistically comparing
similarities found between twins reared in the same family, twins reared
apart, non-twin siblings reared in the same family, and non-twin siblings
reared apart. Thus, he was able to estimate the extent to which
differences in traits could be attributed to genetic or to environmental
influences. Cattell proposed six stages in the development of personality
covering the entire life span.

i) Infancy

The period of infancy, from birth to age 6, is the major formative period
for personality. The child is influenced by parents and siblings and by the
experiences of weaning and toilet training. Social attitudes develop
along with the ego and the superego, feelings of security or insecurity,
attitudes toward authority, and a possible tendency to neuroticism.
Cattell was not a follower of Freud’s, but he incorporated several
Freudian ideas into his theory; namely, that the early years of life are
crucial in personality formation, and that oral and anal conflicts can
affect personality.

ii) Childhood

Between ages 6 and 14, the childhood stage of personality formation,

there are few psychological problems. This stage marks the beginning of
a move toward independence from parents and an increasing
identification with peers.

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iii) Adolescence

The childhood stage is followed by a more troublesome and stressful

stage, adolescence, ages 14 to 23. Emotional disorders and delinquency
may be evident as young people experience conflicts centered on the
drives for independence, self-assertion, and sex.

iv) Maturity

The fourth phase of development, maturity, lasts from approximately age

23 to 50. It is generally a productive, satisfying time in terms of career,
marriage, and family situations. The personality becomes less flexible,
compared with earlier stages, and thus emotional stability increases.
Cattell found little change in interests and attitudes during this period

v) Late Maturity

Late maturity, ages 50 to 65, involves personality developments in

response to physical, social, and psychological changes. Health, vigor,
and physical attractiveness may decline and the end of life may be in
view. During this phase, people reexamine their values and search for a
new self. This period is somewhat similar to Carl Jung’s view of the
midlife period.

vi) Old Age

The final stage, old age, from 65 onward, involves adjustments to

different kinds of losses—the death of spouses, relatives, and friends; a
career lost to retirement; loss of status in a culture that worships youth;
and a pervasive sense of loneliness.

10.4 CATTELL’S VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE

Cattell’s definition of personality gives us clues about his view of human

nature. He wrote, “Personality is that which permits a prediction of what
a person will do in a given situation” (1950, p. 2). For behavior to be
considered predictable, it must be lawful and orderly. Prediction would
be difficult without regularity and consistency in the personality. For
example, one spouse can usually predict with considerable accuracy
what the other spouse will do in a given situation because that person’s
past behavior has been consistent and orderly. Therefore, Cattell’s view
of human nature admits little spontaneity because that would make
predictability more difficult. On the free will versus determinism issue,
then, Cattell falls more on the side of determinism. Cattell did not
propose any ultimate or necessary goal that dominates behavior, no
drive for self-actualization to pull us toward the future, no psychosexual
conflicts to push us from the past. Although he noted the impact of early

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life events, he did not believe that childhood forces determine the
personality permanently. Cattell accepted the influence on personality of
both nature and nurture. On the uniqueness versus universality issue,
Cattell took a moderate position, noting the existence of common traits,
which apply to everyone in a culture, and unique traits, which describe
the individual.

10.5 ASSESSMENT IN CATTELL’S THEORY

Cattell’s objective measurements of personality used three primary

assessment techniques, which he called L-data (life records), Q-data
(questionnaires), and T-data (tests).

Life records (L-data)

The L-data technique involves observers’ ratings of specific behaviors

exhibited by people in real-life settings such as a classroom or office.
For example, observers might record frequency of absence from work,
grades at school, conscientiousness in performing job duties, emotional
stability on the soccer field, or sociability in the office. The important
point about L-data is that they involve overt behaviors that can be seen
by an observer and occur in a naturalistic setting rather than in the
artificial situation of a psychology laboratory.

Questionnaires (Q-data)

The Q-data technique relies on questionnaires. Whereas the L-data

technique calls for observers to rate the subjects, the Q-data technique
requires them to rate themselves. Cattell recognized the limitations of Q-
data. First, some people may have only superficial self-awareness, so
their answers will not reflect the true nature of their personality. Second,
even if they do know themselves well, they may not want researchers to
know them. Therefore, they may deliberately falsify their responses.
Because of these problems, Cattell warned that Q-data must not
automatically be assumed to be accurate.

Personality tests (T-data)

The T-data technique involves the use of what Cattell called “objective”
tests, in which a person responds without knowing what aspect of
behavior is being evaluated. These tests circumvent the Q-data’s
shortcomings by making it difficult for a subject to know precisely what a
test is measuring.

The 16 PF (Personality Factor) Test

Cattell developed several tests to assess personality. The most notable

is the 16 PF Tests, which is based on the 16 major source traits. The

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test is intended for use with people 16 years of age and older and yields
scores on each of the 16 scales. The responses are scored objectively;
computerized scoring and interpretation are available. The 16 PF Test is
widely used to assess personality for research, clinical diagnosis, and
predicting success on a job.

10.6 APPLICATION AND EVALUATION

Studies have shown that the 16 PF Test:

• Can predict marital stability

• Can be faked if you want to present yourself in a more favorable
light
• Can be used in many cultures, but for some languages a literal
translation of the test items is not possible
• Yielded results indicating that some source traits are primarily
inherited while others are determined primarily by environmental
influences
• Can identify 16 source traits of personality
• Can be used for research, clinical diagnosis, and predicting
success on the job

Cattell developed the 16 PF and the Clinical Analysis Questionnaire. He

used two forms of factor analysis: the R technique, which gathers large
amounts of data from groups of research participants, and the P
technique, which collects a large amount of data from a single subject
over time. Cattell’s work is highly technical, and the amount of
supporting data is massive. Factor analysis has been criticized for its
potential subjectivity
The area of study focusing on the connection between genetics and
personality is often called behavioral genetics. Regardless of the method
used to evaluate or investigate personality, a significant genetic
component must be considered. Allport and Cattell were among the first
to suggest that inherited factors shape personality and that they rank in
importance with environmental factors.

LET US SUM UP

According to Cattell, factors, or traits, are the basic structural units of

personality. We all possess the common traits to some degree; unique
traits typify one or a few persons. Ability traits determine how efficiently
we work toward a goal. Temperament traits define emotional style of
behavior. Dynamic traits are concerned with motivation.

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CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. A trait which is possessed by everyone to some degree like

Intelligence, extraversion, and gregariousness is called
as_____________.
a) Common b) Unique)
c) Temperament d) Source
2. Certain aspects of personality shared by few other people and
they are particularly apparent in our interests and attitudes is
called as
a) Common b) Unique)

c) Temperament d) Source

3. Traits which describe the general style and emotional tone of our
behavior; for example, how assertive, easygoing, or irritable we
are referred as ____________________.
a) Common b) Unique

c) Temperament d) Source
4. The traits, which are unitary personality factors that are much
more stable and permanent. Each source trait gives rise to some
aspect of behavior are called as ________________.
a) Common b) Unique)

c) Temperament d) Source
5. The traits are personality characteristics that correlate with one
another but do not constitute a factor because they are not
determined by a single source are called as
_________________.
a) Common b) Unique)

c) Source d) Surface

KEY WORDS

16 PF Constitutional traits bodily

conditions

Environmental-mold traits- Ergs and sentiments

L data Q data

Source traits Surface traits

T data

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ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. a) Common
2. b) Unique)
3. c) Temperament
4. d) Source
5. d) Surface

GLOSSARY

L-data : L-data also called Life Records is a

technique involves observers’ ratings of
specific behaviors exhibited by people in
real-life settings

Q data : Q data refers to eliciting answers through

questionnaires.

Source traits : Source traits are unitary personality factors

that are much more stable and permanent.

Surface traits : Surface traits are personality characteristics

that correlate with one another but do not
constitute a factor because they are not
determined by a single source

MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Describe various types of traits according to Cattell.

2. Compare the stages of personality development of Allport and
Cattell
3. Explain the assessment of Cattell theory
4. Give an introduction to Cattell’s Theory
5. Explain the Structure of Personality according to Cattell
6. Explain the Stages of Personality Development
7. Explain the Cattell’s View of Human Nature

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SUGGESTED READINGS

122
 BLOCK 4

SOCIAL LEARNING AND COGNITIVE

APPROACH

UNIT 11: COGNITIVE APPROACH

UNIT 12: MCCLELLAND AND ERIC BERNE

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UNIT-11
COGNITIVE APPROACH

STRUCTURE

Overview

Learning Objectives
11.1 Personal Construct Theory

11.2 Construction Corollary

11.3 Kelly’s View of Human Nature

11.4 Assessment in Kelly’s Theory

11.5 Evaluation of Kelley’s Theory

Let us sum up

Check Your Progress

Key Words

Answers to check your progress

Glossary

Model Questions

Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

Kelly’s personal construct theory of personality differs greatly from other

approaches. There is no familiar concepts as the unconscious, the ego,
needs, drives, stimuli and responses, and reinforcement—not even
motivation and emotion in his theory. Kelly’s answer was that each
person creates a set of cognitive constructs about the environment. By
that he meant that we interpret and organize the events and social
relationships of our lives in a system or pattern. On the basis of this
pattern, we make predictions about ourselves and about other people
and events, and we use these predictions to formulate our responses
and guide our actions. Therefore, to understand personality, we must
first understand our patterns, the ways we organize or construct our
world. According to Kelly, our interpretation of events is more important

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than the events themselves. In this chapter let us look into Kelly’s
cognitive theory.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit, you will be able to:

• explain the Personal Construct Theory

• explain the Construction Corollary
• describe the Kelly’s View of Human Nature
• explain the Assessment in Kelly’s Theory
• give an Evaluation of Kelley’s Theory

11.1 PERSONAL CONSTRUCT THEORY

Kelly suggested that people perceive and organize their world of

experiences the same way scientists do, by formulating hypotheses
about the environment and testing them against the reality of daily life. In
other words, we observe the events of our life—the facts or data of our
experience—and interpret them in our own way. This personal
interpreting, explaining, or construing of experience is our unique view of
events. It is the pattern within which we place them. Kelly said that we
look at the world through “transparent patterns that fit over the realities
of which the world is composed”

A construct is a person’s unique way of looking at life, an intellectual

hypothesis devised to explain or interpret events. We behave in
accordance with the expectation that our constructs will predict and
explain the reality of our world. We base our behavior on our constructs,
and we evaluate the effects. Over the course of life, we develop many
constructs, one for almost every type of person or situation we
encounter. We expand our inventory of constructs as we meet new
people and face new situations. Further, we may alter or discard
constructs periodically as situations change. Revising our constructs is a
necessary and continuous process; we must always have an alternative
construct to apply to a situation. If our constructs were inflexible and
incapable of being revised (which is what would happen if personality
was totally determined by childhood influences), then we would not be
able to cope with new situations. Kelly called this adaptability
constructive alternativism to express the view that we are not controlled
by our constructs but we are free to revise or replace them with other
alternatives. Kelly’s personal construct theory is presented in a scientific
format, organized into a fundamental postulate and 11 corollaries. The
fundamental postulate states that our psychological processes are
directed by the ways in which we anticipate events. By using the word

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processes, Kelly was not suggesting some kind of internal mental
energy. Rather, he believed that personality was a flowing, moving
process. Our psychological processes are directed by our constructs; by
the way each of us construes our world. Another key word in the
fundamental postulate is anticipation. Kelly’s notion of constructs is
anticipatory. We use constructs to predict the future so that we have
some idea of the consequences of our actions, of what is likely to occur
if we behave in a certain way.

