General Psychology

Transcript

This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com UNIT –I LESSON 1 NATURE AND SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY & TYPES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Aims and Objectives Introduction Psychology Defined Scope of Psychology Fields and Functions Types of Psychological Research 1.5.1 Naturalistic Observation 1.5.2 Survey Research 1.5.3 Case Study 1.5.4 Correlational Research 1.5.5 Experimental Research Let us sum up Lesson-End activities Points for Discussion Check your progress References 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 ________________________________________________________________________ 1.0. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES In this Unit the nature and scope of psychology as a discipline will be discussed. After going through this lesson you will be able to i) gain an understanding Psychology as a discipline ii) understand the vast scope of psychology iii) appreciate the nature of sub fields of psychology iv) the type of work various psychologists are doing in their sub fields. 1.1. INTRODUCTION Psychology is a scientific discipline. It branched off from philosophy and has ushered as an independent science on its own right. The definition of psychology had undergone several revisions in the past. It is currently defined as a discipline engaged in studying behavior and mental processes. The field of psychology is ever expanding and diversifying. Several sub fields of psychology have been developed. The strength of psychology as a science rests on its methods. A wide variety of methods have been eve loved by psychologists over the century. These methods help collecting data needed to build up a reliable and valid psychology. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 1.2. PSYCHOLOGY DEFINED Rudolph Goclenius, a Greek philosopher, invented the term 'psychology' in1590. The English word ‘Psychology’ originated from the root ‘psyche’ in Greek. The root word in Greek meant ‘soul’ or ‘spirit’. Logos in Greek meant ‘knowledge.’ Since the beginning psychology has been continuously undergoing redefinitions. Thus psychology was conceived to be a study of soul in the ancient time. At the end of the last century, psychology was recognized as the study of mind and consciousness through introspection, the description of experience. In 1818 James R. Angell, (J.B.Watson's professor) noted the pressure to shift the focus of psychology from consciousness to behavior moderated the position by defining behavior as "thinking, feeling and acting.” In the second decade of the century when extreme behaviorist stance arose and concept of consciousness was challenged and in 1913, John B. Watson defined psychology entirely in behavioral terms "the science of behavior." At the end of this century, the focus of psychology has been broadened and it is considered a science and practice concerned with human behavior as well as the mental processes that underlie physical and mental health. During the 1920s and 1930s, definitions in psychology dropped references to "mind" and "consciousness." In practice the subject of introspection largely disappeared by the 1930s. Howard C. Warren (1934), in his Dictionary of Psychology, gave four definitions of psychology, ranging from "a branch of science that investigates mental phenomena or mental operations" to "the science concerned with the mutual interrelations of organism and environment through transmission of energy," to "the systematic investigation of the behavior of organisms" to "the science of the self or personal individual." Norman Munn (1946) defined psychology as "the science of experience and behavior." In the late 1960s, cognitive psychology ushered and humanistic psychology gained popularity and the definition of psychology had a renewed emphasis on experience. By the 1970s, psychology's definition shifted yet again toward a more moderate and commonly defined "science of behavior and experience." In the last two decades of the century, the recognition that psychology is not only a science but also a practice. Currently, psychology is most often defined as "the study of behavior and underlying mental phenomena." One of the philosophers sarcastically commented on this turn of events in which the terms soul, mind and consciousness were banished one by one in preference to the term behavior, that ‘Psychology lost its soul first, its mind next, its consciousness later and is left to loath only with behavior.’ Now, the extremism in psychology has subsided and psychologists are more tolerant and open to accept phenomena for their psychological enquiry including consciousness. Currently there is consensus among psychologists in defining psychology as the study of behavior and mental processes (Coon and Mittrer, 2007). Another definition made by other contemporary psychologists states, “Psychology as the scientific study of behavior and mind (Passer and Smith, 2007). The subject matter of Psychology revolves around the study of behavior, human and animal. Psychology does not restrict itself to studying overt or observable behavior. Overt behavior includes walking, talking, laughing, hitting, or jumping. It necessarily This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com includes study of covert behavior as well. Covert behavior includes internal events like learning, motivation, attitudes, beliefs, values, and feeling. Psychology is a Scientific Study. It involves systematic study of behavior and mental processes in which the observed data is organized based on theory. Further it involves measurement. Psychology is regarded a social science. 1.3 SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY . The scope of psychology constantly extends to include a wide range of phenomena of scientific interest. The interest of the investigators ranges from interest in astrology, graphology to parapsychology. The psychological studies range from investigations of individuals to studies of groups, organizations and nations. Psychology studies all sorts of individuals, from mentally retarded to genius, from mentally ill to people who are selfactualizing. The spectrum of phenomena of interest to psychologists include every thing from egotism to altruism, from truancy, delinquency, criminality, psychopath to spiritualism, from peace to violence, terrorism and war, from behavior of plants to that of animals and human beings, and what not? It is not surprising that modern psychology has been some times commented to be a psychotic octopus that stretches and catches every thing that comes across it by its innumerous ever lengthening limbs. 1.4 FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGY Psychology is a broadening and diversifying field. A number of different sub fields and specialty areas have newly emerged. The following are a few of the major areas of research and application within the field of psychology. 1.4.1. Clinical Psychology is the branch of psychology that is devoted to study, diagnosis and treatment abnormal behavior. Their area of work covers a large range from milder disturbances like adjustment disorders that occur due to identifiable stressor on one hand to the more severe disorders like schizophrenia where the level of impairment of psychological functioning in the individual is extreme. Learning about the factors contributing to clinically significant impairment or disorders, arriving at a diagnosis, and evolving methods to treat these disorders are the common interests of clinical psychologists. Some clinical psychologists devote all their time in applying the theoretical understanding on psychopathology to treat their clients who are called as practitioners. Some others are primarily interested in issues like delineating factors influencing mental breakdowns, identifying the first signs of psychiatric breakdowns, the efficacy of certain kinds of therapy on certain types of patients, etc. They carry out research on various aspects of psychopathology and are called as clinical researchers. 1.4.2 Community Psychology A related field to clinical psychology is the community psychology. Community psychology is a growing field that focuses on promoting community-wide mental health through research, prevention, education, and consultation. 1.4.3.Industrial and organizational psychology is also known as I/O psychology, work psychology, work and organizational psychology, W-O psychology, occupational This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com psychology, personnel psychology or talent assessment. It is concerned with the application of psychological theories, research methods, and intervention strategies to solve workplace issues. I/O psychologists are interested in making organizations more productive and ensuring workers are able to lead physically and psychologically healthy lives. I/O psychologists are educated in the topics that include personnel psychology,motivation and leadership, employee selection, training and development, organization development and guided change, organizational behavior, and work and family issues. I/O psychologists who work in an organization are likely to work in the Human Resorce (HR) department. Many I/O psychologists pursue careers as independent consultants or applied academic researchers. 1.4.4.Consumer psychology is a branch related to Industrial-Organizational psychology. It deals with issues like people’s buying behavior, effects of advertisements on buying behavior, and better marketing strategies. 1.4.5. Health psychology investigates the relationship between psychological factors and physical illnesses. For example, they may be interested to study effect of psychological factors like maternal deprivation on physical illnesses like asthma. They also are interested in identifying health-enhancing behaviors like dieting, exercise, yoga on physical health and psychological well being, and promoting them among people. Further they research to identify psychological factors associated with health compromising behaviors like smoking, drinking. In addition to this they also work with those patients suffering from chronic or terminal illnesses, like diabetes and cancer, to evolve methods to rehabilitate them. 1.4.6 Medical Psychology is the field of psychology that applies psychology to manage medical problems. Issues like emotional impact of illness, self-screening for cancer and disabilities, and compliance in taking medications are within the scope of medical psychology. 1.4.7 Counseling psychology tries to study problems relating to educational, social and career adjustment. Health psychologists handle less severe problems than those attended to by the clinical psychologists. They teach students methods to enhance their learning capacity, helping the students to resolve their everyday difficulties, teaching the students principles to solve the problems with their roommates, etc. are done by counseling psychologists. Counseling psychologists employed in business organizations help the employees handle their problems that are work-related, interpersonal problems among colleagues, etc. Couples with marital problems also can seek help from counseling psychologists. Counselors also can help people handle their problems within the context of the family, like parents’ difficulty in communicating with their children. 1.4.8 School Psychology is the branch of psychology that works within the educational system to help children with emotional, social, and academic issues. As a branch of psychology it applies principles of cinical psychology and educational psychology to the diagnosis and treatment of students' behavioral and learning problems. School psychologists are educated in child and adolescent development, learning, pychoeducational assessment, personality, therapeutic interventions, special education, This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com psychology, consultation, child and adolescent psychpathology, etc., They help children and youth succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. They collaborate with educators, parents, and other professionals to create safe, healthy, and supportive learning environments for all children and to strengthen connections between home and school. 1.4.9 Industrial and organizational psychology is also known as I/O psychology, work psychology, work and organizational psychology, W-O psychology, occupational psychology, personnel psychology or talent assessment. It is concerned with the application of psychological theories, research methods, and intervention strategies to solve workplace issues. I/O psychologists are interested in making organizations more productive and ensuring workers are able to lead physically and psychologically healthy lives. I/O psychologists are educated in the topics that include personnel psychology,motivation and leadership, employee selection, training and development, organization development and guided change, organizational behavior, and work and family issues. I/O psychologists who work in an organization are likely to work in the Human Resorce (HR) department. Many I/O psychologists pursue careers as independent consultants or applied academic researchers. Consumer psychology, a branch related to Industrial-Organizational psychology, deals with issues like people’s buying behavior, effects of advertisements on buying behavior, and better marketing strategies. 1.4.10 Engineering psychology focuses on ways to improve the relationship between people and machines. They design machines in such a manner as to reduce human error. Some examples of the works of engineering psychologists are designing air traffic control systems and underwater habitats for oceanographic research. The design of the personmachine interface, the point at which the person interacts with the machine is especially important in computer systems. 1.4.11 Biopsychology specializes in understanding the biological bases of behavior. The field of Biopsychology focuses on the functions of the brain and nervous system. Studying about the various lobar functions and how neurotransmitters in our brains influence our behavior can be seen as some of the interests of Biopsychologists. 1.4.12 Comparative psychology is yet another field of psychology that has a fairly long history. It primarily focused on studying and comparing the behavior of different species, especially that of animals. 1.4.13 Experimental Psychology f o c us on the study of processes like sensation, perceiving, learning and thinking. If one is interested in finding out how one perceives pain, or how one learns new concepts the he would resort to experimental psychology. Some critics question the term ‘experimental psychology’ as psychologists studying any other phenomena as well may use experimental method. Neither do the experimental psychologists limit themselves to purely experimental method of investigation. 1.4.14 Sensation and Perception Psychology deals with studies on the sense organs and the process of perception. It also is involved in investigating the mechanisms of sensation and developing theories about how perception occurs. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 1.4.15 Learning psychology is related to studying about how and why learning occurs. They invest large part of their work in attempts to develop theories of learning. 1.4.16 Cognitive psychology can be seen as a specialty that grew out of experimental psychology. It includes study of higher mental processes like thinking, language, memory, reasoning and logic, problem solving, and decision- making. In short, it deals with studying phenomena of human thinking and information processing. 1.4.17 Developmental psychology traces the behavioral changes that occur in people from years as prenatal stages to old age. They also study about the influence on the individual from the point of conception unto death and analyze how behavior is influenced by these varied factors. In short Developmental Psychologists deal with studying how people grow and change throughout the course of the lives. They are more concerned about universal milestones rather than focusing on individual changes. 1.4.18 Personality psychology This is the branch of psychology that focuses on individual differences is called. Both consistency in an individual’s behavior and the changes occurring in him over time are points of interest to personality psychologists. In addition to this they try to understand how one individual is different from the other given the same situation, there by highlighting the uniqueness of the person. 1.4.19 Sports psychology If one is unable to carry on with his routine activities or if he is experiences difficulty in mixing with others around him then he would find it worthwhile to consult one of the psychologists who devote their effort in studying issues relating to physical and mental health. 1.4.20 Social psychology Man is a social animal. We are not isolated being. We are all parts of a complex network of social relationships. Social psychology studies how others affect people’s thinking, feelings and behavior. Social psychologists cover various topics like how one forms attitude and prejudices, human aggression, decision making while in a group, and why we form relationships with others. Researches on difference between males and females, the acquisition of gender identity, and how gender affects behavior throughout one’s life are of interest to the gender psychologists. 1.4.21 Cross-cultural psychology is a branch of psychology that deals w i t h investigating the similarities and differences in psychological functioning among various cultural and ethnic groups. This branch focuses on issues like how child-rearing practices differ with regard to different cultures, what are the factors affecting the achievement of women in different cultures, and why do cultures vary in their standards for physical attractiveness. Contemporary psychology invests a lot on studying the cultural diversity of virtually every psychological phenomenon. 1.4.22 Environmental psychology The numbers of specialty areas continue to grow even today. Environmental psychology is a field of psychology that studies the relationship between people and their physical environment. They study the effect of neighborhood, crowding, pollution and other environmental factors on psychological This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com factors like our social behavior, our emotions, perception of stress and even the way we think. 1.4.23 Forensic psychology deals with legal issues like deciding what criteria indicate that a person is legally insane, and whether smaller or larger juries make fairer decisions. 1.4.24 Space Psychology With more human beings visiting outer space than before the requirement of Space Psychology has come to be acknowledged. Space flights are longer and more frequent than earlier. This necessitated the emergence field of psychology that focuses on issues like screening of astronauts to weed out people who are more vulnerable to conflict in cramped, public quarters, handling the problem of space sickness, factors that affect sanity of crew that are on long space travels, decision making while on space travel when individuals are in small isolated groups, and so on. 1.5 TYPES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH Psychology is defined as the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. A ‘Scientific Study’ strictly uses data that are biased and objective. The data collected are unbiased in that they do not support one hypothesis over the other. Similarly the data collected are objective; any other who repeats the observation since the manner in which the research is being done is adhering to research principles can obtain the results obtained by one researcher. Scientific investigation refers to an empirical investigation that is structured in order to find solutions to certain questions that are practically relevant. Any scientific investigation typically involves three steps: (1) Identifying questions (2) Formulating explanation and (3) Carrying out research that would support/refute the explanations. Methods of research can be classified into two types based on the focus of the research. The two basic types of research in science are basic research and applied research. Basic research primarily focuses on extension of theoretical understanding and reflects purely the quest for knowledge. On the other hand applied research focuses on finding solutions to problems that are specific and practical. Research in Psychology involves both basic and applied type of research. Basic research in Psychology is carried out in laboratories with human or animal participants. In applied research the psychologist may try to design specific intervention program based on available scientific knowledge. The research in Psychology can be classified into different types, namely Descriptive Method and Experimental Research. The basic goal of descriptive research is to describe phenomena. They aid in generating hypothesis regarding phenomena of interest that can be tested later using experimental methods. Naturalistic Observation, Survey Research, and Case Study are the three popular descriptive methods. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 1.5.1.Naturalistic Observation is one where the researcher systematically observes and records the behaviors that occur naturally in various situations. Behavior in natural setting is observed and Observation is systematic. The objective of the naturalistic observational is to study the relationship among variables and to generate hypothesis. The research trying to study particular phenomena strictly refrains from actively manipulating any of the features in the natural setting. Detailed information about the nature, frequency and context of such naturally occurring behaviors can be obtained from the field notes that are maintained by the researcher. The starting point of a number of researches in Psychology is such careful observation of animal and human behavior. The understanding on the range of variation in human institutions that is revealed by a study of preliterate tribes may go unrecognized if one restricted to studying his own culture. Observational methods, in general, may be used in a natural setting or in laboratory settings. A researcher who wishes to study altruistic behavior may choose a high-crime area of a city and observe the helping behavior that people extent to the victims of crime. If, however, one wishes to undertake a study that involves biological variables then laboratory observation would be the best suited method. One of the major disadvantage of the observational method is that a cause-andeffect relationship between the variables being studied cannot be established using this method. This is because one is unable to control any of the factors of interests. For instance, one might find a few incidence of naturally occurring helping behavior that a concrete conclusion may not be possible merely from such limited data. Influence of observer may cause reactivity in the participants. As a result of social facilitation or social impairment effect the participants’ behavior is be altered with the presence of the observer. This is often seen as a constraint in carrying out a good naturalistic observational research. Reactivity in participants because of presence of observer may be controlled when observer is non-detectable to the participants. Systematic errors in observation that results from the observer’s expectations are termed as Observer Bias. Knowledge of previous research may create expectation regarding how a behavior would occur in a given instance. This expectancy, termed as Expectation Effect, can create errors in observation. Observer bias can be controlled by being aware of probability of observer bias and limiting information available to the observer. 1.5.2. Surveys are basic research instrument. Surveys are being popularly employed to understand the political opinions, product preferences, health care needs, and the like. It involves asking people about their attitude, beliefs, plans, health, income, life satisfaction, concerns, etc. Any one can be surveyed. The method was developed by Social Scientists of 20th century. It seeks to describe the current status of population and discover relationship between variables. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com In Survey Research people are asked directly about their behavior. Survey is usually conducted on a sample drawn at random from a large population. They involve use of questionnaires that contain statements relating to the phenomena being studied. The success of this method lies in proper selection of sample that is truly representing the population being studied. Given a sound sampling technique a survey research can yield information that depicts the population accurately. Survey research methods may be of different types depending on how the data is being collected. There are four different types of survey research methods: (1) Personal Interviews (2) Mail Surveys (3) Telephonic Survey and (4) Internet Surveys. In personal interview respondents are contacted at home or in office and they are interviewed face-to- face. It is time consuming and expensive since the respondents are contacted at their places. Since the interviewer collects information using face-to-face interviews it allows lots of flexibility. The success of the method relies much on interviewer’s expertise. Mail survey uses self-administered questionnaire that are mailed to large sample. It is time consuming and helps covers vast geographical area. Many a times subjects do not respond, and sometimes the questionnaires are filled incompletely. Non-response remains a major problem of mail survey method. Further it cannot be used when the sample consists of illiterates. Telephone surveys are conducted by telephonically contacting different individuals and collecting the data based on the telephonic interview. It does not involve much time or cost. Respondents from a vast area can be covered easily with ease. However, this would restrict the sample to only those who own a telephone that would result in selection bias. Subjects may not be adequately motivated to answer to faceless voice that becomes a drawback of this method. Social desirability bias where the participants want to behave in manner that is best expected from them may contaminate the results obtained through surveys since it heavily relies on participant’s self-report. Interviewer bias also poses serious threat to the validity of the findings. Non-representative sample may distort the results. 1.5.3 Case Study method involves in-depth interview to understand an individual better. Psychometric tests may also be used to assess various attributes like personality, motivation in addition to such in-depth interviews to understand the individual in greater depth. The case study, in other words, is a detailed examination of an individual, group or an event. It involves intensive description and analysis of a single individual. This often proves to be a rich source of descriptive information that may not be accessible while using other research methods. The idiosyncrasy of the individual being studied can be identified only using case study approach. For this reason Case Study method is also said to follow an ideographic approach to studying human behavior. The findings obtained may serve as good pointers to frame hypothesis that may be verified This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com later using rigorous experimental methods. Case Studies help to frame hypothesis. Experimental Methods help to test hypothesis. One of the advantages of this method is that it helps to understand behavior and frame hypothesis, though the findings are not conclusive. Further it provides opportunity for clinical innovation. When the researcher is interested in studying rare phenomena like say impact of Tsunami on an individual or impact of child abuse on the personality of the individual this is the method of choice. The findings of case study method are potent to challenge theoretical assumptions, and can offer tentative support for psychological theory. They often complement to nomothetic study of Behavior. Since the efficacy of the method largely lies on the expertise of the investigator one needs to pay caution in training the researcher. Reliance on the subjective interpretations of the investigator may jeopardize the complete analysis if he/she is not adequately trained in various aspects of interviewing and test administration in addition to scoring them and finely interpreting the scores. Sources of Bias in Interpretation stands as serious threat to the validity of the findings arrived at using case study method. Since the data collected are often from sources like personal documents the very source of data can be a source of bias. One cannot see the findings as suggesting any cause-and-effect relationships because no factor is controlled in this method. This problem extends to difficulty in generalization of the results as the researcher has no idea about how the phenomena being studied are varied in the population. 1.5.4 Correlational Research studies the strength of the association between the naturally occurring variables. For example, a correlational research may be used to assess whether motivation of children is related to motivation of parents. It ideally attempts to understand whether two sets of factors are related or not. Correlational researcher typically involves three steps: (a) Measuring variable ‘X’ (for example, motivation of children), (b) Measuring variable ‘Y’ (for example, motivation of parents), and (c) Systematically determines whether ‘X’ and ‘Y’ are related. Only naturally occurring variables are studied using Correlational research. The variables are not manipulated to see the effect of one on the other. For example, in order to study the relationship between motivation of children and motivation of parents a researcher simply records the motivation of children and parents as it is rather than trying to manipulate and change the motivation of children in order to see the corresponding changes in parents’ motivation. The correlation coefficient refers to the statistic that indicates the direction and magnitude of the relationship between the variables. Correlation coefficient can take values between +1 and -1. Where +1 indicates perfect positive correlation -1 indicates perfect negative correlation. A positive correlation occurs when high score on one variable is associated with high score on another variable. Motivation and performance may be seen as example of positive correlation: higher the motivation higher is the This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com performance. A negative correlation occurs when high score on one variable is associated with low score on another variable. Anxiety and performance of a student may be seen as negatively correlated: higher anxiety results in poor performance and vice versa. One may be tempted to conclude from the Correlational research Correlation does not imply causation. A study reported that very happy people had stronger and satisfying social relationships as compared to unhappy people (Diener and Seligman, 2002). On such a finding one may be tempted to conclude that stronger social relationships cause people to be happier. However a Correlational research does not allow such a conclusion that implies causation. It is quite possible that by virtue of being happy those individuals were able to have good social bonding with others around. So one has to closely consider both the possibilities equally: ‘X’ (social relationships) causing ‘Y’ (happiness) and ‘Y’ causing ‘X’. This is called problem of bi-directionality. Another problem that arises in Correlational research is that two variables ‘X’ and ‘Y’ may be correlated because of the third variable ‘Z’ that are independently responsible for ‘X’ and ‘Y’. For example, Personality Style ‘Z’ may be causing ‘X’ (better social relationship) and also ‘Y’ (greater happiness). When ‘Z’ changes it causes a change in ‘X’, and also in ‘Y’. As a result it ‘X’ and ‘Y’ change in unison. This is not because of direct effect of X or Y but of the third variable ‘Z’. Such a correlation is called spurious correlation, which means ‘not genuine’. Hence correlation cannot be seen as indicating causation. Yet it can stand as a base for predictions 1.5.5 Experimental Research is prototypical of scientific method. They are employed to test hypothesis. They stand as powerful tools to examine cause-and-effect relationship between variables. The essential characteristics of an experiment are that Manipulation, Experimental Controls and Random assignment of subjects to various conditions. Experimental manipulation is the changes that are deliberately produced in an experiment to detect the relationships between different variables. Instead of searching for naturally occurring situations the experimenter creates the conditions necessary for observation. A cause-and-effect relationship between variables is possible because of experimental manipulation. Experimenter controls and thus systematically varies conditions to study the same general situation with and without crucial element. For example, if a researcher is interested in studying the effective of psychological intervention in rehabilitation of HIV patients then he would consider two groups of HIV patients both of which are comparable in all respects (like age, education, socio-economic status, social support, etc.). After doing so the experimenter provides intervention, which in this case would be psychological intervention, to the patients in the experimental group and not to those in the control group. Thus he controls all factors other than the crucial element, the availability of psychological intervention, in his experiment. One variable is manipulated to study its effect on another variable. Experimental manipulation of one variable (say, A) is done, while all other variables are controlled (say This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com C, D, and E), to see its effect on another variable (say B). Here variable ‘A’ that is manipulated is called ‘Independent Variable’, ‘B’ is called the ‘Dependent Variable’ which is the variable of interest and ‘C’,’D’, and ‘E’ are called ‘Extraneous Variables’ whose possible influence on ‘B’ are effectively controlled. Independent Variable is the variable that is manipulated. Psychological intervention to HIV patients, in the above example, would be an independent variable. Dependent Variable is one that a researcher is interested to study about. In other words, dependent variable is the variable of interest. The experiment attempts to study the effect of independent variable on the dependent variable. In the above example extent of rehabilitation of the HIV patients may be seen as the dependent variable. Experiments usually begin with a set of hypothesis regarding the variables being studied. Hypotheses are assumptions about the relationships between the variables. To test these hypotheses two groups are formed, namely experimental group and control group. Subjects in the experimental group receive the intervention and those in the control group do not receive the intervention. If a researcher is interested to study the effectiveness of counseling on academic performance of 12th grade students he would be randomly assigned to either of the two groups– experimental group or control group. Random assignment would ensure that each student has an equal chance of being included in the experimental group. The experimental group and control group would remain comparable in all respects, say age, motivation, and intelligence. Experimenter’s assigning subjects randomly to different conditions is yet anther important characteristic of experiment. The first phase of the experiment would involve taking a pre-test measure of the variable of interest. Here, in this example, the level of academic performance of students in both the groups would be measured before any intervention is given. The second phase of the experiment would include implementing the treatment. The subjects in the experimental group would receive the treatment while those in the control group would not receive any treatment. For example, students in the experimental group would be given counseling to enhance their academic performance while those in the control group would not receive any such treatment. The final phase of the experiment consists of taking a post-test measure of the variable of interest. The level of academic performance of the students in both the groups would be assessed after the counseling program is terminated. If the level of academic performance of experimental group is better than that of the control group then it may be concluded that counseling has actually had an effect on enhancing the academic performance of the students. A cause-and-effect relationship between the variables can be inferred since all the other factors controlling the dependent variable have been controlled (kept as comparable in both the experimental group and control group). Since both experimental group and control group are both employed in an experiment we can rule out all the possibility that anything other than the experimental manipulation has produced the results seen in the experiment. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Even the best experimental designs are vulnerable to experimental bias that distorts the researcher’s understanding of how the independent variable affected the dependent variable. Experimenter expectations are very common forms of experimental bias. The experimenter may unintentionally send clues to the subjects about the way they are expected to behave in the experimental conditions. Similarly the subject’s expectation may also affect the experimental results. The subjects’ behavior may be more due to their interpretation of what is the expected behavior in the experiment rather than the treatment itself. Placebo control is often employed to solve the issue of subject expectation. Placebo is an inert substance that is given to the subjects to keep them unaware of whether or not they have received a behavior-altering drug or not. Similarly double-blind procedures are used to control experimental biases. In experiments that employ doubleblind procedure both the experimenter and subjects are unaware of which the experimental group is and which the control group is. These types of controls make experiments more reliable. 1.6 LET US SUM UP In this Unit we have learned the following points i) Psychology has a long past and a recent history ii) The definition of psychology had been changing over time iii) Psychology is currently defined to be a scientific study of behavior and mental processes iv) The scope of psychology expands consistently to bring various phenomena under its fold for scientific understanding v) A number of sub fields have ushered within the broad discipline of psychology. vi) A variety of methods are used in psychology that lend it its credibility 1.7 LESSON-END ACTIVITIES i) Does the defined nature of psychology as a study of behavior and mental processes interest you? How far it deviates from the way you thought is, in your past? ii) Which field of psychology appeals to your interest? Why? iii) Which of the methods used in psychology appeals to your interest? Why? POINTS FOR DISCUSSION (i) Substantiate how the science of psychology can be viewed as study of consciousness. (ii) Evaluate the role played by psychologists employed in various fields of psychology. (iii) Critically analyze the advantages and disadvantages of various methods of research in psychology. 1.8 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 1.9 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS ii) What is psychology? iii) What are the branches of psychology? iv) What are the methods adopted in psychology for obtaining data needed for its consumption. 