Table 11.1 Corollaries of personal construct theory

Construction Because repeated events are similar, we can predict

or anticipate how we will experience such an event in
the future.
Individuality People perceive events in different ways.
Organization We arrange our constructs in patterns, according to
our view of their similarities and differences.
Dichotomy Constructs are bipolar; for example, if we have an
opinion about honesty, that idea must also include the
concept of dishonesty.
Choice We choose the alternative for each construct that
works best for us, the one that allows us to predict the
outcome of anticipated events.
Range Our constructs may apply to many situations or
people, or they may be limited to a single person or
situation.
Experience We continually test our constructs against life’s
experiences to make sure they remain useful.
Modulation We may modify our constructs as a function of new
experiences.
Fragmentation We may sometimes have contradictory or inconsistent
subordinate constructs within our overall construct
system.
Commonality Although our individual constructs are unique to us,
people in compatible groups or cultures may hold
similar constructs.
Sociality We try to understand how other people think and
predict what they will do, and we modify our behavior
accordingly.

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11.2 CONSTRUCTION COROLLARY

Kelly believed no life event or experience could be reproduced exactly

as it occurred the first time. An event can be repeated, but it will not be
experienced in precisely the same way. For example, if you watch a
movie today that you first saw last month, your experience of it will be
different the second time. Although such repeated events are not
experienced identically, recurrent features or themes will emerge. Some
aspects of a situation will be similar to those experienced earlier. It is on
the basis of these similarities that we predict or establish anticipations
about how we will deal with that type of event in the future. Our
predictions rest on the idea that future events, though they are not
duplicates of past events, will nevertheless be similar.

a) The Individuality Corollary

Individual differences in interpreting events: With this corollary, Kelly

introduced the notion of individual differences. He pointed out that
people differ from one another in how they perceive or interpret an
event, and because people construe events differently, they thus form
different constructs. Our constructs do not so much reflect the objective
reality of an event as they constitute the unique interpretation each of us
places on it.

b) The Organization Corollary

Relationships among constructs: We organize our individual constructs
into a pattern according to our view of their interrelationships, that is,
their similarities and differences. People who hold similar constructs may
still differ from one another if they organize those constructs in different
patterns. Typically, we organize our constructs into a hierarchy, with
some constructs subordinate to others. A construct can include one or
more subordinate constructs. The relationships among constructs are
usually more enduring than the specific constructs themselves, but they,
too, are open to change.

c) The Dichotomy Corollary

Two mutually exclusive alternatives: All constructs are bipolar or

dichotomous. This is necessary if we are to anticipate future events
correctly. Just as we note similarities among people or events, we must
also account for dissimilarities. For example, it is not enough to have a
construct about a friend that describes the personal characteristic of
honesty. We must also consider the opposite, dishonesty, to explain how
the honest person differs from someone who is not honest.

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 d) The Choice Corollary

Freedom of choice: The notion that people have freedom of choice is

found throughout Kelly’s writings. According to the dichotomy corollary
described above, each construct has two opposing poles. For every
situation we must choose the alternative that works best for us, the one
that allows us to anticipate or predict the outcome of future events.
Remember that our choices are made in terms of how well they allow us
to anticipate or predict events, not necessarily in terms of what is best
for us. And it is Kelly’s contention that each of us, in the best scientific
tradition, desires to predict the future with the highest possible degree of
certainty.

e) The Range Corollary

The range of convenience: Few personal constructs are appropriate or

relevant for all situations. Consider the construct tall versus short, which
obviously has a limited range of convenience or applicability. It can be
useful with respect to buildings, trees, or basketball players, but it is of
no value in describing a pizza or the weather. Some constructs can be
applied to many situations or people, whereas others are more limited,
perhaps appropriate for one person or situation. The range of
convenience or relevance for a construct is a matter of personal choice.

f) The Experience Corollary

Exposure to new experiences: We have said that each construct is a
hypothesis generated on the basis of past experience to predict or
anticipate future events. Each construct is then tested against reality by
determining how well it predicted a given event. Most of us are exposed
to new experiences daily, so the process of testing the fit of a construct
to see how well it predicted the event is ongoing. If a construct is not a
valid predictor of the outcome of the situation, then it must be
reformulated or replaced.

g) The Modulation Corollary

Adapting to new experiences: Constructs differ in their permeability. To

permeate means to penetrate or pass through something. A permeable
construct is the one that allows new elements to penetrate or be
admitted to the range of convenience. Such a construct is open to new
events and experiences and is capable of being revised or extended by
them. An impermeable or rigid construct is not capable of being
changed, no matter what our experiences tell us.

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 h) The Fragmentation Corollary

Competition among constructs: Kelly believed that within our construct

system some individual constructs might be incompatible, even though
they coexist within the overall pattern. Recall that our construct system
may change as we evaluate new experiences. However, new constructs
do not necessarily derive from old ones. A new construct may be
compatible or consistent with an old one in a given situation, but if the
situation changes, then these constructs can become inconsistent.

i) The Commonality Corollary

Similarities among people in interpreting events: Because people differ

in the ways they construe events, each person develops unique
constructs. However, people also show similarities in their ways of
construing events. Kelly suggested that if several people construe an
experience similarly, we can conclude that their cognitive processes are
similar.

j) The Sociality Corollary

Interpersonal relationships: We noted above that people in the same
culture tend to construe events similarly. Although this accounts for
some commonalities among people, it does not in itself bring about
positive social relationships. It is not enough for one person to construe
or interpret experiences in the same way as another person. The first
person must also construe the other person’s constructs. In other words,
we must understand how another person thinks if we are to anticipate
how that person will predict events.

11.3 KELLY’S VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE

Kelly’s personality theory presents an optimistic, even flattering, image

of human nature (Kelly, 1969). Kelly treated people as rational beings
capable of forming a framework of constructs through which to view the
world. He believed we are the authors, not the victims, of our destiny.
His view endows us with free will, the ability to choose the direction our
life will take, and we are able to change when necessary by revising old
constructs and forming new ones. We are not committed to a path laid
down in childhood or adolescence. Our direction is clearly toward the
future because we formulate constructs to predict or anticipate events.
Thus, Kelly did not accept historical determinism. He did not consider
past events to be the determinants of present behavior. We are not
prisoners of toilet training, early sex experiences, or parental rejection,
nor are we bound by biological instincts or unconscious forces. We need
no push from internal drives or needs because we are motivated by the

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fact of being alive. Kelly saw no reason to invoke any other explanation.
Although Kelly did not discuss the role of heredity in personality, he
noted that we are not totally determined by environmental influences.
We live by constructs based on our interpretation of events. Therefore, it
is the operation of our rational mental processes and not the specific
events that influence the formation of personality. Kelly did not posit an
ultimate and necessary life goal, but we may infer that our goal is to
establish a construct system that enables us to predict events. On the
question of uniqueness versus universality, Kelly took a moderate
position. The commonality corollary states that people in the same
culture develop similar constructs, whereas the individuality corollary
emphasizes the uniqueness of many of our constructs and therefore of
the self.

11.4 ASSESSMENT IN KELLY’S THEORY

Kelly’s primary assessment technique was the interview. He wrote, “If

you don’t know what is going on in a person’s mind, ask him; he may tell
you!” (1958, p. 330). Self-Characterization sketches another technique
used to assess a construct system is to have the person write a self-
characterization sketch. Kelly’s instructions to the client were as follows.
“I want you to write a character sketch of [client’s name] just as if he
were the principal character in a play.
Kelly devised the Role Construct Repertory (REP) Test to uncover the
constructs we apply to the important people in our lives. The client is
asked to list by name the people who have played a significant role in
his or her life such as mother, father, spouse, closest friend, and the
most intelligent or interesting person he or she knows. The names are
sorted, three at a time, and clients are asked to select from each group
of three the two people who are most alike, noting how they differ from
the third. For example, the client may be given the names of most
threatening person, successful person, and attractive person and must
describe how any two of them are similar in some aspect of behavior or
character and how they differ from the other. This information is
presented in a diagram called a repertory grid.

11.5 EVALUATION OF KELLY’S THEORY

Studies using the REP Test have shown that a person’s constructs
remain stable over time. One group of subjects took the test twice, using
the names of different people as role figures each time. Although the
role models changed, the constructs that were important to the subjects
remained the same. However, research has shown that the validity of

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the REP Test depends heavily on the skill of the psychologist
interpreting the results.

An outgrowth of Kelly’s work on personal constructs relates to cognitive

styles, that is, differences in how we perceive or construe the persons,
objects, and situations in our environment. Research on cognitive styles
was derived from the REP Test and focuses on the concept of cognitive
complexity.

Cognitive complexity: A cognitive style or way of construing the

environment characterized by the ability to perceive differences among
people. In Kelly’s theory, cognitive complexity is the more desirable and
useful cognitive style. Kelly developed a unique personality theory that
did not derive from or build on other theories. It emerged from his
interpretation, his own construct system, of data provided by his clinical
practice. It is a personal view, and its originality parallels its message,
that we are capable of developing the framework for our life. Kelly’s
system has been criticized on several points. It focuses on intellectual
and rational aspects of human functioning to the exclusion of emotional
aspects. His theory is one of the most unusual to appear in a century of
theorizing about the nature of the human personality. Adherents
continue to apply it to problems in clinical psychology, industrial
psychology, anthropology, criminology, and urban planning as a way of
modifying and predicting behavior in many walks of life.

LET US SUM UP

Kelly viewed people as similar to scientists who construct hypotheses

and test them against reality. A personal construct is a way of looking at
events. Kelly’s fundamental postulate states that psychological
processes are directed by the ways we anticipate events and construe
our world. The theory includes 11 corollaries. Kelly presented an
optimistic image of human nature that depicts us as rational beings with
free will, capable of directing our destiny. We are not bound by
constructs developed at one stage of life or by past experiences,
unconscious conflicts, and biological instincts. Our goal is to define a set
of constructs that enables us to predict events. Kelly assessed
personality by accepting a person’s words at face value, by having the
person write a self-characterization sketch, and by the Role Construct
Repertory (REP) Test. The REP Test uncovers dichotomies important in
a person’s life, revealing the pattern of personal constructs.

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CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Because repeated events are similar, we can predict or

anticipate how we will experience such an event in the future.
This is referred as ______________.
a) Construction b) Organization

c) Choice d) Fragmentation

2. We arrange our constructs in patterns, according to our view of

their similarities and differences. This is referred as
_______________.
a) Construction b) Organization
c) Choice d) Fragmentation
3. We choose the alternative for each construct that works best for
us, the one that allows us to predict the outcome of anticipated
events. This is called as _______________ .
a) Construction b) Organization
c) Choice d) Fragmentation
4. We may sometimes have contradictory or inconsistent
subordinate constructs within our overall construct system which
is referred as ________________.
a) Construction b) Organization

c) Choice d) Fragmentation

KEY WORDS

Choice Commonality

Construction Experimentation

Fragmentation Individuality

Modulation Personal construct

Range Sociability

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. a) Construction
2. b) Organization
3. c) Choice
4. d) Fragmentation

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GLOSSARY

Commonality : Although our individual constructs are

unique to us, people in compatible groups
or cultures may hold similar constructs.

Dichotomy : Constructs are bipolar; for example, if we

have an opinion about honesty, that idea
must also include the concept of
dishonesty.

Experience : We continually test our constructs against

life’s experiences to make sure they remain
useful.

Modulation : We may modify our constructs as a function

of new experiences.

Range : Our constructs may apply to many

situations or people, or they may be limited
to a single person or situation.

Sociality : We try to understand how other people

think and predict what they will do, and we
modify our behavior accordingly.

MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Define personal construct theory

2. Explain Kelly’s Construction corollary.
3. Explain the Personal Construct Theory
4. Explain the Construction Corollary
5. Describe the Kelly’s View of Human Nature
6. Explain the Assessment in Kelly’s Theory
7. Give an Evaluation of Kelley’s Theory

SUGGESTED READINGS

133
UNIT-12
Mc CLELLAND AND ERIC BERNE

STRUCTURE

Overview

Learning Objectives
12.1 Introduction to Need Theory

12.2 Basic Assumptions of TA

12.3 Theoretical Assumption of TA

12.4 Structure of Personality

12.5 Transactions

Let us sum up

Check Your Progress

Key Words

Answers to check your progress

Glossary

Model Questions

Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

Closely related to traits, but distinct from them, are motives. Motives are
internal psychobiological forces that help induce particular behavior
patterns toward a goal. The concept of motives captures the idea that
there are forces within the human organism pushing for expression—
needs for food, for play, for pleasure, and so on. In some sense motives
are more basic than traits because motives can be seen as underlying
traits. Transactional analysis (TA) proposes theories of personality, child
development and psychopathology, all of which provide the basis for a
theory of clinical practice, i.e., psychotherapy and counselling. It also
has a theory of communication which may be applied to individuals and
systems such as groups and organisations. In this chapter let us look
into both motives and TA proposed by McClelland and Eric Berne
respectively

134
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit you will be able to:

• give an Introduction to Need Theory

• explain the Basic Assumptions of TA
• narrate the Theoretical Assumption of TA
• explain Structure of Personality
• explain the Transactions

12.1 INTRODUCTION TO NEED THEORY

Henry Murray, a founder of the motive-based study of personality, used

the term need to refer to a readiness to respond in a certain way under
given conditions (Murray, 1962). Basic needs include needs for
achievement, affiliation, dominance, and exhibition. Murray’s
sophisticated approach is heavily dependent on the social situation and
so we consider it in our focus on person-by-situation Interactionist
approaches to personality. Some of the most modern approaches to
personality use the concept of “motives” to understand personality but
are more modest in their scope. People are mostly unaware of the
needs that are motivating their behaviors, and then a subtler approach
may sometimes be necessary. Motivational psychologists like David
McClelland (1984), has therefore attempted to use more projective
measures—such as Murray’s Thematic Apperception Test, or TAT— to
measure motivation. The prominent needs identified are: Need for
Achievement, the need for affiliation and the need for power.

.12.1.1 Need for Achievement (N Ach)

People with a high need for achievement are persistent and even driven
to succeed on tasks that society sets out for them. They enjoy individual
challenges and may obtain a string of college degrees or a shelf of
awards. They tend to rise to the top in business, especially if quantity is
more important than quality, or if shrewdness or persistence can lead to
triumph. For example, they may be first-rate stockbrokers or salespeople
or entrepreneurs (McClelland, 1961). However, they may be less
successful once skills of diplomacy or cooperation become more
important to the job. In the motivational approach to traits, this
achievement motivation is usefully contrasted with two other basic needs
that have also attracted significant research attention—the need for
affiliation and the need for power.

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12.1.2 Need for Affiliation (n Aff)

Early in the twentieth century, one of the founders of modern

psychology, William McDougall (1908), wrote about a “gregarious”
instinct, which causes people to want to come together in groups.
McDougall then developed the notion of a “sentiment,” which is an
instinct that is socialized to be attached to an object. The instinct to seek
out other people might become the motivation to have lots of friends.
This idea of a motivation to affiliate set in motion a century of research.
People with a high need for affiliation want to come together and spend
time with other people. It is an intriguing motive because it prompts
people both to have friends and to please their friends (to maintain the
friendship). Such people may be extroverted, agreeable, and
conscientious: They are extroverted because they seek the stimulation
of other people; they are agreeable because they want to act friendly;
and they are conscientious because they are dependable. With a need,
the goal determines the behavior. For example, in this case the goal is to
have friends, and the goal can be realized through certain traits, such as
agreeableness. Such affiliation may be part of a biologically based
means of coping with stress. On the other hand, a lone bomber with a
very low need for affiliation might be unwilling or unable to reach out and
have friends and a lover; conflict over a desire to express one’s ideas
but having no intimate listeners might lead to a violent striking out.

12.1.3 Need for Power (n Power)

The next in order is referred as Need for dominance (n Dominance),

which has come to be termed a need for power (n Power) in later
stages. People with a high power motivation naturally seek positions and
offices that allow or invite them to assert control over others. We all
know some people like this: They like to usurp the leadership of small
groups, accumulate possessions, and control territory, although they
may be quarrelsome and somewhat insecure. Of course, many
politicians are high on power motivation, although some are more
motivated by achievement; that is, some want to gain credit and status
and success (achievement) rather than money and influence (power).
An interesting study of the inaugural speeches of American presidents
indicated that those scoring high on the need for power were more likely
to make important decisions that led to their being viewed as great
presidents

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12.2 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS OF TA

TA was founded by Eric Berne, a Canadian psychiatrist who originally

trained as a psychoanalyst. TA has its theoretical roots in the
psychoanalytic tradition, although it is also substantially influenced by
the cognitive behavioural approach and social theory, while being
philosophically rooted in a humanistic/existential tradition that promotes
the power of the individual to take charge of his or her life, to make
changes and to live in harmony with him or herself and others. Following
are some of the most important concepts in transactional analysis.

I'm OK - You're OK

"I'm OK - You're OK" is probably the best-known expression of the

purpose of transactional analysis: to establish and reinforce the position
that recognizes the value and worth of every person. Transactional
analysts regard people as basically "OK" and thus capable of change,
growth, and healthy interactions.
Strokes
Berne observed that people need strokes, the units of interpersonal
recognition, to survive and thrive. Understanding how people give and
receive positive and negative strokes and changing unhealthy patterns
of stroking are powerful aspects of work in transactional analysis.

Ego States

Eric Berne made complex interpersonal transactions understandable

when he recognized that the human personality is made up of three "ego
states". Each ego state is an entire system of thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors from which we interact with one another. The Parent, Adult
and Child ego states and the interaction between them form the
foundation of transactional analysis theory. These concepts have spread
into many areas of therapy, education, and consulting as practiced
today.

Transactions
Transactions refer to the communication exchanges between people.
Transactional analysts are trained to recognize which ego states people
are transacting from and to follow the transactional sequences so they
can intervene and improve the quality and effectiveness of
communication.

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Games People Play

Berne defined certain socially dysfunctional behavioral patterns as

"games." These repetitive, devious transactions are principally intended
to obtain strokes but instead they reinforce negative feelings and self-
concepts, and mask the direct expression of thoughts and emotions.
Berne tagged these games with such instantly recognizable names as
"Why Don't You, Yes But," "Now I've Got You, You SOB," and "I'm Only
Trying to Help You."

Life Script

Eric Berne proposed that dysfunctional behavior is the result of self-

limiting decisions made in childhood in the interest of survival. Such
decisions culminate in what Berne called the "life script," the pre-
conscious life plan that governs the way life is lived out. Changing the
life script is the aim of transactional analysis psychotherapy. Replacing
violent organizational or societal scripting with cooperative non-violent
behavior is the aim of other applications of transactional analysis.
The Life Convictions formed are as follows:

1. I am OK

2. I’m not OK

3. You’re OK

4. You’re not OK
Berne combined these to form 4 Life Positions as follows:
a) I’m Ok, you’re Ok

This is often defined as a winning Life Script. Here, a individual is

comfortable with self and the world. He/she knows they are lovable and
will grow up to trust others, have long-lasting meaningful relationships.
They have a good attitude and give and receive trust.

b) I’m not Ok, you’re Ok

A individual here often considers themselves on the losing end. They

firmly believe in this and create life stories that bring more misery. An
individual feels the need to please others while feeling victimized. They
often show more support to other people’s strength instead of their own.

c) I’m Ok, you’re not Ok

An individual grows up thinking he/she is above the others. Such a

individual becomes an adult focused on his own ‘wants’ while stepping
over others. This adult may tend to project their problems on others, and

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play the blame-game. A person like this always makes others feel
inferior while feeling ‘okay’ about themselves.

d) I’m not OK, you’re not OK

When a individual decides this Life Position, the individual has an

internal struggle with self and the world as well. They end up creating a
life of misery while not believing in self and taking decisions that put
them in the spot of being a victim. A person feels frustrated and
hopeless. Such a person may withdraw or even injure themselves.

Despite in many ways being relentlessly cynical about human behaviour,

Berne nevertheless founded his work on deeply aspirational values:

a) People are born with a basic drive for growth and health – in TA
terms: ‘OKness’, which is encapsulated in the phrase ‘I’m OK,
You’re OK’, representing mutual respect for self and other and a
conviction and faith in human nature to live harmoniously if given
the right conditions. In his last book, What do you say after you
say hello (1975 [1972]), Berne added to the two-person I–You,
the third ‘They’, thereby acknowledging the wider social context
of such life positions and pointing to a total life direction or
destiny, and, beyond that, planetary OKness.
b) Similarly, Berne asserted that there is a creative force in nature
which strives for growth and completion. Alongside Freud’s
instinctual drives – thanatos (death instinct) and eros (sexual
instinct) – Berne proposed that there is a third drive, physis,
which describes the creative life instinct. In his work and writing,
Berne also referred to vis medicatrix naturae or the curative
power of nature.
c) A general goal in life for people is autonomy, a word that has a
particular meaning in TA. Berne defined autonomy as the release
or recovery of our capacity for awareness, spontaneity and
intimacy. In this sense, autonomy is not a selfish, individual goal;
it is an outcome that requires relationships with others and,
indeed, one that may be viewed as a social goal not only for
individuals but also for groups, organisations, communities and
societies.
d) Everyone has the capacity to think – and, therefore, to take
responsibility for their actions.
e) People decide their own destiny and, therefore, these decisions
can be changed. These decisions may be cognitive and
conscious in the ordinary sense of the word; they can also be

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 unconscious, preverbal, bodily or visceral ‘decisions’. This
assumption is the basis of redecision work in TA.

12.3 THEORETICAL ASSUMPTION OF TA

In common with most approaches to psychological therapy, TA

recognizes that the past influences the present. In TA this process is
called script or ‘life plan’, which starts with the interplay between
psychobiological hungers (Berne, 1963, 1966) – the needs and desires
with which the infant comes into the world – and the experiences of early
life. From the first moment, we are shaped by what happens to us, by
the experiences and events, and, importantly, the relationships that we
see around us and in which we are involved. We internalize these early
relationships as ego states and we form conclusions (script decisions)
about ourselves, others and the world. Thus our personality is formed,
and becomes the frame of reference or filter through which we interpret
our experiences later in our lives. In the present, as we engage with
people and events, we respond with internal experience (thoughts,
feelings, embodied adaptations, relational expectations, and so on) and
then behaviour (transactions, games), all of which arise from our frame
of reference and also reinforce it by bringing about repeating outcomes
and patterns of relating. Some of these learned ways of being can be
fluid, adaptable and effective, simply providing containment and
sufficient structure as we engage responsively with our environment.
Some, however, are fixed and limiting. Whether as a result of trauma or
lack of environmental support, script beliefs and adaptations become the
only way we know of getting our needs met enough to survive; early
relational patterns, the only way we know of being in relationship. TA
has a wealth of concepts to help people understand the process by
which all this happens and how they have become who they are.

12.4 STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY

Eric Berne made complex interpersonal transactions understandable

when he recognized that the human personality is made up of three "ego
states". Each ego state is an entire system of thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors from which we interact with one another. The Parent, Adult
and Child ego states and the interaction between them form the
foundation of transactional analysis theory. These concepts have spread
into many areas of therapy, education, and consulting as practiced
today. An ego state is ‘the subjectively experienced reality of a person’s
mental and bodily ego with the original contents of the time period it

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represents. Berne identified three types of ego state: Parent, Adult and
Child.

The Parent and Child ego states are archaic in that they represent past
influences: the Parent ego state is a set of feelings, attitudes, and
behavior patterns which resemble those of a parental figure. … The
Child ego state is a set of feelings, attitudes and behavior patterns which
are relics of the individual’s own childhood.

By contrast, the Adult ego state is characterised by autonomous, here-

and now feelings, attitudes and behaviours. There have been and are
lively debates within TA about the nature of ego states, for further
discussions of which,

Ego states are ascertained or diagnosed in four ways:

1. Behavioural – based on observable words, voice tones, gestures,

expressions, etc.
2. Social – i.e., the reactions the subject elicits from other people.
3. Historical – knowing that the experience can be traced to a past
which did actually occur.
4. Phenomenological – based on subjective self-experience.
All four diagnoses are necessary for a sufficient identification of an ego
state, and Berne emphasized the need for both observable and
phenomenological verification of intuitive diagnosis – thus requiring the
collaboration of both therapist and client.