1.10 SUGGESTED READINGS/REFERENCES/SOURCES Ash, M. and Woodward, W. (1989). Psychology in 20th Century Thought and Society. Boring, Edwin G.(1950). A History of Experimental Psychology. 2d Ed. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint.Delhi.Akash Press. Hilgard, Ernest H. (1987. Psychology in America: A Historical Survey. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Kassin,S. (2005). Psychology (MSN/Encarta). Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2005. http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2005 Microsoft Corporation. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition.New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com LESSON 2 CONTEMPORARY VIEW POINTS OF PSYCHOLOGY 2.0 2.1 2.2 Aims and Objectives Introduction Origin of Psychology 2.2.1 Philosophical roots of psychology 2.2.2 Influence of Biology. 2.2.3 Emergence of Scientific Psychology. Modern Psychological Perspectives 2.3.1 Biological Perspective 2.3.2 Behavioral Perspective 2.3.3 Cognitive Perspective 2.3.4 Psychoanalytical Perspective 2.3.5 Phenomenological Perspective 2.3.6 Relationship between Perspectives Let us sum up Lesson-End activities Points for Discussion Check your progress References AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.0 In the last Unit we saw the definition, scope and methods of psychology. After your going through this Unit you will be able to i) appreciate contemporary roots of psychology and ii) understand the modern perspectives of psychology iii) understand the relationship between various schools of thought in psychology 2.1 INTRODUCTION Numerous and diverse perspectives are available that have attempted to explain the subject matter of psychology. These perspectives differ right from the way the define psychology to the research methods that they employ to investigate various psychological phenomena. Different perspectives can explain every phenomenon in psychology differently. For example, consider a man running on the street. This simple act can be explained from a number of points of views. From biological viewpoint this action of running can be seen as firing of nerves that activate the muscles that are involved in movement. When you try to study the same behaviour in terms of behaviouristic approach then the act may be seen as something outside the body being responsible for it. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com It could be a car that’s running out of control that has made the man run on the street to save himself. Psychologists who try to understand this act using cognitive perspective may explain the same using goals and plans. It could be a friend who has forgotten to take his mobile phone that the man running wants to hand over. This could be a simple explanation of the action. Despite the availability of numerous perspectives in psychology five approaches to modern study of psychology have gained much prominence through out the history of psychology. The contemporary approaches to psychology are discussed here after a brief orientation to the origin of psychology. 2.2 ORIGIN OF PSYCHOLOGY Many fields have contributed to forming the foundations for psychology. Philosophy and biology provided the backdrop for the scientific field of psychology. The link between these are briefly discussed below. 2.2. 1 Philosophical Roots Of Psychology. Modern psychology can be seen to have originated some time in the fourth and fifth century B.C. The origin of psychology is rooted to philosophy. Its origin can be traced to the times of great Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle who posed fundamental questions about mind and mental process. They put forth intriguing questions relating to phenomena like pleasure and pain, knowledge, desire, motivation, memory, and the subjectivity in perception. Issues like whether we perceive reality appropriately or not, and whether we really have a free choice in life that were of prime importance two thousand years ago are also considered to be pertinent today even though they deal with aspects of mind and mental processes and not with behaviour or nature of body. 2.2.2 Influence of Biology. The biological perspective also shares an equally long history. Hippocrates, popularly known as “father of medicine,” lived during the times of Socrates. His interest in physiology (the branch of biology that studies the normal functions of the living organism and its parts) resulted in work that has contributed to biological perspective in psychology. He studied brain controlled various organs of the body which set the foundation for not only modern approach to physiology but also the study of psychological phenomena using a biological approach. 2.2.3 Emergence of Scientific Psychology. The emergence of scientific psychology can be traced to the latter part of the nineteenth century. The basic tenet on which it was built was that like planets, chemical and human organs mind and behaviour can also be the subject matter of scientific analysis. In the initial period questions on philosophy and methods of physiology were found mixed in the study of psychology. However, these two approaches emerged as distinct perspectives in later years. Today these perspectives are referred to as cognitive and biological perspectives to psychology. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com The development of the biological perspective has been continuous since the nineteenth-century, though the perspective in those times was markedly different from that of today’s. For example, the nervous system about which numerous researches have are available today was not found in the nineteenth-century. The development of cognitive perspective was not as continuous as that of the biological perspective. Cognitive perspectives of the nineteenth-century had its major focus on mental experiences. Much of the data in those times was based on introspections, or selfobservations. Extreme reliance on introspection, where an individual observes and records his own perceptions, thoughts and feelings, proved to be a major drawback. Despite extensive training in introspection people produced very different types of introspections about simple sensory impressions. Considering these limitations, the current cognitive perspective does not lay much emphasis on introspection. 2.3.0 MODERN PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES Five perspectives have dominated the modern perspectives of psychology namely biological, psychoanalytical, behaviouristic, cognitive and phenomenological perspective. We have to treat these approached not as mutually exclusive ones since each one focus on different aspects of the same complex psychological phenomenon. An integrated perspective is always needed to arrive at a holistic understanding of the phenomena studied. 2.3.1 Biological Perspective Perhaps the human brain containing over 10 billion nerve cells and an almost infinite number of interconnections is the most complex structure in the universe. In fact, all psychological events can be seen as related to the activity of the brain and the nervous system. The biological perspective attempts to related overt behaviour to electrical and chemical events taking place inside our body. It primarily focuses on effect of brain and the nervous system, and endocrine glands on behaviour. It seeks to explain the neurobiological processes underlying mental processes and behaviour. A typical example of a psychological study in biological perspective is the study of split-brain patients. It explains how neural fibres connecting the two hemispheres of the brain mediate normal conscious experience. In addition to this, it also attempts to locate where certain abilities are localized within the brain. For example, if a word is presented only to the right hemisphere of a split-brain subject, the person can still correctly select by touch the named object from a pile hidden from view. This clearly shows that the right hemisphere can make discriminations based on touch. Further it can also understand some language, since it can interpret single words. The split-brain subject cannot name the word presented which indicates that only the left hemisphere has the power of speech. The biological perspective has also contributed to progress in the study of phenomena like learning and memory. Neurobiologists have proposed cell-by-cell This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com accounts of learning by conditioning. They hold that conditioning involves changes in connections between neurons, where these neural changes are themselves mediated by changes in the amount of certain chemicals produced in the brain. The biological approach to memory has demonstrated the importance of certain brain structures, including the hippocampus, in consolidating memories. Childhood amnesia, hence, may be partly due to an immature hippocampus, as this brain structure is not fully developed until a year or two after birth. The biological perspective has also attempted to study motivation and emotion, particularly with other species. Research on rats, cats, and monkeys have helped us to identify certain regions in the brain that when electrically stimulated produce excessive overeating and obesity, and other nearby regions. These studies stand as support to the belief that biology alone contributes to motives and emotions. Brain is highly complexity structure because of which tremendous gaps exist in our understanding of neural functioning. Hence the biological perspective alone cannot adequately explain human behaviour. 2.3.2. Behavioural Perspective A behaviourist would study individuals by just looking at their behaviour that can be observed rather than looking at their brain or nervous system. In early 1900s the American Psychologist John B.Watson put forth a view that behaviour that is observable by naked eyes should only be the subject matter of psychology. Before Watson cognitive perspective that emphasised on introspection was the dominant nonbiological approach. Watson observed that introspections have a subjective quality that differentiates them from observations made in other fields of science. While any observation in natural sciences can be replicated only only one person, the one who introspects, can report the introspection. Watson argued that if psychology is to be considered a science then its data must be observable by any qualified scientist. The inferences of introspection are available only to the one who is introspective. On the other hand, behaviour is observable to everyone. Even verbal behaviour is rich source of information about one’s perception and feeling. Watson emphasised that only studying observable behaviour can be the objective of psychology, which is scientific study of behavior. Watson’s position, popularly known as Behaviorism shaped the course of psychology during the first half of this century. Stimulus-Response (S-R) psychology that was born out of behaviorism is still more influential. The stimuli in the environment, the response elicited by them and the rewards or punishments that follow these responses are the issues of interest to S-R psychologists. This perspective can be used to explain obesity and aggression. For instance, some people may overeat (which signified a specific response) only in the presence of specific stimuli. Hence learning to avoid these stimuli is included as part of many weightcontrol programs. Children are likely to express aggressive responses such as hitting another child when another child withdraws as a response to it. This withdrawal is This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com considered as a reward that would reinforce aggressive behavior. On the other hand if the other child counter-attacks in response to aggression from the first child then aggressive behavior would decrease. Here the counterattacks are punishments that follow the aggressive response. The behavioural approach totally ignores individual’s mental processes. They chose not to conjecture about the mental processes that intervene between the stimulus and the response (Skinner, 1981). Few psychologists today would regard themselves as strict behaviorists. However, many modern developments in psychology have evolved from the work of behaviorists. 2.3.3 Cognitive Perspective The modern cognitive perspective emerged as a reaction to behaviorism. In part it can also be seen as return to the cognitive roots of psychology. Just like the psychologists in the nineteenth-century the modern cognitive psychologists also showed interest in mental processes like perception, memory, reasoning, decision- making and problem solving. Only difference between the modern cognitive psychology and the one in the nineteenth-century was that the former was not based on introspection. Modern cognitive psychology is built on the assumption that studying the mental processes is the only way to fully understand the behavior of the organisms. They also contended that mental processes could be studied in an objective manner by focussing on specific behaviors just like the behaviorists. However, the focus of the cognitive psychologists would be in understanding the behavior in terms of the underlying mental processes. The cognitive perspective emerged partly in reaction to the narrowness of the S-R view. To view human actions purely in terms of stimulus and response may be considered as adequate for the study of simple forms of behavior. But the S-R view neglects too many important areas of human functioning. Humans are capable of reasoning, planning, making decisions on the basis of information stored in the memory, and, even to use language in order to communicate with one another. These are more complex phenomena that are largely neglected by the behavioural perspective. The behavioural approach can be seen as analogous to an old- fashioned telephone switchboard in which the stimulus goes in, and after a series of cross connections and circuits through the brain, the response comes out. On the other hand, cognitive psychology is like a modern computer or an information-processing system where the incoming information is processed in many ways. In this the information is selected, compared with other available information, and combined with the information stored in the memory, transformed, and rearranged. The output of the response depends on these internal processes. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Cognitive analyses can also be used in explain obesity and aggression. Some obese people fit so perfectly with a specific pattern like they diet successfully for a while, then break down and overeat excessively. In this process they eventually consume more calories than they would have had they not dieted at all. Breaking of the plan and the feelings of lack of control from come out of the loss of cognitive control seems to be the critical factor here. The importance of cognition or knowledge is quite clear and straight with regard to aggression. When someone insults us we are more likely to return back the verbal aggression if the person is an acquaintance than if he was a mentally ill person. Though the stimulus situation is almost the same in both the cases our response is different since what we know about the other person seems to control our behavior. 2.3.4 Psychoanalytical Perspective About the same time when behaviorism was Sigmund Freud in Europe developed evolving in the United States conceptions about psychoanalysis. The influence of the development of cognitive perspective in Europe on Freud is evident in the theory of psychoanalysis. It can be seen as a good blend of nineteenth century versions of cognition and physiology. Freud combined the cognitive notions of consciousness; perception and memory with ideas relating to biologically based instincts to develop his theory on psychoanalysis. The basic assumption of the theory is that much of our behavior has its roots in the processes that are unconscious. Unconscious process refers to beliefs, fears, and desires that one is not aware of. Nevertheless the unconscious influences behavior. Many of our impulses that originate from innate instincts are forbidden or punished by parents or society during our childhood. Since we all are born with these impulses they exert a pervasive influence on our behavior. Every individual in some manner must deal with this influence. Forbidding the expression of these impulses would only force them out of our awareness. On doing so it is not got ridden off completely but is sent to stay safely in the unconscious. These impulses remain in the unconscious from where they affect our dreams, slips of speech and mannerisms, symptoms of mental illness, or manifestation as emotional problems. They may also get manifested as socially approved behavior like involvement in art and literary activity. Freud maintained that all of our actions have a cause and that the cause is often not the rational reason we may give but some unconscious motive. Human nature is viewed as essentially negative. We are driven by the same basic instincts as the animals namely sex and aggression. The society stresses control over these impulses. So we are continually struggling against the society. Even those psychologists who would not accept Freud’s ideas of the unconscious completely they would probably agree that individuals are not fully aware of some important aspects of their personality. The psychoanalytic perspective would suggest new ways of looking at problems of obesity and aggression. With regard to obesity, the psychoanalytic perspective holds that these people may be responding to an anxiety-producing situation by doing the thing This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com that has brought them comfort all their lives, which is eating. And about aggression, Freud claimed that it is an instinct. This implies that people aggress to express an inborn desire. Although this proposal is not widely accepted in human psychology, some biologists and psychologists who study aggression in animals would agree with this view. 2.3.5 Phenomenological Perspective In contrast to all the theories discussed above, the phenomenological perspective focuses entirely on subjective experience. It is concerned with the individual’s phenomenology, which is individual’s personal view of events. This approach developed partly as a reaction to overly mechanistic quality of the other perspectives in psychology as opined by the phenomenologist. The phenomenologist rejects the idea that behavior is controlled by external stimuli (behaviorism), or by mere processing of information in perception and memory (cognitive psychology), or by unconscious impulses (psychoanalytic theories. Moreover they have different goals than psychologists who are given to other perspectives. They are concerned more with describing the inner life and experiences of individuals than with developing theories or predicting behavior. According to this perspective forces that are beyond our control do not act us on, but instead we are actors who are capable of controlling our own destiny. We have free life choices and hence we build our own lives. Because some phenomenological theories emphasis those qualities that differentiate people from animals (like self-actualization, for example) they are also called humanistic. Phenomenological theorists maintain that individual’s principal motivational force is a tendency toward growth and self-actualization. We all have a basic need to develop our potential to the fullest, to progress beyond where we are at present despite environmental and social obstacles. Various types of ‘consciousness expanding’ and mystic experiences are closely associated with these theories. They are more aligned to literature and humanities than with science. Some humanists reject scientific psychology altogether reasoning that its methods have nothing to contribute to the understanding of human nature. This position appears to be quite extreme. Undoubtedly the humanistic view makes a valuable point towards warning that psychology needs to focus on solving problems relevant to human welfare rather than studying isolated bits of behavior that lend themselves to easy scientific analyses. But discarding the need for scientific methods of investigation assuming that it would solve the problems of mind and behavior is nothing less that outright fallacy. 2.3.6 Relationship Between Perspectives The biological perspective that uses concepts and principles that are drawn from physiology and other branches of biology is at a totally different level than all other perspectives, which rely on concepts, and principles that are purely psychological (concepts like unconscious, perception and memory, and self-actualization). This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com But biological perspective makes direct contact with the more psychological perspectives by attempting to explain psychological concepts and principles in terms of their biological counterparts. Many believe that explaining psychological notions to biological ones is highly reductionistic. However, no one can overlook the importance of explaining everything at a psychological level. In fact, psychological concepts and principles can be used to direct biological psychologists. Human brain contains billions of brain cells and countless interconnections. Biological researchers cannot hope to discover something of interest by just arbitrarily selecting some brain cells to study. On the contrary they must have a way of directing their search to relevant groups of brain cells. Psychological findings can provide pointers for research that can be taken up by psychobiologists. For instance, if psychological researches suggest that conditioning is a slow process that is difficult to undo then psychobiological can direct their research on studying brain processes that permanently alter neural connections (Churchland & Sejnowski, 1988). Perspectives at the psychological level like behavioural, cognitive, and psychoanalytic are mutually compatible sometimes and compete with each other at other times. The perspectives are compatible when they focus on different aspects of the same phenomenon. For instance, there may be many different reasons why people overeat some of which is behavioristic (for example, the stimuli of a holiday meal situation trigger overeating), and some psychoanalytic (for example, being competitive). Such conflicts point towards the fact that our knowledge of the relevant phenomenon is imperfect. The views may become compatible with one another when more is learned about the phenomena. Initial conflict among the various views may be just another step towards the process of scientific psychology. 2.4 LET US SUM UP In this Unit we have covered the following points i) Numerous and diverse perspectives are available that have attempted to explain the subject matter of psychology ii) Modern psychology can be seen to have originated some time in the fourth and fifth century B.C. iii) The emergence of scientific psychology can be traced to the latter part of the nineteenth century. iv) In this unit are elucidated, biological, psychoanalytical, behaviouristic, cognitive and phenomenological perspectives in psychology. v) The biological perspective focuses on nerves system and also on physiology. vi) Psychoanalytical perspective emphasises the role of unconscious in understanding human being. vii) The Behavioural perspective tries to reduce the phenomena in to stimulus response connections and studies them objectively. viii) Cognitive perspective emphasises the need to include cognitive processes in studying behaviour. ix) Phenomenological perspective emphasises understanding the subjective experiences and emphasises human potentiality. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com x) The various perspectives are not mutually exclusive and an integrated and eclectically perspective is needed to understand psychology of human being. 2.5 i) ii) LESSON-END ACTIVITIES Which one of the perspectives is more appealing to you? Why? Identify an experience in your past and try to adopt each one of the theories to explain the experience. POINTS FOR DISCUSSION 2.6 i) ii) iii) iv) Critically evaluate the various perspectives of psychology. Analyse the features of philosophy found in contemporary psychology. Are the various perspective autonomous and independent? Justify your stand. Establish an eclectic approach based on the approaches discussed here in this lesson. 2.7 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS i) What are the basic tenets of biological perspective? ii) Differentiate behavioural and cognitive perspective. iii) What are the strengths of psychoanalytical perspective? iv) Discuss the fundamental ideas propounded by the phenomenological theorists. 2.8 REFERENCES Ash, M. and Woodward, W. (1989). Psychology in 20th Century Thought and Society. Boring, Edwin G.(1950). A History of Experimental Psychology. 2d ed. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint. Delhi: Akash Press. Hilgard, Ernest H. (1987. Psychology in America: A Historical Survey. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Kassin, S. (2005). Psychology (MSN/Encarta). Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopaedia 2005. http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2005 Microsoft Corporation. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology - The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. Nemec, T. (2007). The Perspectives of Psychology. http://www.wisconline.com/objects/index. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com LESSON 3 NERVOUS SYSTEM 3.0 3.1 3.2 Aims and Objectives Introduction Nervous System 3.2.1 Central Nervous System 3.2.2 Peripheral Nervous System Neurons 3.3.1 Structure of Neuron 3.3.2 The Process 3.3.3 How the Messages Pass? The Brain 3.4.1 Structure and Functions Let us sum up Lesson-End activities Points for Discussion Check your progress References AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.0 In the last Unit we presented a brief history of psychology and also described the different perspective dominant in psychology. After going through this Unit you will be able to i) appreciate the neurobiological basis of human being ii) understand the structure of central nervous system iii) understand the peripheral nervous system iv) appreciate the role of neuron in nervous system 3.1 INTRODUCTION The nervous system provides a neurobiological substratum for the living organism. It coordinates the entire functioning of the individual. The nervous system can be seen as body's information gatherer, storage center and control system. The function of the nervous system is to collect information about the external conditions in relation to the body’s external state, to analyze the information and to initiate appropriate responses to satisfy certain needs, most important of which is survival need. 3.2 NERVOUS SYSTEM Just like how the individual neurons are complicated structures the structures formed by the neurons are also complicated. The nervous system is divided into two main parts namely the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com NERVOUS SYSTEM THE NERVOUS SYSTEM CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM SENSORY SOMATIC DIVISION AUTONOMIC DIVISION BRAIN SPINAL CORD SYMPATHETIC PARASYMPATHETIC 4.2.1 Central Nervous System. The Central Nervous System consists of the Spinal Cord and the Brain. The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that leaves the brain and runs down the length of the back. The spinal cord is the main means of transmitting messages between the brain and the body. Simple kinds of behaviors, called the reflexes are organized by the spinal cord itself. Reflexes are involuntary response to an incoming stimulus without the involvement of the brain. When you touch a candle flame you would immediately withdraw the finger. Even though the brain analyses the pain the response of withdrawing the finger is entirely directed by the neurons present in the spinal cord. Reflex actions involve three types of neurons namely sensory neurons (also called afferent neurons), motor neurons (also called efferent neurons, and interneurons. The sensory neurons transmit the information from the perimeter of the body to the central nervous system. The motor neurons communicate information from the nervous system to muscles and glands of the body. The interneurons connect the sensory and motor neurons, and they carry messages between the two. 4.2.2 Peripheral Nervous System. The Peripheral Nervous System branches out from the spinal cord and brain and reaches the periphery of the body. They cover all parts of the nervous system other than the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system is subdivided into the Sensory-Somatic Nervous System and the Autonomic Nervous System. Both these connect the central nervous with sense organs, muscles, glands, and other organs. The somatic division controls voluntary movements. The communication of information to and from the sense organs is done through this somatic division. The autonomic division is concerned with parts of the body that are involved in essential functions like heart, blood vessels, glands, lungs, and other organs that function without our awareness. Motion of your eyes when reading this page and movement of your hand to turn this page can be seen as somatic nervous system activity, while heart beating and pumping of blood through your body can be seen as an autonomic nervous system activity. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com During emergency situations it is the autonomic nervous system that plays a vital role. The autonomic nervous system is further divided into two parts namely the sympathetic and the parasympathetic system. The sympathetic division prepares the body to respond in a stressful emergency situation. The response would often take the form of ‘fight’ or ‘flight’. On the contrary the parasympathetic division calms the body and brings the functions back to normal after the stressful emergency situation is over. Your heart pounding and mouth getting dried up on seeing a snake in your cupboard is an effect of sympathetic activity. When you find that what was appearing like a snake was actually a fancy belt then your heartbeats would come down slowly to normal, and you would stop sweating. This is the effect of parasympathetic activity. Examples of sympathetic activity are accelerated heart rate, dilation of pupil of the eye, increased activity of the sweat glands, swollen lungs, decreased activity of the salivary glands and slowing of digestive functions of stomach and intestines. Examples of activities of parasympathetic activity are slow heart rate, constriction of pupil of the eye, increased activity of the salivary glands and also increased digestive functions of stomach and intestines. 4.2.1.NEURONS The ability to play guitar, ride a cycle, or play a video game all appear to depend on muscle coordination. But a closer analysis at a deeper level we can understand that the more fundamental processes are involved in the activation of the muscles. The body sends messages to the muscles in order to coordinate the muscles to perform these complex muscular actions. Such messages are passed through neurons that are the basic elements of our nervous system. Neurons are a major class of cells in the nervous system. About 100 billion neurons are present in our nervous system that is spread in various parts like our brain, spinal cord, and in the nerves and ganglia of the peripheral nervous system. These are specialized cells whose main function is to process and transmit information. They are enveloped by excitable membranes that allow them to generate and propagate electrical impulses. 3.3.1 Structure of Neuron. The neuron like any other cell in our body has a cell body that contains the nucleus. The inherited materials are incorporated in the nucleus that decides how the cell would function. Picture courtesy: http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/biomath/mike/AP.html This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Neurons perhaps are the only cells in our which has a unique ability to communicate with other cells. They have a large number of extensions that look like branches or spikes extending out of the cell body. These extensions are called dendrites. The surface of the dendrites receives chemical messages from other neurons. One extension is different from all the others are called Axons. They are placed at the end opposite to the end that has the dendrites. An axon can be easily distinguished from dendrites by its length. It is longer than the dendrite, and can be as long as even three feet. The function of the axon is to transmit an electro-chemical signal to other neurons. Present at the very end of the axon is the Synoptic Knob (Bouton). These are small bulges on the end of branches that extend from the end of axon. Through these terminal buttons the messages are relayed to other cells. The electro-chemical signal that has traveled the length of the axon is converted into a chemical message at this synaptic knob. The chemical message then travels to the next neuron Synapse is the tiny gap between the axon ending and the dendrite of the next neuron. It is also known as synaptic cleft or synaptic gap. There are between 1000 and 10,000 synapses for every neuron. The messages traveling through the neuron are electrical in nature. The electric events moving along axon are called Nerve Impulse. The electric signals travel as unidirectional electrical signals. They travel in only one direction, from the dendrite, through the soma or cell body, along the axon. Dendrites detect the messages from other neurons while axons carry signals away from the cell body. Neuron’s way of carrying information, like a signal along a telephone wire is called action potential. The myelin sheath is a protective coating that covers the long axons. These are a series of fatty cells that are wrapped around axon many times. This myelin sheath makes the axon look like a necklace of sausage-shaped beads. They serve the same function as that of insulation around the electric wire. They prevent the messages from shortcircuiting one another. 3.3.2 The Process. A neuron either fires or does not fire. It works on an all-or-none principle. When the neurons are off then they are said to be in resting state. The neurons fire once they are triggered beyond a certain point. The resting neuron has a negative electrical charge. This is so because of the presence of more negatively charged ions within than outside the neurons. The channels in the neuron membrane open when the stimulus impinging on the cell reaches a particular intensity or threshold. When the channels in the cell wall open the fluid present outside the cell rush into the cell. These fluids contain positively charged sodium ions. As the sodium ions that are positively charged move into the cell the cell becomes positively charged. When the charge reaches a critical level an electric nerve impulse travels down the neuron. This electrical nerve impulse is known as action potential. The action This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com potential moves from one end of the neuron to the other end. After nerve impulse occurs potassium ions inside the cell flows out. This movement of ions results in sequential changes in the charge from negative to positive along the cell. This change from negative to positive charge in cell is rapid and brief. The positive ions are pumped out of the neuron after the passage of impulse. Finally the neurons return to negative charge. This is called its resting state. Immediately after the action potential the neuron is not ready for firing. This period is called absolute refractory period. During the absolute refractory period the neuron cannot be triggered, no matter how strong is the stimulation. A relative refractory period follows the absolute refractory period in which it is more difficult than usual (i.e., when it is in the resting state) to stimulate a neuron. However it is possible to trigger the neuron when in a relatively refractory period. Eventually the neuron returns to its resting state. In the resting state it is ready to be fired again. The structure and functions of the neuron demonstrate how fundamental biological aspects of the body underlie each and every psychological process. Without the understanding about the neurons our understanding of how we see, perceive and learn things in this world would be greatly stunted. 3.3.3 How the Messages Pass? A chemical connection bridges the gap between two neurons. When the nerve impulse moves through the axon and reaches the terminal bouton, the terminal bouton releases a chemical. This chemical is called neurotransmitter. The neurotransmitters are synthesized by the transmitting neuron. The bouton vesicles of the transmitting neurons store the neurotransmitters. The message travels within the neuron in electrical form. But the messages travel in the form of chemical transmission when moving from one neuron to the other. There are different types of neurotransmitters. Not all receptor cells (a neuron that receives the message is called a receptor neuron) are capable of receiving the chemical messages carried by every neurotransmitter. Each kind of neurotransmitter has a distinct configuration that would fit into a specific type of receptor neuron. Only when a neurotransmitter fits precisely with the receptor cells can successful communication take place between the neurons. When the neurotransmitter fits the receptor neuron the chemical message that arrives can be of either excitatory or inhibitory. Excitatory message is one that is more likely to trigger the receptor neuron and that the resulting action potential will travel down the axon. On the contrary, an inhibitory message is one that prevents or decreases the probability that the receptor neuron will be triggered. Dendrites of a neuron receive many messages simultaneously, some of which may be excitatory and some inhibitory. The neuron integrates this in some fashion through a summation process. At the end, if the excitatory messages outweigh the number of inhibitory messages then an action potential occurs. In contrast, if the inhibitory This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com messages outweigh the number of excitatory messages then no action potential will be produced and the neuron will remain in resting state. If the neurotransmitters remain at the site of the synapse there would be continuous stimulation of the receptor cells which would make it impossible to have an effective communication. Instead of this the neurotransmitters are either deactivated by enzymes or reabsorbed by the terminal button. This process of re-absorption by the terminal button is called ‘reuptake’ of the neurotransmitters. 3.5 THE BRAIN For all those who want to study the brain, the brain has posed a big challenge always. The study of the brain has been made possible by the use of brain scan. Brain scan helps us to picture the working of the brain without surgically cutting into the patient’s skull. Electroencephalogram (EEG), computerized axial tomography (CAT) scan, magnetic resonance imagining (MRI) scan and Positron emission tomography (PET) scan are the kinds of scanning techniques that are available today. The electrical signals being transmitted inside the brain are recorded using EEG by placing electrodes on the outside of the skull. The brain’s electrical activity is transformed into a pictorial representation of the brain. This allows easy diagnosis of conditions like epilepsy and learning disabilities. The CAT scan involves constructing an image of the brain by using a computer. The computer combines thousands of separate x-rays taken in different angles. This helps locate the abnormalities in the structure of the brain like swelling or enlargement of certain parts. However, it does not give any information about the brain activity. The MRI scan produces a powerful magnetic field that provides a detailed computer- generated image of the brain structures. The PET scan indicates the actual activity within the brain at a given point of time. The PET scan procedure begins with injecting a radioactive isotope into the brain. Measuring the location of radiation within the brain the computer can locate the active regions of the brain and provide a picture of the brain at work. 3.5.1 Structure and function of Brain. While some brain structures are clearly demarcated others gradually merge into each other. This often leads to debate about the exact boundaries and their respective functions. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com ANATOMY OF BRAIN Picture courtesy: www.emc.maricopa.edu/.../BIOBK/BioBookNERV.html Human brain can be seen as composed of three concentric layers namely the central core, the limbic system and the cerebral hemispheres. The central core of the brain includes most part of the brain stem. The medulla is the slight enlargement of the spinal cord as it enters the skull. It is a narrow structure that is involved in controlling our breathing and also some reflexes that help an organism maintain an upright position. This is the point at which the major nerve tracts coming from the spinal cord cross over so that the right side of the brain is connected to the left side of the body and vice versa. The cerebellum is the structure attached to the rear of the brain stem. It is a convoluted structure that is positioned slightly above the medulla. It controls coordination of movement. Though specific movements may be initiated at higher levels the smooth coordination of movements depends solely on cerebellum. Any damage to the cerebellum would result in jerky and uncoordinated movements. Inside the cerebral hemisphere just above the cerebral hemisphere is located the thalamus. The thalamus consists of two egg-shaped groups of nerve cell nuclei. One region of the thalamus acts as relay station. It directs incoming information to the cerebrum from the relay receptor for vision, hearing, touch and taste. The other region of the thalamus is concerned with control of sleep and wakefulness. Located just below the thalamus is the hypothalamus. It is a much smaller structure than the thalamus. It controls eating, drinking, and sexual behavior. The most important function of the hypothalamus is that is regulates endocrine activity and maintains homeostasis. Homeostasis refers to the normal level of functioning of the healthy organism like normal body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure. The homeostasis gets disturbed when under stress and we are set into action to correct the disequilibrium. And the hypothalamus is the one that restores the equilibrium. For example, when we are too cool we shiver. The hypothalamus gets our temperature back to normal. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com In addition to controlling the homeostasis, the hypothalamus plays an important role in emotions. It controls how we respond to stress-producing situations. Mild electrical stimulation of certain portions of the hypothalamus produces feelings of pleasure while stimulation of certain other portions of the hypothalamus produces sensation of pain. The pituitary gland lies just below the hypothalamus. Because of the influence of the pituitary gland the hypothalamus controls the endocrine system, and in turns the production of hormones. This is especially important when a body must mobilize complex set of physiological functions to deal with stress or an emergency. Since hypothalamus is involved in mobilizing the body for action during emergencies it is also called as ‘Stress Center’. A network of neural circuits extends from the lower brain up to the thalamus traversing through some other central core structures. These form the reticular system. The reticular system is involved in controlling our state of arousal. When we implant electrodes in the reticular system of an animal and pass certain voltage of electric current the animal goes to sleep, and when stimulated at different intensity would awaken the sleeping animal. All the sensory receptors present in our body have nerve fibers that feed into the reticular system. Thus it controls our ability to focus attention on particular stimuli. It acts as a filter allowing some sensory messages to pass to the cerebral cortex while blocking some others. Hence our state of consciousness at any point of time is influenced by the filtering process in the reticular system. Limbic system consists of a number of structures that are located around the central core of the brain. Being interconnected to the hypothalamus this system imposes additional control over certain instinctive behaviors that are regulated by the hypothalamus and the brain stem. The limbic system is certain animals like fish and reptiles are only in rudimentary level. Such animals carry out acts like feeding, mating, fleeing from danger and attaching through stereotyped behaviors. However in mammals the limbic system is well developed. It allows the organism to be more flexible and adaptive to the changing environment. Hippocampus, a part of the limbic system, plays an important role in memory. Accidental damage or surgical removal of the hippocampus demonstrates that it is responsible for storage of new events in your memory bank. However, it is not necessary for the retrieval of old information. On recovery from such a surgical operation one may be able to recall old memories and recognize old friends, will be unable to read and perform skills leaned during early days of his life. However, he will be very vaguely (if at all he does!) recall events that occurred in the year, or things that happened just before the surgery. But he will be totally unable to remember anything that happens to him after the surgery. In addition to memory, the limbic system is also involved in emotional behavior. Lesion in some region of the limbic system in monkeys makes them react with rage at the slightest provocation. On the other hand, the monkeys do not show any reaction even This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com when attached if the lesion is in some other region of the limbic system. This clearly shows that limbic system plays an important role in the controlling of emotional behavior. Human beings have a highly developed cerebrum than any other organism. Its outer layer is called cerebral cortex (or simply cortex). The cortex contains a large number of nerve cell bodies and unmylienated fibers. Hence the cortex of a preserved brain appears gray, and is called the ‘gray matter’. Beneath the cortex, inside the cerebrum, a number of mostly myelinated axons are present. This makes it appear white, and is called ‘white matter’. The cortex of lower mammals is small and smooth. As one moves up the phylogenetic scale to higher mammals the amount of cortex relative to the total brain tissue increases, and becomes progressively wrinkled and convoluted. The sensory organs project information to the specific areas of the cortex, which is called sensory cortex. The movement of the body parts is also controlled by another area of the cortex, called motor cortex. The rest of the areas in the cortex are neither sensory nor motor, and is called association area. The association area covers the major part of the cortex and it is responsible for memory, thought and language. Picture courtesy: www.cerebromente.org.br/n07/doencas/disease_i.htm This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Picture courtesy: www.nlm.nih.gov/…/ency/imagepages/9549.htm The brain consists of two cerebral hemispheres that are symmetrical. There is a deep division between these two hemispheres running from front to the rear, resulting in right hemisphere and left hemisphere. Each hemisphere is further divided into four lobes namely frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe and occipital lobe (as seen in the picture above). The central fissure runs from near top of the head sideways to the ears. This separates the frontal lobe from the parietal lobe. The parietal lobe is located at the top of the brain behind the central fissure while the occipital lobe is at the rear of the brain. The lateral fissure is a deep fissure at the side of the brain that demarcates the temporal lobes. 3.6 i) ii) iii) iv) LET US SUM UP The nervous system is body's information gatherer, storage center and control system. The nervous system is divided into two main parts namely the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. The Central Nervous System consists of the Spinal Cord and the Brain. The Peripheral Nervous System cover all parts of the nervous system other than the brain and spinal cord, which is subdivided into the Sensory-Somatic Nervous System and the Autonomic Nervous System. The autonomic nervous system that plays a vital role in emergency situations. Neurons are a major class of cells in the nervous system. Neurons send nerve impulses to other neurons with nerve impulse traveling from the dendrite, through the soma or cell body, along the axon. Messages travel in the form of chemical transmission when moving from one neuron to the other through neurotransmitters. EEG, CAT, MRI and PET scan are used in brain research. Brain is made up of a complex network of number of parts, each looking after a unique function. v) vi) vii) viii) ix) x) This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 3.7 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) LESSON-END ACTIVITY Visit the neurology department of an institute as see scan reports to learn about techniques in brain research. Take a look at the brain preserved at Zoology department to understand the brain anatomy. Draw a chart on structure of neuron and mark its parts. Tabulate the various structures in the brain and their functions. 3.8 (i) (ii) (iii) 3.9 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) 3.10 POINTS FOR DISCUSSION Substantiate the fact that neurons work on an all-on-none principle. Critical analyze the role of neurotransmitters in influencing our behavior. Discuss the functions of various parts of the brain. CHECK YOUR PROGRESS What are the various components of our nervous system? Name the different types of neurons present in our nervous system. Discuss how a neuron carries information. Which part of the brain controls emotions? REFERENCES Ash, M. and Woodward, W. (1989). Psychology in 20th Century Thought and Society. Boring, Edwin G.(1950). A History of Experimental Psychology. 2d ed. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint.Delhi.Akash Press. Hilgard, Ernest H. (1987. Psychology in America: A Historical Survey. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Kassin,S. (2005). Psychology (MSN/Encarta). Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2005. http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2005 Microsoft Corporation. Kolb, Bryan Whishaw, Ian Q.(2003). Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology. W.H.Freeman & Co. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition.New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com LESSON 4 PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM ENDOCRINE SYSTEM AND GENETICS 4.0 4.1 4.2 Aims and Objectives Introduction Peripheral Nervous System 4.2.1 Somatic division 4.2.2 Autonomic division 4.2.2.1 Sympathetic division 4.2.2.2 Parasympathetic division Endocrine System 4.3.1 Various Glands 4.3.2 Nervous system and Endocrine system. Genetics and behavior 4.4.1 Genetic influence on behavior 4.4.2 Behavioral Genetics. 4.4.3 Family, Adoption, and Twin Studies. 4.4.4 Estimating genetic influence Let us sum up Lesson-End activities Points for Discussion Check your progress References AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.0 In Lesson 3 we briefly studied about the various sections of the nervous systems focusing on the functioning of the neurons and the brain of the central nervous system. Here we discuss about the role played by peripheral nervous system and our endocrine system on our behavior. We also discuss on how genetics affects behavior. By the end of this lesson you will be able to: i) Understand how the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system ii) Appreciate the functioning of endocrine system and how it influences behavior iii) Understand the genetic basis of human behavior iv) Gain orientation to the field of behavioral genetics and its research methods. 4.1 INTRODUCTION To understand the biological bases of human behavior we need to study the functions of the nervous system and endocrine system in addition to analyzing the influence of heredity. Peripheral nervous system plays a significant role when we meet emergency situations. Hormones secreted by endocrine glands have a tremendous effect on our behavior. For instance, hypothyroidism would result in conditions similar to that of depression. In addition to the nervous system and endocrine system our genetics also plays a vital role in influencing our behaviors. Behavior genetics is a specialized field This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com that studies the effect of heredity on behavior using standard scientific methods. An overview of all these aspects will help us appreciate how our biology can influence our psychology. 4.2 PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM As seen in the earlier chapter our nervous system is divided into two main parts namely central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS). The peripheral nervous system, as its name suggests, branches out from the spinal cord and the brain, and reaches the extremities of the body. The PNS is made up of long axons and dendrites and encompasses virtually all parts of the nervous system other than brain and spinal cord. The two major divisions of the peripheral nervous system are the somatic division and the autonomic division. Both these divisions are connected to the central nervous system with the sense organs, muscles, glands, and other organs. 4.2.1 The somatic division is involved in control of voluntary movements. Movement of the eyes when you read this paper and the movement of the hands involved in turning the paper is, for instance, controlled by the somatic division of the PNS. It is also in charge of communication of information from and to the sense organs. 4.2.2 The autonomic division on the other hand is concerned with all those parts of the body that are essential to keep us alive. This division is basically involved with organs like heart, blood vessels, glands, lungs, and other organs that function without our awareness. Pumping of blood through your body, and salivation in your mouth as you see pickle may be seen as instance of working of the autonomic nervous system. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Picture courtesy: http://www.drstandley.com/bodysystems_centralnervous.shtml 4.2.2.1 The autonomic nervous system has a very important role to play during emergencies. Imagine you are reading a book and suddenly notice a snake creeping into your room. Your heart will start racing, blood pressure would shoot up, your mouth would get dry and you may even start sweating. Your immediate physiological reaction occurs due to the activation of the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. The sympathetic system prepares the body in stressful emergency situations. It engages all the resources of the body to meet the threat and respond to it. Basically the response can take the form of flight or fight reaction to the threat. 4.2.2.2 Once the emergency is over another division of the autonomic nervous system comes to play. It is the parasympathetic nervous system that acts after the emergency situation to calm down the body. For instance if you happen to sit near the door enabling you to make an easy exit from the room and if there are people around to help you get the snake chased out of your room then your heart rate will slow down, you might stop sweating, and your body would get back to the state in which it was before the emergency situation. Not just this, the parasympathetic division also helps the body maintain storage of energy sources like nutrients and oxygen. 4.3 ENDOCRINE SYSTEM The endocrine system may be seen as a network of chemical communication that sends messages through out the nervous system through the bloodstream and secrete hormones that affect the growth and functioning of the body. The endocrine glands are ductless glands that secrete chemical substances called hormones into the bloodstream. These hormones control the internal environment of each cell and organ, and also of the entire body. 4.3.1 Various glands. The endocrine system consists of a number of endocrine glands namely pineal gland, Pituitary, Thyroid, Parathyroid, Thymus, Adrenals, Pancreas and Gonads (ovaries or testes). This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com ENDOCRINE SYSTEM Picture courtesy: http://www.drstandley.com/bodysystems_endocrine.shtml The pituitary gland comprises the major portion of the endocrine system. Since it directs the work of all the other glands it is often referred to as ‘Master Gland’. Pituitary gland is a pea-sized gland located under hypothalamus in the brain. Hormones secreted by this gland are essential for controlling growth. Pituitary deficiency may be the reason behind some people being unusually tall like giants or extremely short people like dwarfs. Though it is considered as master gland it actually plays the servant of the brain since it is the brain that is ultimately responsible for the entire functioning of the endocrine system. The pineal gland is often referred to as third-eye in certain fishes, frogs, and lizards since it is associated with light-sensitive organ. It was once considered as a useless remnant of evolution. . Nevertheless today the usefulness of the pineal gland is well recognized. This gland secretes the hormone called melatonin as a response to daily variations in light. The melatonin level in the bloodstream rises at dusk and reaches the peak around midnight, falling again as morning approaches. This helps in controlling body rhythms and sleep cycles. The thyroid gland located in the neck regulates the body's metabolism. The adrenal glands, the twin structures located near the kidneys secrete adrenaline that arouses the body to respond to stress and emergencies. In addition to helping the body in adjustment to stress they also regulate salt balance and affect our sexual functioning. The adrenaline stimulates other hormones active in carbohydrate metabolism. The pancreas release insulin that regulates the level of sugar in the bloodstream and hunger. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com The gonards, namely the testes or the ovaries, secrete hormones that govern sexual behaviors. The testes in males secrete testosterone and the ovaries in females secrete estrogen, which regulate the sexual behavior in males and females respectively. In addition to regulating sexual development and ovulation they play a vital role in the growth of the sex organs. 