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Parent ego state

This is a set of feelings, thinking and behaviour that we have copied

from our parents and significant others. As we grow up we take in ideas,
beliefs, feelings and behaviours from our parents and caretakers. If we
live in an extended family then there are more people to learn and take
in from. When we do this, it is called introjecting and it is just as if we
take in the whole of the care giver. For example, we may notice that we
are saying things just as our father, mother, grandmother may have
done, even though, consciously, we don't want to. We do this as we
have lived with this person so long that we automatically reproduce
certain things that were said to us, or treat others as we might have
been treated. Typically embodied by phrases and attitudes starting with
'how to', 'under no circumstances', 'always' and 'never forget', 'don't lie,
cheat, steal', etc. Our parent is formed by external events and influences
upon us as we grow through early childhood. We can change it, but this
is easier said than done.
Parent (rooted in the past) — Contains the attitudes, feelings, and
behavior incorporated from our parents (or any primary caregiver). It
involves responding as one of our parents would have: saying what they
would have said, feeling what they would have felt, behaving how they
would have behaved.

• nurturing parent: caring, loving, helping

• controlling parent: criticizing, reprimanding, censoring, punishing,

etc.

Adult ego state

The Adult ego state is about direct responses to the here and now. We
deal with things that are going on today in ways that are not unhealthily
influenced by our past. The Adult ego state is about being spontaneous
and aware with the capacity for intimacy. When in our Adult we are able
to see people as they are, rather than what we project onto them. We
ask for information rather than stay scared and rather than make
assumptions. Taking the best from the past and using it appropriately in
the present is an integration of the positive aspects of both our Parent
and Child ego states. So this can be called the Integrating Adult.
Integrating means that we are constantly updating ourselves through our
every day experiences and using this to inform us.

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Adult (rooted in the present) — Our ability to think and act based on
what’s happening in the here and now. Think of transactions you have
with colleagues or acquaintances. These are usually pretty
straightforward, without a lot of emotional triggers.

• A good way to know if your Adult ego state is activated is to examine

whether your questions/comments are fueled by compassion and
curiosity, or the desire to blame, criticize or prove a point.

Child ego state

The Child ego state is a set of behaviours, thoughts and feelings which
are replayed from our own childhood. Perhaps the boss calls us into his
or her office, we may immediately get a churning in our stomach and
wonder what we have done wrong. If this were explored we might
remember the time the head teacher called us in to tell us off. Of course,
not everything in the Child ego state is negative. We might go into
someone's house and smell a lovely smell and remember our
grandmother's house when we were little, and all the same warm
feelings we had at six year's of age may come flooding back.

Child (rooted in the past) — Contains the thoughts, feelings, and

behaviors that we experienced as a child.

• natural child: curious, creative, open, loving

• adaptive child: guilty, afraid, depressed, anxious, envious, prideful,

trying to please everyone…you get the picture.

In other words:

• Parent is our 'Taught' concept of life

• Child is our 'Felt' concept of life

• Adult is our 'Thought' concept of life

When we communicate we are doing so from one of our own alter ego
states, our Parent, Adult or Child. Our feelings at the time determine
which one we use, and at any time something can trigger a shift from
one state to another. When we respond, we are also doing this from one
of the three states, and it is in the analysis of these stimuli and
responses that the essence of Transactional Analysis lies.

12.5 TRANSACTIONS

Berne gave the name ‘transaction’ to an interaction or relational

interchange. All communication can be analyzed in terms of transactions
between ego states. This helps to understand how human beings
engage with each other, both in achieving real contact and intimacy, but

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also in repeating limited patterns of relating (games). In analyzing such
transactions, Berne (1966) identified three ‘rules’ of communication:

1. When we communicate or transact from complementary ego states,

i.e., between Parent and Parent, Adult and Adult, Child and Child, and
Parent and Child, communication can continue indefinitely. As Berne
(1966: 223) put it: ‘as long as the vectors are parallel, communication
can proceed indefinitely.

Example 1- Complementary Transaction: Adult — Adult

Money is a trigger topic (at least in my experience) because it’s

uncomfortable, stressful and emotional to talk about. A complementary
transaction around money would like this:

In this transaction, all is good:

• Person 1 is curious about something, and asks a question from the

Adult ego state, hoping they’ll receive an answer from Person 2’s
Adult ego state.

• Person 2 responds from his/her Adult ego state.

• Result: All good, two Adults are working together to understand a

problem, make decisions, etc.
2. A break in communication is described as a Crossed Transaction.
When a transaction is crossed – in other words, the ego state that
responds to a communication is not the one that was addressed – there
is a break in communication and one or both individuals will need to shift

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ego states in order to re-establish a connection. Crossed transactions
can be problematic; they can also be therapeutic, for example, when a
therapist or a client ‘crosses’ an unhelpful, repetitive communication.

Crossed transactions happen when Person 1 says something from one

ego state, and receives a different response than he/she is expecting.

Example – 2 Crossed transactions: Back to the money topic.

In this transaction, all is NOT good:

• Person 1 is curious about something, and asks a question from the
Adult ego state, hoping they’ll receive an answer from Person 2’s
Adult ego state.
• Person 2 is triggered. They’re Child ego state is activated (they feel
criticized or patronize) and they’re pissed.

• Result: Probably a fight, or an abrupt end to the conversation. Of

course it’s ok if this happens once in a while, however habitual
communication breakdown is harmful to a relationship.

3. ‘The behavioural outcome of an ulterior transaction is determined at

the psychological and not at the social level’ (Berne, 1966: 227). This is
based on the idea that non-verbal or ‘ulterior’, psychological
communications have more effect than social-level communications.

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In this transaction, all is NOT good:
• Person 1 is curious about something, and asks a question from the
Adult ego state to Adult Ego State, but actually addressing his Child
Ego States.
• Person 2 is triggered. They’re Child ego state is activated (they feel
irritated or keep silent).

• Result: Probably a breakage of relationship or strained

conversation.

Berne’s understanding of an ulterior transaction was that it is likely to be

driven by script. Novellino (2003) identified a fourth rule or type of
communication by which an unconscious message is transmitted from
Adult to Adult (for example, from client to therapist), not as a script
enactment but in order to communicate an important but unconscious
experience.

Game is the name Berne gave to describe those repeating patterns of

interaction with others in which script beliefs are enacted relationally and
lead to a ‘pay-off’ or reinforcement of the script, normally for both or all
people involved. The word ‘game’ is not intended to imply pleasure or
fun – on the contrary, games are the most painful ways we relate to
others, leading to an unconscious mutual confirmation of our scripts. In
classical TA, practitioners sought to avoid games with their clients, using
clear contracts and constant vigilance. They challenged clients about
their patterns and invited here-and-now self-responsibility. Nowadays,
relational transactional analysts recognize that sometimes it is only

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through our games that unconscious processes are revealed (Stuthridge
and Sills, 2015).

LET US SUM UP

McClelland proposed need theory based on the extension of Henry

Murray’s research such as need for achievement, need for affiliation and
need for power. Berne developed a new theory called transactional
analysis. TA is now widely used as psychotherapy and proved to
improve self-esteem and quality of life, reduce stress among high school
students, functional fluency (using the functional modes of ego states)
and TA is also in treatment centres for addiction and others.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Match the following:

1. n-Ach - a. Need for affiliation

2. n-Pow - b. Need for achievement
3. n-Aff - c.Need for Power
4. Ego state - d. I – You OK
5. Script - e. Parent, Child and Adult

KEY WORDS

Achievement Affiliation

Power Dominance

Need Parent

Child Adult
Ego states Communication

Life scripts Transactions

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1-b; 2-c; 3-a; 4-e; 5-d

GLOSSARY

Ego State ‘An ego state is ‘the subjectively

experienced reality of a person’s mental
and bodily ego with the original contents
of the time period it represents.

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Game : It is the name Berne gave to describe those
repeating patterns of interaction with others
in which script beliefs are enacted
relationally

Need for Affiliation : a high need for affiliation wants to come

(n-aff) together and spend time with other people.
It is an intriguing motive

Need for Power (n- : People with a high power motivation

pow): naturally seek positions and offices that
allow or invite them to assert control over
others.

Transaction : Interaction or relational interchange. All

communication can be analyzed in terms of
transactions between ego states.

MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Explain the need theories proposed by McClelland

2. Explain the basic principles of TA
3. Explain the therapeutic approaches in TA
4. Give an Introduction to Need Theory
5. Explain the Basic Assumptions of TA
6. Narrate the Theoretical Assumption of TA
7. Explain Structure of Personality
8. Explain the Transactions

SUGGESTED READINGS

Eric Berne, Transactional Analysis in Psychotherapy. ISBN 0-285-

64776-8.

Eric Berne, (1964) Games People Play. New York: Grove

Press. ISBN 0-14-002768-8.

https://www.itaaworld.org/key-concepts-transactional-analysis

https://medium.com/@NataliMorad/how-to-communicate-better-with-
transactional-analysis-d0d32f9d50da

https://www.businessballs.com/building-relationships/transactional-
analysis-eric-berne/
https://www.matrrix.in/blogs/what-is-transactional-analysis

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 BLOCK 5

OTHER APPROACHES TO PERSONALITY

UNIT 13: FIELD THEORY

UNIT 14: MODERN APPROACHES TO PERSONALITY –

ROTTER AND ZUCKERMAN

UNIT 15: MODERN APPROACHES TO PERSONALITY –

MARTIN SELIGMAN

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UNIT-13
FIELD THEORY

STRUCTURE

Overview

Learning Objectives
13.1 Field and Life Space

13.2 Connection between regions

13.3 Lewin’s approach to personality

13.4 Development of personality

Let us sum up

Check Your Progress

Key Words

Answers to check your progress

Glossary
Model Questions

Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
Gestalt psychology was an intellectual movement that became very
influential in Germany in the 1920s, and it was brought to America in the
1930s as many of its foremost thinkers fled fascism. The central tenets
of Gestalt theory are: (1) human beings seek meaning in their
environments, (2) we organize the sensations we receive from the world
around us into meaningful perceptions, and (3) complex stimuli are not
reducible to the sum of their parts. Kurt Lewin came directly out of the
Gestalt tradition, but unlike most Gestalt theorists, he focused his efforts
in the areas of personality and social psychology rather than perception
and problem solving. Lewin published his field theory in 1935. In this
unit let us look into Lewin’s field theory.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you will be able to:

• explain about Life Space

• narrate Connection between regions

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 • explain the Lewin’s approach to personality
• explain the Development of personality

13.1 FIELD AND LIFE SPACE

Field theory, in psychology, conceptual model of human behaviour

developed by German American psychologist Kurt Lewin, who was
closely allied with the Gestalt psychologists. Lewin drew
from physics and mathematics to construct his theory. From physics he
(like the Gestaltists) borrowed the concept of the field, positing a
psychological field, or “life space,” as the locus of a person’s
experiences and needs. The life space becomes
increasingly differentiated as experiences accrue.

Lewin adapted a branch of geometry known as topology to map the

spatial relationships of goals and solutions contained in regions within a
life space. His mathematical representation of life space also accounted
for directions of pathways toward a goal and amount of attraction or
repulsion toward a given object in the space. He also postulated that
persons strive to maintain equilibrium with their environment; a tension
(need) will stimulate locomotion (activity) to reinstate the equilibrium.
Lewin adapted his field theory to the area of social psychology through
his theory of group dynamics.

Lewin’s notion of “field” can be seen either as a field in the mathematical

sense of vector forces or as a playing field (a field of life). It focuses on
the life space—all the internal and external forces that act on an
individual—and the structural relationships between the person and the
environment. For example, a person’s family life might be one region of
the life space and religion another. For some people, the spaces are
cleanly and clearly divided, with boundaries that keep issues and
emotions from each region fully independent. Other people have more
openness in the boundaries, so the different regions of life exert more
influence on one another.