4.3.2 Nervous system and Endocrine system. Endocrine system consisting of a number of hormone secreting glands is spread through out the body. One of their functions is conveying information from one area of the body to the other, just like the nervous system. The nervous system conveys messages using nerve impulses. The endocrine system, in contrast, conveys messages in the form of chemicals. They secrete hormones that serve as chemical messengers. Just like the neurons having receptors for certain neurotransmitters the cells in the body also respond to hormones from specific endocrine glands. Our psychological development and functioning is affected to a large extent by some of the hormones secreted by the endocrine glands. Although just like the neurons the endocrines also send messages through out the body, the speed and mode of transmission are distinctly different. While neural messages are measured in thousandths of a second the hormonal communications may take minutes to reach their destination. The neural messages move across neurons in specific lines while the hormones move throughout the entire body. Thus when the brain has some important information to be transmitted it can chose to send it directly to a relatively small group of neurons in the form of nerve impulses or send it indirectly to large number of cells by means of hormones. Both the communication networks are used often that results in immediate and prolonged stimulation. The nervous system and the endocrine system have a reciprocal influence on each other. The endocrine messages can trigger responses in the brain and similarly the brain can affect endocrine functions. For instance, negative thoughts in a stressful situation can stimulate the secretion of stress hormones (Borod, 2000). The influence of hormones on our behavior can be traced back to prenatal period. During the third to fourth months of pregnancy a genetically programmed release of sex hormones in the fetus determines the development of sex organs. Further other hormones determine the development of the structure and function of many parts of the nervous system including the hypothalamus. In fact this continues to later life where one area of the hypothalamus influences the release of hormones during female menstrual cycle. In addition to the influence on reproductive structures and sexual development the prenatal hormones also seem to influence sex difference in aggressiveness and longevity (Nelson & Luciana, 2001). They also are responsible for sex difference in brain structure. It is found that females have greater density of neurons in language-related areas of the temporal lobe (Collins & Kimura, 1997). Females are also found to have relatively larger This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com corpus callosum which accounts for the fact that language functions in females are less localized as compared to males. Adrenal glands that regulate many metabolic processes within the brain and other parts of the body have a special importance to psychology. They produce dopamine (a neurotransmitter) in addition to host of other stress hormones. The sympathetic branch of the autonomic division of the nervous system activates the adrenal glands during emergency. The adrenal glands in turn secrete stress hormones into the bloodstream thereby mobilizing the body’s emergency response system. The actions of these adrenal hormones are especially important under conditions of prolonged stress since these hormones remain in the bloodstream for considerable time. If the hormones did not have the long-term effect then the autonomic nervous system would have to produce a constant barrage of nerve impulses to the organs that respond during stress. 4.4 GENETICS AND BEHAVIOR The beginning of this year witnessed breakthrough research in mapping human genome which is nearing completion at least in it preliminary form. This, is many ways, represents one of the greatest feat in the history of science. Our genetic makeup composed of 100,000 genes made up of millions of individual amino acids is extremely complex. Identifying our genes increases the possibility of understanding the role played by genetics in our behavior. Right from the ancient times in the history of psychology there has been a serious debate among psychologists on the relative role of genetic and environment on behavior. The nativists believe that behavior is basically innate and the environmentalists believe that behavior is shaped by the environment to a large extent. Contemporary psychologists use a variety of techniques to explore the issues of heredity. One of the most recent techniques is called evolutionary psychology that focuses on application of evolutionary theory to understand how inherited behaviors may have originated. Evolutionary psychologists maintain that human nature consists of inborn biological tendencies that have evolved through natural selection. Some of the evidences the evolutionary psychologists have to prove their much of human behavior serves adaptive functions are briefly given below. Infants are born into this world with an innate ability to acquire any language spoken in this world, and what language they learn depends on to which language they get an exposure. Similarly newborns are prewired to perceive certain stimuli. They are able to discriminate the odor of their mother’s milk from that of the other women (McFarlane, 1975). This helps in adapting better to the care giver. Even by one week of age human infants show primitive mathematical skills that improve with age even in the absence of training. The infants are able to discriminate This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com between two and three. The brain seems to be designed to make ‘lesser than’ and ‘greater than’ judgments that can be clearly seen in our decision making (Geary, 1995). One behavior that is critical to the human species’ survival and reproductive success is establishing cooperative relationships with group (Hogan, 1983). Hence humans show a need to belong and strongly fear being ostracized from the group. Social anxiety, in this context may be seen as an adaptive mechanism that protects one from doing things that would result in group rejection. Human’s altruistic behavior also seems to serve adaptive functions. We tend to help one another, especially our children and relatives. The degree of help extended is directly related to the degree of relatedness. Evolutionary theorists maintain that we engage altruistic behavior helping our family members and relatives because that would increases the probability of passing on the genes that we share with them. Researches suggest that there is a set of basic emotions that are universally recognized (Ekman, 1973). For instance, all over the world happiness and good will is expressed through smiling. 4.4.1 Genetic influence on behavior Evolutionary history has played a significant role in shaping up humans to be what they are today. Evolution operates through genetic transmission across various generations. Starting from our physical development everything including the development of nervous system is to a large extent directed by the elaborate genetic blue print that is passed on to us by our parents. Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk is considered the father of genetic. His research with garden peas marked the beginning of modern genetics. According to Mendel heredity is not a simple blending of both the parents’ characteristics but it involves passing on of specific organic factors. These specific factors may produce visible characteristics. Otherwise they may be simply be carried further for possible transmission to another generation. In either of the above case all of the offspring of one set of parents do not inherit the same traits. Geneticists make a clear distinction between genotype and phenotype. Genotype is the specific makeup of the individual while phenotype refers to individual’s observable characteristics. Genotype can be compared to the commands of computer software program. Some of the directives may be used in some occasions while the others may be used in other occasions. Some of them, either because they are contradicted by other genetic directives or because environment never allows their expression, are never used. The genotype is present from birth, but the phenotype is affected by both genetics and environment. 4.4.2 Behavioral Genetics. Behavior genetics deals with research that study how heredity and environment interact to influence psychological characteristics. While This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com evolutionary psychology focuses on the commonalities among people, behavior genetics focuses on the potential role of genetic factors in accounting for differences among people. Children get half their genetic material from each of their parents. Hence the probability of you sharing any particular gene with your parents would be 0.50. Brothers and sisters also have 0.50 probability of sharing the same genes since they get the genetic material from the same parents. Similarly we may conclude that 0.25 would be the probability of sharing your gene with that of your grandparents. Facts such as these, on genetic similarities stand as basis for studying the role of genetics in physical and behavioral characteristics. Genetic contribution can be inferred if a characteristic has higher concordance (or co-occurrence) in people who are more closely related to one another, more so if they live in different environments. 4.4.3 Family, Adoption, and Twin Studies. The level of genetic similarity among family and kin stands as the basis for estimating the relative contribution of heredity and environment to physical and psychological characteristics. Researches have shown that the more the genetic similarities between people the more the are likely to be similar psychologically. The degree of similarity in the characteristic depends however on the characteristic in question. Adoption studies that studies people who are adopted very early in life are compared with both their biological parents (with whom they share genetic endowment) and their adopted parents (with whom they share a common environment but not any genetic endowment) on some characteristics. If they are more similar to their biological parents on a particular characteristic as compared to their adopted parents then a genetic influence on the particular characteristic is indicated. On the contrary, if they are more similar to their adopted parents on the characteristic as compared to their biological parents then an environmental influence is indicated. Twin studies compare trait similarities in identical and fraternal twins. Identical twins, also referred to as monozygotic twins, are genetically identical since they develop from the same zygote. Fraternal twins, also called as dizygotic twins, develop from two zygotes and hence they share only 50% of the genetic endowment. Fraternal twins are no more genetically alike than siblings. Twins are generally raised in the same familial environment. Twin studies often compare concordance rates or behavioral similarities in sample of identical and fraternal twins. If identical twins are found to be more similar on the characteristic than fraternal twins then can be judged that genetic factor is involved in this characteristic. But it also could be partially because of environmental similarity since fraternal twins who look similar to each other in appearance may also be treated the same way by others! To rule out this environmental influence behavior genetics have adopted much more rigorous research methods. Studying identical twins who were separated very early in life and raised in different environments is one of such methods. Eliminating environmental similarity permits better basis for evaluating the relative contributions of genes and environment. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Psychological traits like intelligence, personality traits and even some psychological disorders are found to have notable genetic contribution (Bouchard, 2004). Adopted children seem to be more similar to their biological parents than their adopted parents on these measures. Similarly, identical twins are found to be more similar than fraternal twins even when they were separated early in life and are reared apart (Loehlin, 1992,; Lykken et al., 1992; Plomin & Spinath, 2004). Nevertheless, identical twins reared together tend to be more similar than identical twins reared apart that indicates that environment also makes a difference. 4.4.4 Estimating genetic influence. Heritability co-efficient estimates the degree to which the differences in a specific characteristic within a group of people can be attributed to genetic factor. One of the common methods used to estimate heritability coefficient is to double the absolute difference between correlation coefficient derived from identical and fraternal twins on the particular characteristic. For instance, the correlation of IQ scores in sets of identical twins is 0.85 and in sets of fraternal twins is 0.50 (Plomin & Spinath, 2004). The absolute difference between these correlation coefficients is 0.35 (0.85-0.50= 0.35).Doubling of this difference gives 0.70 (0.35X2=0.70) which gives the heritability for intelligence. This indicates that 70% of the variation in that sample’s IQ can be attributed to genetic differences among its members. It is important to note that this does not mean that 70% of a particular person’s intelligence is due to genetic factors since heritability applies only to differences within groups. Behavior geneticists realize that genes and environment are not two separate determinants of behavior. They, instead, operate as a single integrated system. Gene expression is influenced by the environment on a day-to-day basis. For example, high or low environmental stress can turn on or off genes that regulate stress hormones. Hence gene environment interactions must be recognized in order to understand any phenomena. Technological advancement has enabled scientists to map the human genome and also to duplicate and modify the structures of the genes. Genetic manipulation makes it possible for scientists not only to duplicate or alter genetic material but also to repair dysfunctional genes. These procedures promise great advances in treating physical as well as psychological disorders. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 4.5 (i) LET US SUM UP The two major divisions of the peripheral nervous system are the somatic division (controls voluntary movements) and the autonomic division (controls functions essential for living). Sympathetic division of the ANS prepares the body in stressful emergency situations. Parasympathetic division acts after the emergency situation to calm down the body. The endocrine glands secrete hormones into the bloodstream that control the internal environment of each cell and organ, and also of the entire body. The endocrine system consists of a number of endocrine glands namely pineal gland, Pituitary, Thyroid, Parathyroid, Thymus, Adrenals, Pancreas and Gonads (ovaries or testes). Behavior genetics deals with research that study how heredity and environment interact to influence psychological characteristics. Family, Adoption, and Twin Studies stands as the basis for estimating the relative contribution of heredity and environment to physical and psychological characteristics. Behavior geneticists realize that genes and environment are not two separate determinants of behavior. They, instead, operate as a single integrated system. LESSON-END ACTIVITIES (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) 4.5 (i) Observe how your autonomic system works when you face a threat and describe it. (ii) Draw and mark the parts and write the functions of each part of the endocrine system. (iii)List the genetic influences on your physical and psychological characteristics carried over from your parents. 4.6 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) POINTS FOR DISCUSSION Analyze the sequence of reactions triggered by our ANS during an emergency. Substantiate how important is the role played by hormones on our behavior. Evaluate the role played by genetics and environment on human behavior. Are genes and environment independent determinants of behavior? Explain. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 4.7 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) 4.8 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS What is the function of the somatic division of our PNS? Why is pituitary gland called as ‘master gland’? What are the research methods used to estimate the relative contribution of heredity and environment? How do you estimate Heritability co-efficient? REFERENCES Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint.Delhi.Akash Press. Kolb, Bryan Whishaw, Ian Q. (2003). Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology. W.H.Freeman & Co. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition.New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com UNIT – II LESSON 5 5.0 5.1 5.2 SENSATION Aims and Objectives Introduction Vision 5.2.1 The process 5.2.2 Color Vision Hearing 5.3.1 Mechanism of Hearing 5.3.2 Deafness Smell and Taste 5.4.1 Pheromones 5.4.2 The sense of taste Somesthetic Senses Skin senses. 5.6.1 Dynamic touch Let us sum up Lesson-End activities Points for Discussion Check your progress References 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 5.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This lesson deals with sense organs and their functioning. After going through this lesson you will be able to: i) understand the mechanism underlying sensory experiences ii) know the process by which light waves end up as images, both black and white ones and colored images iii) understand how our ear functions and what is deafness iv) appreciate other subtle senses that are called somesthetic senses. 5.1 INTRODUCTION While ‘stimulus’ is a source of physical energy that produces a response in sense organ ‘sensation’ refers to the process by which an organism responds to the stimulus. Sensation is the typically the first stage in any biochemical and neurologic events. It begins with the impinging of a stimulus upon the receptor cells of a sensory organ. Imagine a situation when you are out for dinner with your friends: The dim lit and pleasantly decorated restaurant, the aroma of the food being served on the next table, the soft music in the background and the taste of the delicious dish that was served to you. If there were no senses like sight, hearing, taste and smell, for instance, then the most important part of the experience would be missing. An important dimension of every situation will be lacking if there was no sensation. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com The sensations mentioned above talk about merely the sensory experience at the surface. Though we are thought that there are basically five senses namely sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch, our human capacity can go to experience wider set of stimuli like pressure, pain, temperature, etc. All the senses play a critical role in determining our experience in this world. Nevertheless, vision and hearing are considered as most conspicuous of the senses that help us to interact with the environment successfully. 5.2 VISION Light is the stimulus that produces the sensation of vision. The range of wavelengths to which human beings are sensitive is referred to as visual spectrum. In spite of the fact that this spectrum is relatively small the differences among the wavelengths within that spectrum are just enough to allow us to see a range of all colors. Light waves coming from objects outside our body encounter our eyes. First it travels through the cornea that is a transparent protective window into the eyeball. Once it moves through the cornea the light traverses the pupil that is a dark hole in the center of the eye’s iris. The pupil changes its size according to the amount of incoming light changes. Dimmer the light the more the pupil opens so as to allow more light to enter. See the picture below showing the anatomy of eye to follow the sequence described below. Picture courtesy: en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender 3D:Noob to Pro… This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com The light after passing through the pupil enters the lens that is located directly behind the pupil. The lens helps bend the light rays so as to focus them on to the retina. The lens focuses the light by changing its own thickness and this process is called accommodation. Distance objects need a relatively flat lens. So while focusing on distant objects the muscles controlling he lens relax which allows the lens to become flatter. Finally after traveling through the pupil and lens the image of the object reaches the retina, which is the final destination. Retina is that part of the eye that converts the electromagnetic energy of light into useful information for the brain. This is nothing but a thin layer of nerve cells that is located at the back of the eyeball. Two kinds of receptor cells are found in the retina namely rods and cones. The rods and cones are not only different in structure but they play different roles in vision. The rods are long, cylindrical cells that work well in poor light. However, they are not sensitive to color and small details, and are responsible for night vision. The cones are, as the name suggests, cone-shaped sensitive receptor cells that help us to make sharp focus. They are involved in color vision and work well in bright light. The rods and cones are distributed unevenly throughout the retina. However, the cones are concentrated to the greatest degree at a point in the retina called Fovea. This is a very sensitive region in the retina that helps in focusing of images. 