Lewin’s definition of personality focused on the momentary condition of

the individual—the idea of contemporaneous causation. Although he
allowed for deep psychoanalytic forces, and evolved biological
influences, and the press of the situation, Lewin argued that how we
behave is caused at the moment of its occurrence by all the influences
that are present in the individual at that moment. Because Lewin
attended so closely to what was going on in a person’s mind at any
moment, his orientation can be considered a cognitive position, although
its simultaneous attention to the situation also makes it an Interactionist

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position. The various approaches to personality can sometimes overlap
more than one of the basic aspects.

13.2 CONNECTION BETWEEN REGIONS

All individuals have distinctive, enduring, cognitive styles of dealing with

their everyday tasks of perception, problem solving, and decision
making. People differ on many dimensions, such as whether they are
color reactors or form reactors (that is, when objects vary in both color
and form, which dimension is seen as most important); generally
attentive or inattentive; analyzers (who concentrate on separate parts of
things) or synthesizers (who concentrate on patterns and the whole
picture); evaluative or non-evaluative; effortless intuition versus
deliberate reasoning; people who see the world in complex,
sophisticated terms or those who see it in simpler terms; and so on.
These differences explain why one person shows up at a garden party
wearing a Hawaiian sport shirt with polyester plaid pants and white buck
shoes, while another comes dressed all in black cotton with a touch of
white trim.

One such cognitive style variable is field dependence. People who are
highly field dependent are very influenced in their problem solving by
aspects of the context (or field) in which the problem occurs that are
salient (highly noticeable) but not directly relevant to the solution.
Other people are field independent and are not as influenced by
contextual factors. An important demonstration of field dependency
comes from a task that requires a subject to adjust a bar so that it is fully
vertical. One version of this task is shown in Figure 9.1. On some trials,
the bar is within a rectangular frame that is slightly offset from the
vertical. People who tend to align the bar with the surrounding frame
(and thus do not make the bar fully vertical) are said to be field
dependent on the rod-and-frame task.

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Figure 12.1

The Rod-and-Frame Test

How well can you ignore aspects of the immediate context that are
irrelevant to the task? The test for field independence measures how
well a person ignores such irrelevant context of a problem. Given the
task of rotating (turning) the central rod until it is vertical, the field-
dependent individual (left panel) is led astray by focusing on the context
and aligns the rod with the frame. Given the same task, the field-
independent individual (right panel) can ignore the misleading frame and
find the true vertical.

That is, their perception of the position of the rod is influenced by the
context or field in which it occurs. This orientation is shown on the left
panel of the figure. People who align the bar vertically despite the tilted
frame (see the right panel of the figure) are termed field independent;
that is, they escape the influence of the field in their problem solving.
In an alternative version of the task, a person sits in a special chair with
controls for adjusting the tilt; the subject is then asked to position the
chair so that it is fully upright, while seated in a specially constructed
room that has a tilted floor. In this case, the field-independent individual
is able to ignore the visual cues about which way is up—cues that are
misleading in this situation—and instead is guided by internally
generated cues about body positioning. The field-dependent person is
so influenced by the irrelevant cues from the tilted room that he or she
ends up aligned with the tilted room rather than aligned with true vertical.
In these simple situations, there is a benefit to being field independent—
it gets you the correct response—but over the broad range of situations
people normally confront, neither extreme is universally preferable. The
field-independent style is more analytical and allows for more complex
levels of restructuring in problem solving. These individuals are more
influenced in their behavior by internalized aspects of the problem
solving situation. The field-dependent person, on the other hand, has a
greater sensitivity to the context of a problem and tends to be more
holistic and intuitive in problem solving. Field-dependent people also
show greater sensitivity to their social and interpersonal contexts.
Field dependence was first explored as a personality variable in the
1940s by Herman Witkin (1949) and Solomon Asch (1952) and has
inspired thousands of studies. Some of the differences that have been
demonstrated are listed.

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Table 13.1 Characteristics Associated with Field Independence
Domain Characteristics
Children’s play Field-independent children are more likely
preferences to favor solitary play over social play.
Socialization patterns Field-independent people are more likely to
have been socialized with an emphasis on
autonomy over conformity.
Career choices Field-independent people are more likely to
be in technological rather than
humanitarian occupations.
Preferred interpersonal Field-independent people are more likely to
distance for conversation sit farther away from a conversational
partner.
Level of eye contact Field-independent people make less
frequent and less prolonged eye contact
with a conversational partner.

When field dependence is examined over groups, there is a modest but

consistent gender difference, with females tending more toward field
dependence than males. This is certainly consistent with many aspects
of gender difference in personality and cognition, such as women’s
greater social sensitivity and more contextually bound moral reasoning.
In other points in this book we note that these differences have various
causes, but field dependence relies on perception—a cognitive
process—as the basis for the explanation.
When field dependence is examined in a cross-cultural context,
interesting differences emerge. Societies can be characterized in terms
of the predominant cognitive style of their members (Witkin & Berry,
1975). Witkin claimed that people in hunter-gatherer societies tended to
be more field independent than people in predominantly agrarian
societies. He attributed the difference to the adaptive value of each style
for the differing demands on the individuals in each group; hunter-
gatherers need to be more analytical in order to find game and to keep
track of their locations so that they can find their way home again.
Farmers tend to have more elaborate systems of social interaction, and
conformity to group norms and interpersonal sensitivity would be of
primary importance in that environment.

Another cognitive style variable relevant to personality is cognitive

complexity—the extent to which a person comprehends, utilizes, and is
comfortable with a greater number of distinctions or separate elements

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among which an entity or event is analyzed, and the extent to which the
person can integrate these elements by drawing connections or
relationships among them. People low in cognitive complexity see the
world in more absolute and simpler terms, preferring unambiguous
problems and straightforward solutions. An important component of
cognitive complexity is comfort in dealing with uncertainty. People high
in cognitive complexity tend to be relatively more comfortable in dealing
with uncertainty, and those lower in cognitive complexity are more
oriented toward certainty (Sorrentino & Roney, 2000). Individuals tend to
move toward higher levels of cognitive complexity as they get older and
accumulate more life experience (Pennebaker & Stone, 2003).

Individual differences in cognitive style also show up in what is termed

learning style—the characteristic way in which an individual approaches
a task or skill to be taught (Sternberg & Zhang, 2001). That is, people
vary in their preferred approaches to a learning task, in multidimensional
ways, and these individual preferences are stable tendencies.
For example, an individual student might approach his or her first course
in an unfamiliar field with a holistic style, trying to build his or her own
understanding of the topic and trying to see relationships between the
new topic and things the student has learned in other courses. Another
student might have a more analytic approach, preferring to take in
information in the order presented by the course, and building his or her
understanding of the topic as a separate module isolated from other
knowledge. Another example involves stable individual preferences for
verbal versus visual representation: some students are most comfortable
and adept at thinking in words, while others prefer to use imagery. Just
as in the case of field dependence/field independence, one style is not
consistently superior to another, but there may be specific tasks on
which one approach will be more appropriate than another. Learning
style can be seen as an aspect of personality in itself, and it has also
been shown to correlate with more traditional measures of personality
and temperament.

13.3 LEWIN’S APPROACH TO PERSONALITY

Lewin emphasized the explanation of human behavior in terms of the

forces and tensions that move us to action. Lewin began with behavior
and what produces it, and then moved on to the problems of how people
perceived their own and others' behavior. When a perceptual set
(described below) affected the way learned associations were
expressed, Lewin saw it as conflict between competing determining
tendencies. In both laboratory and world, he held, a person's behavior is

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always oriented toward some goal. The person is always trying to do
something. That intention or determining tendency is what matters most.

Associations, held Lewin, are not sources of energy, but just links or
connections "like the couplings between the cars of railroad train which
do nothing except transmit the energy supplied by the locomotive."
(Woodworth, 1964) Lewin declared, "Psychology cannot try to explain
everything with a single construct, such as association, instinct, or
gestalt. A variety of constructs has to be used. They should be
interrelated, however, in a logically precise manner.

Lewin did not try to relate psychological forces to physical forces, except
in the descriptive names like "vector." He did not address the question of
how motives originate, whether in instinct or previous experience, but
rather focused on how they operate.

Lewin viewed the person as system containing subsystems that are

more or less separate and more or less able to interact and
combine with each other. "One subsystem," writes Woodworth, "might
be friendship for a certain person; another might be love for a certain
sport. When a person is intent on reaching a goal, one of his
subsystems is in a state of tension". If he is interrupted, this subsystem
remains tense for some time and causes him to resume the activity once
the interruption is gone. Or if it can't be resumed, an activity that's
somehow similar can substitute for it and drain off the tension. A
repetitive task will eventually drain off all the tension in its subsystem,
leaving a state of satiation. With continued activity this spreads to related
subsystems.
13.4 DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONALITY

As a child develops, the personality system expands and

differentiates. His view of the psychological environment is subject to
cognitive restructuring--it becomes better understood and he does a
better job of distinguishing between the real world and the "irreal" world
of wishes and fears. The child finds new social roles and learns new
social norms and codes.

FIELD THEORY: Its basic statements are that:

1. Behavior must be derived from a totality of coexisting facts

2. These coexisting facts make up a "dynamic field," which means
that the state of any part of the field depends on every other part
of it

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 3. Behavior depends on the present field rather than on the past or
the future. "This is in contrast both to the belief of teleology that
the future is the cause of behavior, and that of asociationism that
the past is the cause of behavior."

The field is the life space, which contains the person and his or her
psychological (or behavioral) environment. The psychological
environment is the environment as the person perceives and
understands it, and as related to his needs and quasi-needs. Many
objects that do not presently concern him exist only in the background of
the psychological environment.

THE LIFE-SPACE: What do you include in your field of perception and

action? If you're lucky, to some degree your life space is determined by
you. For others, it's largely determined by your environment and the
people you're in association with. Life space includes:

• The places where you physically go, the people and events that
occur there, and your feelings about the place and people. One
part of this is the places you inhabit every day, or at least
regularly. Another part is places you've been to, but go only very
occasionally or may never go back to again.

• Then there is also your own personal mental life space--the

places you inhabit in your mind, your fantasy world, etc. This was
of great concern to Jung, although he did not use this term for it,
but of less interest to Lewin who was most interested in our
social world.
• When you're planning what to do tomorrow, your life-space is not
the room you're in now but the place where you expect to be
tomorrow. Your present locomotion in that expected environment
involves deciding on one course of action rather than another, as
a result of vectors that impel you in one or another direction.

The person and the psychological environment are divided

into regions that undergo differentiation. Regions are connected when a
person can perform locomotion between them. Locomotion includes any
kind of approach or withdrawal--even looking at a pretty object or away
from an ugly one, or listening to liked music and avoiding disliked or
uninteresting music. They are said to
be connected when communication can take place between them. The
region that lies just outside the life-space is the foreign hull. The person
is a differentiated region in the life space, set apart from the
psychological environment by a boundary. A barrier may block the

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locomotion called for by vectors. A barrier exerts no force until force is
exerted on it. Then it may yield, or resist strongly. How rigid it is you can
find out only by exploration. You may have a plan that another person
doesn't like, but you don't know how strongly he'll resist your carrying it
out until you try. An impassible barrier is likely to acquire a negative
valence and may lead to cursing or attacking it.

LET US SUM UP

Lewin's theory is called field theory as to a psychologist field means the

total psychological world in which a person lives at a certain
time. Lewin states that each person exists within a field of forces.
The field of forces to which the individual is responding or reacting is
called his life-space. According to him behavior is function of person
and environment. Hence whenever we study the person’s behavior we
need to study the environment in which he lives.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. The ____________ space, which contains the person and his or
her psychological (or behavioral) environment.
a) Life b) psychological c) Field d) Life Space
2. The _____________ environment is the environment as the
person perceives and understands it, and as related to his needs
and quasi-needs.
a)Life b) psychological c) Field d) Life Space
3. ___________ can be seen either as a field in the mathematical
sense of vector forces or as a playing field (a field of life).
a) Life b) psychological c) Field d) Life Space
4. _________ _________ all the internal and external forces that
act on an individual—and the structural relationships between the
person and the environment.
a) Life b) psychological c) Field d) Life Space

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. a) Life
2. b) psychological
3. c) Field
4. d) Life Space

GLOSSARY

Cognitive Complex : The extent to which a person comprehends,

utilizes, and is comfortable with a greater

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 number of distinctions.

Lewin's equation : Kurt Lewin's behavior equation is “B = f (P,

E)”. It states that an individual's behavior
(B) is a function (f) of the person (P),
including their history, personality and
motivation, and their environment (E),
which includes both their physical and
social surroundings.

Life space : the locus of a person's experiences and

needs.

Region : The psychological environment is called

region.

KEY WORDS

Field Vector

Psychological environment Connections

Communication Behavior

Life space

MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Explain the components of field theory

2. Explain cognitive styles
3. Explain the characteristics of field dependent personality
4. Explain the development of personality.
5. What is Lewin’s equation?
6. What is life space?
7. What are the two types of cognitive styles?
8. What is cognitive complexity?
9. What is region?

SUGGESTED READINGS
https://www.britannica.com/science/field-theory-psychology

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UNIT 14
MODERN APPROACHES TO
PERSONALITY – ROTTER AND
ZUCKERMAN
STRUCTURE

Overview

Learning Objectives

14.1 Internal Versus External Control of Reinforcement

14.2 Age and Cultural Difference

14.3 Behavioural and Physical Health Differences

14.4 Developing Locus of Control in Childhood

14.5 Reflections of Locus of Control

14.6 Sensation Seeking – Zuckerman

12.7 Characteristics of Sensation Seekers

14.8 Personality differences

14.9 Cognitive process

14.10 Occupational preferences

14.11 Reflections on Sensation Seeking

Let us sum up

Check Your Progress

Key Words

Answers to check your progress

Glossary

Model Questions

Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW
Rotter tried to explain personality and behavior by looking both outside
and inside the organism, considering external reinforcements as well as
internal cognitive processes. Whereas Marvin Zuckerman conducted

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the research on trait approach to personality and found a unique
personality which he termed as sensation seeking. On the other side
Seligman who initially conducted experiment on learned helplessness
later become the founder of positive psychology. In this unit let us look
into theories proposed by Rotter and Zuckerman.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit, you will be able to:

• distinguish Internal Versus External Control of Reinforcement

• explain the Age and Cultural Difference
• explain the Behavioural and Physical Health Differences
• developing Locus of Control in Childhood
• illustrate the Reflections of Locus of Control
• explain about the Sensation Seeking and Characteristics of
Sensation Seekers
• explain the Personality differences, Cognitive process and
Occupational preferences
• illustrate the Reflections of Sensation Seeking

14.1 INTERNAL VERSUS EXTERNAL CONTROL OF

REINFORCEMENT

Julian Rotter found that some people believe that reinforcers depend on
their own actions, whereas others believe their reinforcers are controlled
by other people and by outside forces. He called this concept locus of
control. People who have an internal locus of control believe that the
reinforcement they receive is under the control of their own behaviors
and abilities. Those with an external locus of control believe that other
people, fate, or luck control the rewards they receive. They are
convinced that they are powerless with respect to outside forces.

The source of our locus of control can have a considerable influence on

our behavior. External locus-of-control people, who believe that their
own behaviors and abilities make no difference in the reinforcers they
receive, see little value in exerting any effort to improve their situation.
Why should they even try when they have no expectation of being able
to control present or future events? In contrast, internal locus-of-control
people believe they have a firm grip on their own lives and behave
accordingly. They perform at a higher level on their jobs than do external
locus-of-control people. In addition, internals are less susceptible to
attempts to influence them, place a higher value on their skills, and are
more alert to environmental cues that they use to guide behavior. They
report lower anxiety, higher self-esteem, and greater happiness. They

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enjoy greater mental and physical health than those who are high in
external control.

14.2 AGE AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCE

Attempts to control our external environment begin in infancy, becoming

more pronounced between ages 8 and 14. A study of 14- and 15-year-
olds in Norway found that girls scored significantly higher than boys did
on internal locus of control (Manger & Ekeland, 2000). College students
generally have been found to show an internal rather than an external
orientation. People apparently become more internally oriented as they
grow older, reaching a peak in middle age. Also, a study of men and
women in the United States, ages 60 to 75, found that their internal
locus of control was significantly improved by cognitive training.

In general, Asians have been shown to be more externally oriented than

Americans, a finding that may be explained in terms of different cultural
beliefs. Whereas American culture traditionally prizes self-reliance and
individualism, Asian culture emphasizes collectivism, community
reliance, and interdependence. Therefore, for Asians, success is viewed
more as a product of external than internal factors. The more contact
Asians have with Americans, however, the more internally oriented they
become. For example, Chinese residents of Hong Kong measured
higher in external locus of control than did Americans of Chinese
heritage, and Americans of Chinese heritage were more externally
oriented than Americans of European heritage (Uba, 1994). A large-
scale comparison of 18 cultures confirmed that people in collectivist
cultures such as China scored higher in external control than those in
Westernized countries who placed a greater value on having an internal
locus of control.

14.3 BEHAVIOURAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH DIFFERENCES

Studies of workers in China and of athletes in Sweden found that those

who measured high in internal locus of control were more able to adapt
and commit to change; they also scored higher on tests of mental skills
than those with a more external locus of control (Chen & Wang, 2007;
Fallby, Hassmen, Kentta, & Durand-Burand, 2006). Other research
concluded that high internal locus of control at work was positively
related to job satisfaction, job commitment, and general satisfaction with
life (Wang, Bowling, & Eschleman, 2010). Research in Korea found that
people high in internal academic locus of control (believing they would
do well in school) were more likely to persist in an online college
program than those who scored low in internal academic locus of control
(Joo, Joung, & Sim, 2011). A study of college students in Turkey found

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that those high in internal academic locus of control were far less likely
to become addicted to Internet use than those who scored low in internal
academic locus of control (Iskender & Akin, 2010). Similar to the idea of
a collective self-efficacy, there may be a kind of collective locus of
control that defines groups that work or study together.

Internally oriented people tend to be physically healthier than externally

oriented people and to have lower blood pressure and fewer heart
attacks. When they do develop cardiac problems, they cooperate better
with the hospital staff and are released earlier than patients who are
externally oriented. A study in Norway found that they also tend to go
back to work sooner than those with a high external locus of control
(Bergvik, Sorlie, & Wynn, 2012). Research on patients recovering from
coronary artery bypass surgery found that those high in internal control
had achieved a higher level of physical functioning at six weeks and six
months after surgery than those low in internal control (Barry, Kasl,
Lichtman, Vaccarino, & Krumholz, 2006). Among older cancer patients
in the Netherlands, those high in internal control experienced less
depression than those high in external control (Aarts, Deckx, Abbema,
Tjan-Heijnen, Akker, & Buntinx, 2015). Some studies show that internals
tend to be more cautious about their health and are more likely to wear
seat belts, eat well, exercise regularly, and quit smoking.

14.4 DEVELOPING LOCUS OF CONTROL IN CHILDHOOD

Evidence suggests that locus of control is learned in childhood and is

directly related to parental behavior (Ahlin & Lobo Antunes, 2015).
External control beliefs are likely to be expressed by children reared in
homes without an adult male role model. Also, external control beliefs
tend to increase with the number of siblings. Children in large single
parent families headed by women were found to be more likely to
develop an external locus of control (Schneewind, 1995). Later research
shows that children whose mothers are depressed and have little formal
education or income are likely to develop an external locus of control
(Freed & Tompson, 2011). Children raised in low-income families have a
lower sense of control in all aspects of their lives than children from
higher income families (Mittal & Griskevicius, 2014). Parents of children
who possess an internal locus of control were found to be highly
supportive, to offer praise (positive reinforcement) for achievements, and
to be consistent in their discipline; they were not authoritarian. As their
children grew older, these parents continued to foster an internal
orientation by encouraging independence.

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14.5 REFLECTIONS OF LOCUS OF CONTROL

A large-scale research program using both college students and sales

representatives as subjects reported a strong relationship between
Rotter’s concept of locus of control and Bandera’s concept of self-
efficacy (Judge, Erez, Bono, & Thoresen, 2002). Some researchers
have suggested that both ideas deal with our perception or belief about
the degree of control we have over events in our life and our ability to
cope with them. A major difference between the two concepts is that
locus of control can be generalized over many situations, whereas self-
efficacy tends to be specific to a particular situation. However, Bandura
insisted there was little overlap between the concepts of self-efficacy
and locus of control.

Nevertheless, Rotter’s research has been highly rigorous and well

controlled, and he used objective measures wherever possible. Studies
have provided considerable empirical support. The I-E Scale has
generated a wealth of research and has been applied in clinical and
educational settings. Rotter noted that locus of control has become “one
of the most studied variables in psychology” (1990, p. 489). Well into the
second decade of the 21st century, locus of control continues to be the
subject of research.

14.6 SENSATION SEEKING - ZUCKERMAN

Beginning in the 1970s, psychologist Marvin Zuckerman (1928–), at the
University of Delaware, has conducted research on a limited-domain
aspect of personality he calls sensation seeking. This trait has a large
hereditary component initially noted by Eysenck. Zuckerman describes
sensation seeking as a desire for “varied, novel, complex, and intense
sensations and experience, and the willingness to take physical, social,
legal, and financial risks for the sake of such experience” (Zuckerman,
1994a, p. 27). We might call it simply “taking chances.”

Zuckerman identified four components of sensation seeking.

• Thrill and adventure seeking: A desire to engage in physical

activities involving speed, danger, novelty, and defiance of
gravity such as parachuting, scuba diving, or bungee
jumping.
• Experience seeking: The search for novel experiences
through travel, music, art, or a nonconformist lifestyle with
similarly inclined people.

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 • Disinhibition: The need to seek release in uninhibited social
activities such as risky sex, impulsiveness, aggressiveness,
and antisocial behaviors.
• Boredom susceptibility: An aversion to repetitive
experiences, routine work, and predictable people, and a
reaction of restless discontent when exposed to such
situations.

14.7 CHARACTERISTICS OF SENSATION SEEKERS

Age Differences: Zuckerman found that differences in sensation

seeking occur at a very young age. A study of second-grade
schoolchildren in the United States showed that those who scored high
in sensation seeking chose to watch a video about scary sharks,
whereas those who scored low selected a video about a funny bunny
instead (Trice, 2010). In general, younger people are more inclined to
seek adventure, risk, and novel experiences than older people.
Gender Differences: In countries as diverse as the United States and
Iran, men consistently scored higher in sensation seeking and lower in
impulse control than women (Khodarahimi, 2014; Shulman, Harden,
Chein, & Steinberg, 2015). Significant gender differences were also
found in the four individual components of sensation seeking. Men
scored higher on thrill and adventure seeking, disinhibition, and boredom
susceptibility. Women scored higher on experience seeking. Similar
results were obtained from subjects in the United States, England,
Scotland, Japan, and Thailand.
Racial and Cultural Differences: Researchers found significant racial
and cultural differences in Sensation Seeking Survey (SSS) scores.
Asians scored lower on the SSS than people in Western countries, and
white subjects scored higher in sensation seeking than non-White.

14.7 .1 Behavioral Differences between High and Low Sensation

Seekers

Physical Risk Taking: Physical risk-taking behavior has been related to

sensation seeking. Skydivers, firefighters, riot-control police officers,
bungee jumpers, and race-car drivers score higher on the Sensation
Seeking Survey (SSS) than groups not engaged in these activities. A
study of American Motocross drivers found that the most experienced
(those who participated in the most races) had the highest scores on a
measure of sensation seeking.

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Different Types of Risk Taking: Research has identified three types of
risk takers: antisocial risk takers, adventurous risk takers, and pro-social
risk takers. Those identified as antisocial (such as drug addicts and
criminals) or as adventurous (mountain climbers and sky divers) showed
significantly higher SSS scores than pro-social risk takers (police officers
and firefighters). The motives of the pro-social group are related to
factors other than thrill and adventure seeking (Levenson, 1990). High
sensation seekers also appear more willing than low sensation seekers
to relocate from familiar to unfamiliar surroundings and to travel to exotic
places, even when the journey involves physical hazards.

Drugs, Drinking, Crime, Fast Cars, and Online Poker! High sensation
seekers are more likely than low sensation seekers to use and sell illicit
drugs (and to do so at an earlier age), to drink alcoholic beverages, to
shoplift, and to commit delinquent behavior. High sensation seekers
were more likely to smoke, use alcohol and drugs, drive fast, have more
car accidents and convictions for reckless or drunk driving, and engage
in frequent sex.

Risky Sexual Behaviors A study of young Black women in the United

States (ages 15– 21) found that those who scored high on a measure of
sexual sensation seeking reported greater sexual risk-taking
behaviors—such as more instances of intercourse with more partners
and less use of condoms—than those who scored low. The correlation
between sensation-seeking scores and risky sexual behavior among gay
men (both Blacks and Whites) was so strong that the researchers
concluded that high-sensation-seeking males constitute a high-risk
group for AIDS.

Cheating, Color Choices, and Tattoos: There are several other ways
in which high sensation seekers have been found to differ from low
sensation seekers. Studies in Israel showed that high sensation seekers
are more likely to cross a street on foot against a red light. They show a
preference for so-called hot colors such as red and orange, rather than
pastels such as light blue. American college students who scored high in
sensation seeking were more likely to cheat on academic tests than
those who scored low.

14.8 PERSONALITY DIFFERENCES

Zuckerman and other researchers correlated sensation-seeking scores

with a number of distinct personality factors. They found that SSS
scores, particularly on disinhibition, were related to Eysenck’s factor of
extraversion and to the asocial tendencies associated with psychoticism.
As a result of this finding, Zuckerman suggested that high sensation

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seekers are egocentrically extraverted, which means they are concerned
with other people only as an audience or a source of stimulation. They
do not relate to other people in a dependent or nurturing way. High
sensation-seeking scores also correlated positively with extraversion as
described by Carl Jung and measured by the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator (Morehouse, Farley, & Youngquist, 1990). However,
investigations of sensation seeking and neuroticism showed no
correlation. Zuckerman suggested that SSS scores did not point to
abnormal or neurotic behavior but that neuroses such as phobias and
obsessive-compulsive behaviors might be related to low sensation
seeking.

High cores on the SSS correlated with a high degree of autonomy. High
scorers openly express their emotions. They are assertive in relating to
others, nonconforming, and confirmed risk takers. They act
independently of social conventions and of other people’s needs and
attitudes. Governed primarily by their own needs, they order their lives to
maximize opportunities for self-fulfillment. High scores on the SSS were
also positively correlated with the openness to experience and the
agreeableness dimensions of the five-factor model of personality.

14.9 COGNITIVE PROCESS

Correlations between sensation seeking and intelligence test scores are

generally positive but not high. A study of children in the Republic of
Mauritius, an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa,
found that those who scored high in sensation seeking at age 3 scored
12 points higher on intelligence tests at age 11 than children who scored
low in sensation seeking at age 3. The results were similar for boys and
girls and were not affected by the parents’ occupation or level of
education (Raine, Reynolds, Venables, & Mednick, 2002). It has also
been found that high sensation seekers did not earn better grades in
school. Zuckerman suggested that because high sensation seekers
were more involved in active recreational pursuits, they used less time
for study. Tests of creativity and originality revealed that high sensation
seekers have a greater capacity for original thinking but do not always
express it in their schoolwork. High SSS scorers seem to be attracted to
speculative, bizarre, even pseudoscientific ideas. They also tend to
engage in what Sigmund Freud called primary-process thought. They
may have images, dreams, and daydreams so vivid that the distinction
blurs between these internal stimuli and the real world. Zuckerman
suggested that because high sensation seekers continually search for

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novel experiences, if they cannot find them in external situations they
may look inward and create a fantasy world.

14.10 OCCUPATIONAL PREFERENCES

Because high sensation seekers have a greater need for stimulating and
varied experiences, they tend to choose different jobs than low
sensation seekers. On tests of vocational interests, such as the Kuder
Occupational Interest Survey, high and low sensation seekers showed
significant differences. High SSS scores correlated positively with
scientific interests and negatively with clerical interests. Men with high
SSS scores also scored high on the Strong Interest Inventory scales
showing interest in the helping professions such as psychologist,
physician, psychiatrist, social worker, and minister. Their scores
correlated negatively with business sector jobs such as accountant,
purchasing agent, and banker. Women with high SSS scores had high
interest test scores for the profession of lawyer and low interest test
scores for elementary school teacher. High sensation seekers of both
sexes who were interested in the helping professions expressed a
preference for risky, cutting-edge jobs such as crisis intervention work or
paramedic duty on emergency response teams.

14.11 REFLECTIONS ON SENSATION SEEKING

Zuckerman’s focus on the sensation-seeking personality trait continues

to stimulate research. Sensation seeking has been related to a wide
range of behavioral, cognitive, personality, and physiological variables.
His emphasis on the heritability of sensation seeking places his work in
a different category from the behavioral and social-learning approaches
to personality, which focuses on the influences of situational factors and
of learning. Sensation-seeking theory has a commonsense appeal. It is
easy to accept the idea that people differ in their need for excitement
and risk, change and adventure. We are usually aware of our own level
of sensation seeking and make fairly accurate judgments about the
levels of our friends and relatives by considering the activities they enjoy
or avoid. Zuckerman asked high and low sensation seekers to choose
from a list of adjectives those that best described themselves.

LET US SUM UP

Rotter described those who believe that the reinforcement they receive
is under their control as having an internal locus of control; those who
believe they have no control over the reinforcements they receive have
an external locus of control. Internals feel a stronger sense of personal
choice, are in better physical and mental health, are less bothered by

168
stress, earn higher grades in school, score higher in job satisfaction and
in life satisfaction, and have higher self-esteem than externals People
become more internally oriented as they grow older, reaching a peak in
middle age. People in lower socioeconomic classes, in some minority
groups, and in some cultural groups tend to be externals. Parents of
internally oriented children tend to be supportive and consistent in their
discipline, encouraging their child’s independence. According to
Zuckerman, sensation seeking is an inherited trait concerned with the
need for novel and complex sensations and experiences. Four
components of sensation seeking are thrill and adventure seeking,
experience seeking, disinhibition, and boredom susceptibility.
Zuckerman later distinguished between good sensation seeking, which
is socialized and non impulsive, and bad sensation seeking, which is
unsocialized, impulsive, and characterized by high scores on measures
of psychoticism.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. ____________ locus of control believe that other people, fate, or
luck control the rewards they receive.
a) External b) Internal

c) High Sensation d) Women

2. __________ are less susceptible to attempts to influence them,

place a higher value on their skills, and are more alert to
environmental cues.
a) External b) Internal

c) High Sensation d) Women

3. _________ __________ seekers also appear more willing than

low sensation seekers to relocate from familiar to unfamiliar
surroundings and to travel to exotic places, even when the
journey involves physical hazards.
a) External b) Internal

c) High Sensation d) Women

4. _____________ with high SSS scores had high interest test

scores for the profession of lawyer and low interest test scores
for elementary school teacher.
a) External b) Internal

c) High Sensation d) Women

5. Rotter proposed ________and _______

6. Internals, are in better ____________

169
 7. ______is an inherited trait concerned with the need for novel and
creativity
8. _________males are oriented toward science and the helping
professions.

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. a) External
2. b) Internal
3. c) High Sensation
4. d) Women
5. Internal and external locus of control
6. physical and mental health
7. sensation seeking
8. high-sensation-seeking

KEY WORDS
Locus of control Internals

Externals Personality

Childhood Adults

Old age Sensation seekers

GLOSSARY

External locus-of- : tendency to believe that their own

control behaviors and abilities make no difference
in the reinforcers they receive, see no value
in exerting any effort to improve their
situation.

Internal locus-of- : tendency to believe they have a firm grip on

control their own lives and behave accordingly.

MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Explain Locus of control.

2. Describe the characteristics of sensation seekers
3. Explain the development of locus of control
4. Distinguish between the Internal and external locus of control
5. Explain about the developing of Locus of Control in Childhood

170
6. Distinguish Internal Versus External Control of Reinforcement
7. Explain the Age and Cultural Difference
8. Explain the Behavioural and Physical Health Difference
9. Developing Locus of Control in Childhood
➢ Explain the Personality differences, Cognitive process and
Occupational preferences

171
UNIT - 15
MODERN APPROACHES TO
PERSONALITY – MARTIN SELIGMAN

STRUCTURE

Overview

Learning Objectives

15.1 Learned Helplessness and Explanatory Style

15.2 Learned Helplessness and Emotional Health

15.3 Explanatory Style: Optimism and Pessimism

15.4 The Development of Learned Helplessness in Childhood

Let us sum up

Check Your Progress

Key Words

Answers to check your progress

Glossary
Model Questions

Suggested Readings

OVERVIEW

There is a major shift in the way personality domain is being studied.

The focus shifted from the whole person when personality was brought
out of the clinic and into the research laboratory. Experimental
psychologists typically study one variable at a time, controlling or holding
constant all others. In this way, they concentrate on a limited domain or
area of investigation. Limited-domain theorists place less emphasis on
the therapeutic value of their ideas. They typically are researchers, not
clinicians, more interested in investigating personality than changing it.
This does not mean that limited-domain theories have no treatment
applications. Rather, it indicates that the theories were not developed
specifically for use with patients, as was the case with many of the
earlier personality theories. One such theory is proposed by Seligman
who is known as father of positive psychology. In this chapter let us look
into his concepts.

172
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit, you will be able to:

• explain about Learned Helplessness and Explanatory

Style
• explain the Learned Helplessness and Emotional Health
• explain the Explanatory Style: Optimism and Pessimism
• narrate the Development of Learned Helplessness in
Childhood

15.1 LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND THE

OPTIMISTIC/PESSIMISTIC EXPLANATORY STYLE

In the mid-1960s, psychologist Martin Seligman (1942–) at the University

of Pennsylvania, who would later lead the happiness and positive
psychology trend in psychology, began research on a limited-domain
facet of personality called learned helplessness. He first saw this
phenomenon in an experiment on dogs on his first day as a graduate
student. It marked the beginning of the direction of his future in
psychology, and the future of psychology itself. The dogs were being
conditioned to associate a high-pitched sound with an electric shock.
This was a simple Pavlovian classical conditioning situation involving
respondent behavior (the pairing of the tone with the shock). But that
was only the first part of the study.
In the second part, the dogs were placed one at a time in a large box
that contained two compartments divided by a low wall. A shock was
delivered through the floor of the compartment in which the dog had
been placed. To escape the shock, the dog had to show the appropriate
operant behavior, that is, to simply jump over the low barrier into the
other compartment where there was no electric shock. Once the dogs
learned to jump over the wall—something dogs can be expected to do
quickly—they would be tested to see if the high-pitched tone without the
electric shock would bring about the same response.

The research did not work out the way it was supposed to. The dogs did
not jump over the barrier to escape the shock. Instead, when the shock
was administered through the floor of their compartment they lay down,
whimpered, and made no effort to escape. The experimenters were
baffled, but Seligman thought he had a clue. He suggested that perhaps
during the first part of the experiment the dogs had learned that they
were helpless to change their situation.

173
Seligman launched a research program to study learned helplessness, a
condition he described as resulting from the perception that we have no
control over our environment, that there is nothing we can do to change
our situation. He expanded his research interests to include the issue of
optimism versus pessimism and, later, the issue of happiness.

15.2 LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH

The beneficial effects on psychological health of having control over

one’s life have been widely documented. Among cancer patients (ages
29–80), those with the highest perception of control were better adjusted
than patients who believed they had little control over their situation. This
finding held even for patients who were severely debilitated by their
physical condition. Those who believed they could exert some influence
over their illness and recovery, and their emotions, showed greater
psychological adjustment than people in better physical condition but
with a low perception of control (Thompson, Sobolew-Shubin, Galbraith,
Schwankovsky, & Cruzen, 1993). It has also been shown that people
can learn to increase their feeling of control. A sample of men and
women (average age 55) scheduled for extensive dental work were
assessed prior to treatment for their level of anxiety and their desire for
control in a dental setting. Half the patients were shown a stress
inoculation training video; the other half (the control group) was shown a
video about the local sights. Patients with low control in a dental setting
but with a strong desire for greater control benefited the most from
seeing the stress training video. They believed they felt more control and
less pain during the actual treatment than control-group patients who
had received no stress training.

15.3 EXPLANATORY STYLE: OPTIMISM AND PESSIMISM

Seligman expanded his work on learned helplessness to encompass the

factor of optimism versus pessimism. It is not only the lack of control
under conditions of learned helplessness that affects our health but how
we explain this lack of control to ourselves. He proposed the concept of
explanatory style to account for this factor. An optimistic explanatory
style prevents helplessness; a pessimistic explanatory style spreads
helplessness to all facets of life.

Physical Health: According to Seligman, people with an optimistic

explanatory style tend to be healthier than people with a pessimistic
explanatory style. Pessimists tend to believe that their actions are of little
consequence and, as a result, are unlikely to try to prevent illness by
changing their behavior with regard to smoking, diet and exercise, or
timely medical attention. Optimists seem to develop stronger immune

174
systems and are more likely to recover from heart attacks and to
experience less pain and fewer symptoms following heart surgery than
pessimist.

Longevity: Optimists may live longer than pessimists. A long-range

study of nuns in the United States found that those who displayed
optimism in the life stories they were asked to write in their early 20s had
a significantly lower death rate when surveyed 60 years later than those
who displayed pessimism in their early writings.

Age: People over age 65 tend to have a more optimistic explanatory

style and to score higher in subjective well-being than those who are
younger. Research on elderly people in China and in the United States
showed that those who were more optimistic reported greater subjective
well-being and less depression than younger people.

Stress: Not surprisingly, stressful life experiences can affect one’s level
of optimism. A group of adults who were primary caregivers for relatives
with Alzheimer’s disease were compared on measures of optimism-
pessimism with a group of adults who were not acting as caregivers. The
caregivers grew increasingly pessimistic over a four-year period and
experienced greater anxiety, stress, and physical health complaints.

The Downside of Optimism: An optimistic explanatory style may not

always be of value (Scheier, 2001). For example, some optimists may
hold unrealistic views about their vulnerability to the effects of their
behavior. As a result, they may drink or use drugs to excess, telling
themselves that such behaviors cannot hurt them because their attitude
is so positive, despite evidence to the contrary. Highly optimistic college
students who expected to perform well on an exam experienced greater
disappointment after receiving their scores than did those who had been
less optimistic about their exam performance.

Pessimism and Depression Seligman found a strong association

between learned helplessness and depression. A major symptom of
depression is the feeling of being unable to control life events. Seligman
referred to depression as the “ultimate pessimism.” People who are
severely depressed believe they are helpless. They see little point in
trying to do anything because they do not expect anything to work out
well for them. Seligman observed several similarities between the
symptoms of depression and the characteristics of learned helplessness
(Seligman, 1990). All of us experience occasional feelings of
helplessness when we fail in some situation or when family or job
pressures seem overwhelming. No matter how unhappy or angry we
may feel at the moment, however, most of us usually recover after a

175
period of time. But some people do not recover quickly or easily. They
may generalize their failure in one activity (say, earning a poor grade or
failing to get a promotion) to other areas of life and to their personal
sense of self-worth. As a result, they start to feel helpless and depressed
in all situations and lose their impetus to strive.

15.4 THE DEVELOPMENT OF LEARNED HELPLESSNESS IN

CHILDHOOD

Although learned helplessness can occur throughout life, Seligman

suggested that we are particularly vulnerable to developing those
feelings in infancy and early childhood. During these formative years the
experience of learned helplessness can predispose us to the pessimistic
explanatory style (Seligman, 1975). Infants begin life in a state of total
helplessness, with no control over their environment. As they mature,
they become increasingly able to exercise control. They can cry, which
brings parents or caregivers to tend to their needs. They can crawl, walk,
and speak, and the mastery of each skill brings greater possibilities for
control, and also for failure. Through these early interactions with the
physical and social environments, a child’s sense of helplessness, or of
mastery and control, will be determined. When infants make a response,
that activity may lead to some change in their environment, such as
food, a toy, or a hug, or it may have no effect whatever. At a primitive
level, infants form associations between responses and outcomes. If the
responses do not lead to successful outcomes, the result is learned
helplessness. Infants learn that particular responses don’t work, and
they may generalize this idea to other responses, believing that none of
them will work. This generalized learned helplessness accompanies a
sense of having no control over life. In contrast, a high correlation
between responses and outcomes provides positive feedback that leads
to feelings of mastery and control. A consistent explanatory style
develops by about age 8 and is strongly affected by the parents’
explanatory style. Seligman wrote: “pessimistic parents also have
pessimistic children” (Peterson, Maier, & Seligman, 1993, p. 293).
Studies in India found that the childhood level of pessimism or optimism
can be strongly influenced by the parents’ level of education. The
greater the parents’ formal education, the greater will be the optimism of
their children.

15.4.1 Reflections on Learned Helplessness

The concepts of learned helplessness and optimism versus pessimism
have generated hundreds of research studies. Seligman and his
associates have applied the concepts to sports, politics, religion, child

176
rearing, and job performance. Overall, a large and impressive body of
data supports the learned helplessness concept. Seligman proposed a
program of exercises to teach optimism to adults and to children, thus
applying his findings beyond the laboratory to the home and the
workplace. He has extended his ideas to positive psychology and the
factors that influence subjective well-being. In other words, “What makes
us happy?”

Research on Seligman’s Concept of Happiness People depict that those

who are happy tend to:

• Have more money and live in a wealthy country

• Be more attractive
• Exercise more as they get older
• Be married and without children
• Have a strong sense of ethnic identity
• Be extraverted, conscientious, and high in self-efficacy and
locus of control
• Not be neurotic
• Be enthusiastic, optimistic, and grateful
• Have goals, a healthy lifestyle, and a high degree of social
involvement
• Have a proper balance between personal life and work
• Spend time on the Internet—or maybe not

Well Being

Another major contribution by Seligman was the concept of Well being.

In his book Flourish, 2011, Seligman wrote on "Well-Being Theory", and
said, with respect to how he measures well-being. Each element of well-
being must itself have three properties to count as an element:

1. It contributes to well-being.

2. Many people pursue it for its own sake, not merely to get any of
the other elements.

3. It is defined and measured independently of the other elements.

He concluded that there are five elements to "well-being", which fall

under the mnemonic PERMA:

• Positive emotion—Can only be assessed subjectively

• Engagement—Like positive emotion, can only be measured through
subjective means. It is presence of a flow state

177
• Relationships—The presence of friends, family, intimacy, or social
connection

• Meaning—Belonging to and serving something bigger than one's

self

• Achievement—Accomplishment that is pursued even when it brings

no positive emotion, no meaning, and nothing in the way of positive
relationships.

These theories are yet to be empirically validated

LET US SUM UP

The attribution model of learned helplessness involves attributing a

failure to some cause. Pessimists attribute their failures to internal,
stable, and global causes. Optimists attribute their failures to external,
unstable, and specific causes. Optimists tend to live longer, enjoy better
health, and experience less stress and depression than do pessimists.
Although learned helplessness can occur at any age, infants and young
children are particularly vulnerable. Infants learn that a correspondence
exists between their responses and outcomes when responses bring
changes in their environment. They learn helplessness when these
responses do not bring about desired changes. The major causes of
learned helplessness are maternal deprivation and an environment that
provides a low level of stimulation and feedback. Positive psychology
focuses on characteristics of the happy personality—people who score
high on measures of subjective well-being or life satisfaction. High
subjective well-being is associated with social support and positive
relations with others, a positive attitude, physical activity, not being a
member of a minority group that experiences discrimination, and living in
an economically advanced individualistic society.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. Pessimistic style spreads________.

2. Optimists attribute their failures to external___________.
3. _________focuses on characteristics of the happy personality
4. _____results from our perception that we have no control over
our environment

ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. helplessness and depression

2. unstable, and specific causes
3. Positive psychology

178
 4. Learned helplessness

GLOSSARY

Explanatory Style : Seligman in his work on learned

helplessness gave an explanation to
encompass the factor of optimism versus
pessimism.

Learned : a condition he described as resulting from

helplessness the perception that we have no control over
our environment, that there is nothing we
can do to change our situation.

Optimistic : those who favour external, unstable and

specific causes.

Pessimistic : those who explain away bad events with

internal (caused by themselves), stable (will
continue to occur) and global (will happen
in other spheres of life) causes

KEY WORDS

Age Childhood

Explanatory style Learned helplessness

Old age Optimistic

Pessimistic Positive psychology

MODEL QUESTIONS

1. Explain the development of learned helplessness

2. Explain the characters of optimists and pessimists
3. Define explanatory style
4. List of the characteristics of happy people.

179
SUGGESTED READINGS

• Seligman, M. E. P. (1990). Learned Optimism. New York: Simon

& Schuster, Inc
• Scheier, M.F., Carver, C.S., & Bridges, M.W. (2001). Optimism,
pessimism, and psychological well-being. In E.C. Chang
(ed.), Optimism and pessimism: Implications for theory, research,
and practice (pp. 189-216). Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
• Seligman, M.E.P (1996). The Optimistic Child: Proven Program
to Safeguard Children from Depression & Build Lifelong
Resilience. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0091831196
• Seligman, M.E.P (1991). Learned Optimism: How to Change
Your Mind and Your Life. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-671-
01911-2. (Paperback reprint edition, Penguin Books, 1998;
reissue edition, Free Press, 1998)
• Seligman, M.E.P (2011). Flourish: A Visionary New
Understanding of Happiness and Well-being. New York: Free
Press. ISBN 978-1-4391-9075-3.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Seligman

REFERENCE BOOKS

1. Schultz, D.P., &Schultz, S.E. (2013). Theories of Personality (10th

Ed). New Delhi, India: Cengage Learning India Pvt. Ltd.
2. Albert, B. Even (2010). An Introduction to theories of Personality
(7th Ed.) New York, NY: Psychology Press.
3. Freidman, H.S., & Schustack, M.W. 2009) Personality Classic
theories and Modern Research (3rd Ed.) Noida, Inida: Dorling
Kindersley,
4. Hall, C.S., Lindzey, G., & Campbell, J.B. (2007). Theories of
Personality (4th Ed). New Delhi, India: Wiley India Pvt. Ltd.
5. Shaffer, D.V.(2009). Social and Personality Development (6th Ed)
Belmont, MA:Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
6. Reeves, A (2012). An Introduction to Counselling and
Psychotherapy: From Theory to Practice. (1st Ed>) London,
England: SAGE Publications Ltd.
7. Neukrug, E.S. (2021). Counselling Theory and Practice, (1st Ed.
Delhi, India: Thomson Press ( India) Ltd.
8. Mc Clelland, D.C. (1988). Human Motivation. London, England:
Cambridge University Press
9. Frager, R & Fadiman, J (2009). Personality and Personal
Growth (6th Ed. ( Noida, India: Dorling Kindersley India Pvt. Ltd.

180
10. Bischof, L.J. (1970) Interpreting Personality Theories. (2nd Ed.)
New York. NY: Harper International.
11. Bryne, D. (1966). An Introduction to Personality. 2nd (ed). Upper
Saddle River: NY: Prentice Hall.
12. Felthan, C., Hanley, T., Winter, L.A.(2017), The SAGE Handbook
of Counselling and Psychotherapy, (4th Ed.) London, England:
SAGE Publications Ltd.

181
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