5.2.1 The process: A chain of events occur when the light energy strikes the rods and cones that transforms the light energy into the neural energy that can be communicated to the brain. Rods contain Rhodopsin that is a complex reddish purple colored substance that changes when it is energized by light. Though the substance found in cones is different the process is similar. When the nerve cells in the eye are stimulated a neural response is triggered. This neural impulse is then transmitted to other nerve cells known as bipolar cells and ganglion cells. The bipolar cells are the nerve cells leading to the brain that are triggered by the nerve cells in the eye. The ganglion cells are the nerve cells that collect the information from the nerve cells in the eyes, summarize the information and then carry it to the brain. Bipolar cells received the information from nerve cells in the eyes (rods and cones) and transmit it to the ganglion cells. The ganglion cells in turn collect this visual information, summarize it and move it out of the back of the eye ball though the optic nerve. The optic nerve is a bundle of ganglion axons that are located in the back of the eyeball that carry information to the brain. The opening of the optic nerve pushes through the retina. Hence there are no rods or cones in that area which is hence called the blind spot. Since we automatically compensate for the missing part of our field of vision the absence of nerve cells in the blind spot does not actually interfere with vision. The neural signals relating to the object that is seen moves through the optic nerve. As the optic nerve leaves the eye ball it does not take a direct route connecting the right eye ball to the right hemisphere while connecting the left eye ball to the left This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com hemisphere of the brain. The optic nerve from each of the eye meets at a point between the two eyes and splits here. This point of crossing over is called optic chiasm. The nerve impulses coming from the right half of each retina are sent to the right side of the brain. Similarly, the nerve impulses coming from the left half of each retina are sent to the left side of the brain. 5.2.2 Color Vision The cones in the retina are sensitive to the yellow- green part of the spectrum of light. If all the colors are tested in normal day light then yellowish green appears to be the brightest. Rods, however, are not sensitive to color. Yet they seem to be sensitive to bluegreen lights. At night or when there is a dim illumination the brightest colored light would be one of wither blue or blue-green. Two major theories attempt to explain how cones produce color sensations. They are Trichromatic theory and Opponent Process theory. The trichromatic theory of color vision states that there are three types of cones. Each type of cones is sensitive to red, green or blue. All the other colors result from mere combinations of the three. Black and white colors are basically produced by rods and not cones. The Opponent Process theory states that vision analyses colors into ‘either-or’ messages. The visual system can produce messages for either red or green, yellow or blue, black or white. When one of these pairs is coded the other gets blocked. As a result of this a yellowish blue is not possible but a bluish green is possible. It is found that both the theories of color sensation are valid. The Trichromatic theory applies to the retina where three different types of visual pigments are found. Each of these pigments is most sensitive to red, blue or green light. All the three types of cones fire nerve impulses at different rates in order to produce various color sensations. The opponent-process theory explains everything that happens in the optic pathways once the information leaves the eye. Some nerve cells in the brain have been found to be excited by the red color and inhibited by the green color. Hence both these theories are valid. While one explains what happens in the eye the other explains how colors are analyzed after the message leaves the eye. Color Blindness: People who cannot perceive colors are said to be color blind. They either lack cones or have cones that do not function normally. Though total color blindness is rare color weakness or partial color blindness is not uncommon. Some see reds and greens as the same color – yellowish blue! Genetic factors seem to be involved in color blindness. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 5.3 HEARING When a stone is thrown into a pond it causes ripples that spread in all directions. In the same way sound also travels as a series of invisible waves of compression and rarefactions in the air. Any vibrating object would produce sound. Fluids and solids can also carry sound. But it does not travel in vacuum. The pitch (lower or higher tone) of the sound is determined by the frequency of the sound waves. The energy of the sound waves is shown by the amplitude, or the physical ‘height’ of the sound waves. Amplitude corresponds to loudness that is sensed by an organism. 5.3.1 Mechanism of hearing: The external part of the ear is called the pinna. Hearing involves chains of events that start with the pinna that acts as funnel to concentrate sounds. Sound waves, as they move into the ear canal, collide with the tympanic membrane (or the ear drum) and set it into motion. This, in turn, sets the auditory ossicles in vibration. Auditory ossicles are three small bones namely malleus, incus, and stapes that are in hammer, anvil and stirrup shape respectively. These structures connect the ear drum with the cochlea which is a snail-shaped organ making up the inner ear. The stapes is attached to the oval window which is a membrane in the cochlea. Movement of the oval window moves back and forth makes waves in a fluid that is present in the cochlea. Picture courtesy: http://www.music.sc.edu/fs/bain/vc/musc726a/MUSC%20726%20Lecture/more%20earbrain In the cochlea are the tiny hair cells that detect waves in the fluid. Hence, often cochlea is really the organ of hearing. The hair cells are part of the organ of Corti. It is this organ of Corti that makes up the central part of the cochlea. On top of each hair cell This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com is the stereocilia or some bristles. When waves ripple through the fluid that surrounds the organ of Corti these hair cells brush against the tectorial membrane. Nerve impulses are triggered as the stereocilia or bristles on top of the hair cells are bent which are later sent to the brain. Two theories explain how we detect sounds. The frequency theory holds that nerve impulses of a corresponding frequency as that of the pitch are fed into the auditory nerve as the pitch rises. For instance, a 900- hertz tone produces 900 nerve impulses per second. This theory explains how all sounds upto 4,000 hertz reach the brain. Place theory, on the other hand, explains how higher tones or lower tones excite specific areas of the cochlea. Higher tones have a string impact at the base of cochlea near the oval window. Lower tones, in contrast, move the hair cells near the outer tip of the cochlea. The area of the cochlea most strongly activated decides the pitch of the sound. 5.3.2 Deafness. The two main types of deafness are construction deafness and nerve deafness. When the transfer of vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear is weak it results in conduction deafness. Generally, this deafness could be caused because of disease or injury that results in damage or immobilization of the eardrums or ossicles. This defect may be overcome by wearing a hearing aid. Damage to the hair cells or auditory nerve may result in nerve deafness. Since the auditory messages are blocked from reaching the brain hearing aid does not come as a solution to this type of deafness. Artificial hearing systems are making it possible for some people to overcome their nerve deafness. In addition to these types of deafness very loud sounds can cause damage to the hair cells resulting in stimulation deafness. Working in a noisy environment, enjoying loud music, motor racing, and similar activities may increase one’s vulnerability to stimulation deafness. Hair cells once dead never gets replaced. Both loudness of the sound and the duration of exposure decide the danger of hearing loss. Everyday exposure of 85 decibels or higher or short periods of exposure to 120 decibels (like what we see in rock concerts) may result in permanent deafness. 5.4 SMELL AND TASTE A perfume blender, chef or a wine taster would be the best person to tell the importance of the sense of smell and taste. These two are called as chemical senses since they are receptors that respond to chemical molecules. Human sensation cannot be complete without the sense of smell and taste. The sense of smell: The smell receptors respond to airborne molecules that enter the nose passing over nearly 5 million nerve fibers that are embedded in the lining of the upper nasal passage. Air borne molecules passing over these fibers trigger nerve signals that are eventually sent to the brain. The surface of these fibers contains receptor proteins that are sensitive to various airborne molecules. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com There are separate receptors for specific odors. Molecules having a particular odor have similar shapes. About 300 to 400 types of smell receptors are believed to exist in humans. These molecules trigger activity in different combinations of odor receptors making it possible for humans to detect at least 10,000 different odors. Olfactory receptors send distinct patterns of messages to the brain. The brain makes use of these messages to recognize particular scents. The lock and key theory explains how we sense different odors. ‘Holes’ of different shapes exists on the surface of the olfactory receptors. Just like how different pieces of the jigsaw puzzle fit in the puzzle board the chemicals produce odors when the part of molecule fits a hole of the same shape. To some extent scents are also identified by the location of the receptors in the nose that get activated by the particular smell. How strong is the odor that we sense depends on how many receptor cells are activated. The message about the number of activated receptors is sent to the brain that judges the strength of the odor. Anosmia means inability to sense smells. One person out of one hundred are said to be suffering from anosmia (Gilbert & Wysocki, 1987). Infections, allergies and blow to the head are among few of the risk factors for anosmia. Even exposure to certain chemicals like ammonia, photo-developing chemicals and hair-dressing portions can increase once vulnerability to anosmia. Though adults have strong opinion about what are good smells and what are bad smells new born infants fail to show any signs to reacting more strongly to ‘good’ or ‘bad’ odor. It appears that likes and dislikes for various smells are not inborn but learned. Someone who smells rose for the first time in his mother’s funeral may dislike the smell of roses. 5.4.1 Pheromones Pheromones are airborne chemicals that greatly affect mating, sexual behavior, recognizing family members, and territorial markings among animals. The sense organ for pheromones is Vomeronasal Organ (VNO). Earlier it was believed that humans either did not have VNO or they only had a vestigial VNO. However, recent studies that have attempted to locate the VNO in humans suggest that the VNO looks like a small pit inside the nose one on either side of the septum. These pits are lined with nerve cells and respond to chemicals that are suspected to be pheromones. Pheromones are not something that is seen, heard, smelt or felt. In humans they, however, appear to produce a vague feelings like well-being, attraction, uneasiness, or anxiety. The idea that human pheromones directly release sexual behavior in humans is subject to criticism by few scientists. They contend that pheromones may perhaps affect one’s general mood and not anything beyond that. Evidences for the existence of human pheromones are mixed. However, the possibilities are intriguing. For instance, human pheromones seem to explain why the This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com menstrual cycle of women who live together tend to become synchronized. Further studies are needed to resolve the conflicts in the understanding on human pheromones. 5.4.2 The sense of taste At least four basic taste sensations are identified. They are sweet, salt, sour, and bitter. It is found that we are most sensitive to bitter, less sensitive to sour, even less sensitive to salt and least sensitive to sweet. Now it is believed by many experts that there is a fifth taste quality. The Japanese word Umami describes the pleasant savory or “brothy” taste. The receptors of Umami are sensitive to glutamate which is an ingredient of taste enhancers. We include sensations of texture, temperature, smell, and even pain along with taste and hence seem to sense so many varied flavours. If we block our nose and try to taste different dishes they may all taste the same. Subjective flavor is perhaps one half smells. Taste buds are largely located on the top side of the tongue and even around the edges, while some are also found elsewhere inside the mouth. The food that we chew gets dissolved and enters the taste buds that triggers of nerve impulses to the brain. Just like sense of smell taste like sweet and bitter also appears to be based on a lock-and-key match between molecules and receptors. In contrast, salt and sour tastes are triggered by direct flow of charged atoms on to the tips of the taste receptors (Lindemann, 2001). Differences in sense of taste seem to be partially genetic. It also seems to be related to the number of taste buds one may have on his tongue. Age also seems to have an effect of the sense of taste. The life span for taste cells is only for several days. Aging affects cell replacement that results in diminished taste. Nevertheless, most taste preferences are acquired. 5.5 SOMESTHETIC SENSES Sensations produces by the skin, muscles, joints, viscera, and organs of balance are referred to as somesthetic sense. In other words, the somesthetic senses include skin senses, kinesthetic senses and vestibular senses. Skin sense is otherwise referred to as sense of touch. Kinesthetic senses are receptors in muscles and joints that help us detect body position and movement. Vestibular senses are the receptors in the inner ear that is responsible for sensing balance, gravity and acceleration. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 5.5.1 Skin senses. Skin receptors produce at least five different sensations namely light, touch, pressure, pain, cold, and warmth. Receptors with specific shapes specialize in various sensations. All put together, the skin has about 200,000 nerve endings for temperature, 500,000 for touch and pressure, and 3 million for pain. The number of skin receptors varies from one area to the other on the skin. The number of skin receptors in an area of the skin decides its sensitivity. Density of receptors in areas like lips, tongue, face, hands, and the genitals are generally higher. Similar to any skin sense pain receptors also vary in their distribution. Pain points of about 232 pain points per centimeter are found behind the knees, about 184 on the buttocks, 60 on the pad of the thumb, and 44 on the tip of the nose on an average. Pain fibers are also located in the internal organs. When these organs are stimulated one would experience visceral pain. Surprisingly the visceral pain is felt on the surface of the body, far away from its origin. It is also known as referred pain. An example of this is in the case of heart attack one may feel the pain in left shoulder, arm, or even little finger. A type of pain, the somatic pain, is experienced in skin, muscles, joints and tendons. Large nerve fibers carry this pain from specific body areas. The transfer is sharp, bright, and fast. This signals that the body is, or is about to be, damages. Hence it is considered to be body’s warning system. Another type of somatic pain is carried by small nerve fibers. The transfer is slower, aching, widespread, and unpleasant. If the pain stimulus repeats then the pain becomes worse. This reminds the brain that the body is damaged. Hence it is considered as body’s reminding system. The reminder system can actually cause agony after the injury is healed or in terminal illnesses when the reminder is useless. 5.5.2 Dynamic touch. This is a sensation that combines sensations from skin receptors with kinesthetic information from muscles and tendons. Dynamic touch gives us enough information regarding the objects around, especially their size and shape. It is much about sensing the inertia of object as they move through arcs. But for this sense it would be almost impossible for us to make use of wide range of tools, utensils and objects which we now use as if they are just extensions of our own body. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 5.5.3 The Vestibular System. 5.5 LET US SUM UP (i) (ii) Sensation begins with the impinging of a stimulus upon the receptor cells of a sensory organ. Though there are five basic senses namely sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch, our human capacity can experience wider set of stimuli like pressure, pain, temperature. (iii) Vision involves conversion of light waves coming from objects outside our body encounter our eyes through cornea, pupil, lens, and reaching into useful information for the brain. (v) Hearing involves chains of events that start with sound waves entering the pinna and moving into the ear canal, reaching the eardrum and ultimately setting cochlea in motion. (vii) Air borne molecules passing over nerve fibers that are embedded in the lining of the upper nasal passage fibers trigger nerve signals that are eventually sent to the brain. (viii) Food that we eat gets dissolved and enters the taste buds are largely located on the top side of the tongue and even around the edges which triggers of nerve impulses to the brain. (ix) Somesthetic senses include skin senses, kinesthetic senses and vestibular senses. 5.6 (i) LESSON-END ACTIVITIES What are the sensory inputs that have undergone adaptation as you read this book? (ii) Try to close your eyes and trace mentally all the steps involved in the sensing the sounds around you. (iii) Take salt, honey, bitter guard and tamarind. Place small pinch of these on various locations and try to identify the parts on your tongue that are most sensitive to the four basic tastes. (iv) Lift one of your legs and try standing on the other for a minute. Can you identify the sense that was used in the task you just performed? This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 5.7 (i) POINTS FOR DISCUSSION Critically analyse the role of genetics and environment on our senses. (ii) (iii) 5.8 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) 5.9 Evaluate the role of pheromones in humans. Are all senses equally important for survival? Discuss. CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Name the parts of human eye. What causes color blindness? What are the causative factors for Anosmia? List the functions served by somesthetic senses. REFERENCES Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint.Delhi.Akash Press. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology - The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition.New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. Soderquist,D. (2007). Sensory Processes. Sage. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com LESSON 6 PERCEPTION, ILLUSION AND EXTRA-SENSORY PERCEPTION 6.0 6.1 6.2 Aims and Objectives Introduction Laws of Perceptual Organization 6.2.1 Figure and Ground 6.2.2 Perceptual Grouping 6.2.2.1 Similarity 6.2.2.2 Proximity 6.2.2.3 Good Continuation 6.2.2.4 Symmetry 6.2.3 Closure Perceptual Constancies 6.3.1 Size Constancy 6.3.2 Color Constancy 6.3.3 Shape Constancy Distance Perception 6.4.1 Monocular Cues 6.4.1.1 Relative size 6.4.1.2 Interposition 6.4.1.3 Linear perspective 6.4.1.4 Aerial perspective 6.4.1.5 Height on plane 6.4.1.6 Texture gradient 6.4.1.7 Monocular movement parallax 6.4.2 Binocular Cues 6.4.2.1 Convergence 6.4.2.2 Retinal Disparity Depth Perception 6.5.1 Visual Cliff Experiment Illusion Extra-Sensory Perception Let us sum up Lesson-End activities Points for Discussion Check your progress References 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES In the previous lesson we discussed about the various sensations that help us understand this world. Sensation, however, does not complete the whole process by which we understand the world around us. In this lesson we will see in detail the This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com perceptual process that is the stage next to that of sensation. At the end of the lesson you will be able to: (i) understand how we draw meaning out of the numerous and chaotic sensory impressions through perception (ii) know about the various principles that guide our perception (iii) understand how principles that guide our perception can deceive our eyes resulting in illusions (iv) appreciate the phenomena of extra-sensory perception and learn about the findings of scientific research on ESP. 6.1 INTRODUCTION Our brain organizes and gives meaning to sensory inputs by the process called Perception. Perception includes process of selecting, ordering, synthesizing and interpreting the sensory impressions that impinge on our sensory organs. Studies on perception are focused to find out how we take the stimuli and form conscious representations of the environment around us. Perception is an outgrowth of sensation. Sensation can be seen as the first encounter with a raw sensory stimulus. On the other hand, perception is a process by which the raw sensory impressions are interpreted, analyzed and integrated with other sensory information. The basic principle of perceptual processing is selective attention. It refers to focusing on one or few stimuli of particular significance and ignoring the other stimuli. Sudden changes in the stimulus, contrast and novelty, extreme stimulus intensity like very high or very low intensity, repetition and difficult stimuli are few of the factors that affect our attention. 6.2 LAWS OF PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION Our basic perceptual process works according to a series of principles referred to as gestalt laws of organization. The gestalt laws of organization were put forth by a group of German psychologists in early 1900s (Wertheimer, 1923) that is found to be valid for visual and auditory stimuli. These principles explain how bits and pieces of information are organized into meaningful wholes. The elementary sensations that are usually in the form of dots, lines, edges, brightness, and varied hues are structured into the objects as seen by us because of this phenomenon called perceptual organization. Among the various principles of perceptual organization the following are found to be very prominent: 1. Figure and Ground 2. Perceptual Grouping 3. Closure This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 6.2.1 Figure Ground Processing and interpretation of information takes place in various levels as a result of perceptual organization. Figure-ground segregation is one aspect of perceptual organization. Imagine a visual stimulus that is a blob of contours at the retinal level. In this, the figure is an integrated group of contours while the ground is the background against which it stands. Often not all of its contours are actually detected at the retina when a figure is perceived. Some of them are subjective contours. These contours are not physically present at the retina, but are the product of intelligent perception. Top-down processing is one where the perception is guided by knowledge, experience, expectations and motivations. Bottom- up processing is one that involves recognition and processing of information about individual components of a stimulus. Hence, phenomenon of figure-ground segregation is not a purely bottom-up process (i.e., it is not simply data-driven) but is bottom- up (data-driven) as well as top-down (conceptually-driven). The above figure can either be seen a vase or pair of faces. If you focus on the white portion of the figure you would see a vase, while focusing on the black portion of the figure would show a pair of faces. The gestalt psychologists greatly emphasized on the fact that the same figure may be seen in either of the two ways. This shows that we do not passively respond to visual stimuli that fall on our retina but we try to organize and make sense of what we see. Hence perception is often seen as a constructive process that is beyond the stimuli presented to us and is an attempt to construct a meaningful situation. 6.2.2 Perceptual Grouping The gestalt laws of perceptual grouping hold that objects in a scene appear to group according to certain laws or principles. Some of the laws of grouping are listed below: 1. Similarity: Objects with similar properties or that appear similar are grouped together (e.g. shape, color) 2. Proximity: Objects that are close by are grouped together. 3. Good Continuation: Objects that define smooth lines or curves are seen as one group than seeing them as incomplete and disjointed. It is the tendency to perceive a pattern in the most basic, organized and straightforward manner possible. In the figure below one would view it as two wavy lines rather than two curves opposite to each other. 1. Symmetry: Objects that form symmetrical patterns are grouped together. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com PERCEPTUAL GROUPING Picture courtesy: http://www.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de/ags/ni/projects/percgroup 6.2.3 Closure The Principle of Closure states that we tend to fill in missing bits, and perceive visuals as complete, or closed, entities. In other words it refers to the tendency to group according to enclosed or complete figures instead of open or incomplete ones. CLOSURE Picture courtesy: psychology.about.com/.../ss/gestaltlaws_6.htm In the above figure we see the black lines as forming a triangle instead of three small ‘v’ shaped brackets. Similarly, the black dots though incomplete are seen as dots than a broken figure. This explains the phenomenon of closure. Another often quoted gestalt principle is that the whole is greater than its parts. Perception of stimuli is beyond the individual elements that we sense. It represents an active, constructive process carried out by the brain by which bits and pieces of sensations are assembled together to make something greater and more meaningful than separate elements. 6.3 PERCEPTUAL CONSTANCIES Objects are normally perceived to be constant in size, color and shape despite the fact that their retinal image change according to the conditions. The phenomenon by which This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com the physical objects are perceived as same in spite of changes in their physical appearance is called perceptual constancy. When you stretch your right hand farther away from your body still you perceive it to be of the same size as that of your left hand. We do not see it as the right hand shrinking but realize that it is at a farther distance. This is due to size constancy. There are few types of perceptual constancies namely size constancy, color (or brightness) constancy and shape constancy. 6.3.1 Size Constancy Though retinal image of object becomes smaller as the object moves to farther distance the viewer adjusts for this change as perceives the object to be of same size. A teenager standing at a farther distance from you is not seen as smaller in size than the teenager standing near you in front. Similarly, when you move away from a building you do not perceive the building shrinking but understand that it remains in the same size. This phenomenon is called size constancy. 6.3.2 Color (or brightness) Constancy Despite changes in illumination we see the object having same color. This is due to color constancy. When we see the same mug in different illumination we are still able to perceive all the sides of the mug as having the same color. 6.3.3 Shape Constancy Though the retinal images of an object change when we view it from different angles we see the object to have same shape. Look at the pictures below for instance. These are different pictures of the door, each in one position. When we see these pictures we do not perceive them as a change in shape, but perceive it to be of the same rectangular shape. This is possible due to shape constancy. Picture courtesy: www.aber.ac.uk/.../Modules/MC10220/visper03.html Perceptual constancy depends on our past experiences. This is obvious when we examine the behavior of people brought up in different cultures. An instance of this would be a study on Bambuti Pygmies. These pygmies live in dense forest in Zaire. Their This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com vision is consistently limited to short distances. Due to this restriction they are deprived of the experiences that can help one to develop size constancy. They are found to have difficulty in judging the size of buffalo at a long distance that they mistook the buffalo to be some kind of an insect! This was reported by Colin Turnbell, an anthropologist, based on his first- hand experience with the pygmies. Two theories attempt to explain the perceptual constancy phenomena. Constructive theory holds that when we try to make inferences about the location of objects we greatly use our previous experience and expectations about the size of the object. Since we know the size of the particular object based on our earlier experience we easily make up for the changes in the size of the retinal image. An alternative view proposed by James Gibson, referred to as ecological theory, suggests that relationship between objects in a scene gives us clue about the objects’ size. In addition to this information on the nature of the surfaces in the environment also helps us to judge the distance of the stimuli. Farther objects seem to have a different surface texture than those that are closer. Such differences provide us clue that help us to make judgments about depth. Neither of the above theories independently explains all instances of perceptual constancies completely. Both construction and ecological processes work in combination. 6.4 DISTANCE PERCEPTION Depth or location can be perceived even by a single sense organ. It is not always necessary to use both the eyes for perceiving depth. Certain cues, called the monocular cues, help us to perceive depth and distance even with just one eye. 6.4.1 Monocular Cues Several strong monocular cues allow relative distance and depth to be judged. They are listed below: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Relative size Interposition Linear perspective Aerial perspective Height on plane Texture gradient Monocular movement parallax Relative Size. Smaller objects are seen as farther from us. Hence the sizes of the objects tell us about the distance at which they are located. Objects furthest away are higher in our visual field. The closer an object is to the level of the horizon, the farther away an object appears. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Picture courtesy: www.psych-ology.co.uk/Perception.html Interposition. Interposition cues occur when there is overlapping of objects. The overlapped object is considered further away. Closer objects block out parts of objects that are farther. Hence complete objects are nearer to us than the objects that appear to be blocked. Picture courtesy: www.psychology.co.uk/Perception.html In the figure the lines that make up the gift boxed in the distance are hidden by the lines of the objects nearer to you. Linear Perspective. P arallel objects converge when stretched into distance. This is a monocular cue in which distant objects appear to be closer together than nearer objects. When objects of known distance subtend a smaller and smaller angle, it is interpreted as being further away. Parallel lines converge with increasing distance such as roads, railway lines, electric wires, etc. Picture courtesy: www.psych-ology.co.uk/Perception.html In the above figure the lines that subtend a larger angle are judged to be closer than those that subtend a smaller angle. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Aerial Perspective. Objects that are far away appear fuzzier than closer objects since distance increases smog, dust, and haze thereby reducing the clarity of object. It is caused by the scattering of light in the atmosphere by small particles or vapor. Blue light, which has a shorter wavelength than other colors, is scattered more than the other colors. This scattering causes distant objects to appear slightly hazy and bluish in color. This also explains why mountains appear much closer on clear, dry days. Picture courtesy: http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/skaalid/theory/cgdt/space.htm Height on plane. Objects that are higher on plane of view are seen as farther. Picture courtesy: cwx.prenhall.com/.../medialib/summary/4.html In the above picture the tree on top half of the picture is seen as farther away than the tree that appears on the bottom half of the picture. Texture gradient. The closer something is to us, the more detail and texture can we se. As the distance increases the amount of texture lessens until it looks uniform. Elements closer are seen as father apart or less dense than objects farther away. Motion parallax/ Relative Motion. The changes in position of the image of an object on the retina as our head moves provide a monocular cue for distance. Closer objects move greater distance rapidly than farther objects. When our heads move from side to side, objects at different distances move at a different relative velocity. Closer objects move "against" the direction of head movement and farther objects move "with" the direction of head movement. In addition to these one more of the cues comes from bending if the lens to focus on the nearby objects. This is referred to as accommodation. The sensations from the muscles attached to each eye lens flow to the brain. The changes in these sensations help This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com us to judge distances. Since this information is available even if we use only one eye it is a monocular cue. 6.4.2 Binocular Cues When we see a distant object the lines of vision from our eyes are parallel. However, eyes must converge to view closer objects, something that is at 50 feet or lesser in distance. This creates more muscle tension. The amount of strain or tension in the eye muscles while focusing on an object gives us a clue, referred to as convergence, to the depth at which the object is present. The muscles provide information to the brain regarding eye position in order to judge the distance. This may be seen in Picture a below. Both our eyes are about 2.5 inches apart from each other. Due to the lateral displacement of our eyes, slightly dissimilar retinal images result from the perception of the same object from each eye. This results in retinal disparity. It is also referred to as binocular disparity. Stereoscopic vision occurs when both the retinal images are fused into one overall image that helps in perception of depth. Stereopsis is shown in Picture b below. Picture a Picture courtesy: cwx.prenhall.com/.../medialib/summary/4.html Stereopsis Picture b Picture courtesy: www.vision3d.com/stereo.html 6.5 DEPTH PERCEPTION This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Depth perception refers to the ability to see three-dimensional space and to judge distances accurately. Driving a car, riding a bike, shooting baskets, threading a needle or even walking around in the room would be almost impossible without this ability to perceive depth. Depth perception is an important advantage for humans and other binocular animals. Both monocular and binocular cues are used to perceive depth. Not only does it give us an accurate sense of where objects are in relation to one another but also where we stand in relation to those same objects. Picture courtesy: www.arts.uwaterloo.ca/.../lec6%202001.htm 6.5.1 Visual Cliff Experiment Some psychologists hold that depth perception is inborn while others argue that it is learned. It is likely that depth perception is partially innate and partially learned. The famous “Visual Cliff” experiments of the 1960’s by Eleanor Gibson and Richard Walk is a classic experiment done to study development of depth perception which supports the hypothesis that depth perception could be partially innate and partially learned. Visual cliff is a glass-topped table as shown in the picture above. A checkered surface lies directly beneath the glass surface on one side. On the other side the checkered surface lies about 4 feet below the glass surface of the table. Because of the above arrangement the glass looks like tabletop on one side of the table while it looks like a cliff, or drop-off, on the other side. The glass provided on the deeper side of the table prevents the babies from falling down. The experiment involved babies as old as 6- to 14-months-old who were placed in the middle of the visual cliff. This provided them a choice of either coming to the shallow side or the deep side of the table. Most of the babies preferred to move to the shallow sides. Surprisingly, some babies refused to move to the deeper side even when their mothers tried calling them towards it. The fact that babies as old as just six months old would not venture over a drop covered by glass (Gibson & Walk, 1960) implying that they are able to perceive depth at This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com that age. This serves as evidence to the fact that depth perception in humans is either innate ability or learnt very early in life. More recent studies have shown more interesting findings. Babies over nine months old when placed on the glass-covered drop have an increased heart rate, which could be perhaps showing that they are frightened. Babies less than six months of age actually showed a decrease in heart rate. Some other experiments have shown that the sight of their smiling mother on the other side of the drop will encourage the toddlers move across it, overriding their fear (Talaris, 2002). This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 6.6 ILLUSION Our perception gets largely altered with our experience. Perceptual learning refers to changes in perception that can be attributed to prior experience. These are caused due to changes in the brain that alter the way we process sensory information. Illusions are false perceptions in which length, position, motion, curvature, or direction is consistently misjudged. Illusions are distorted perceptions of the stimuli that exist in reality unlike in hallucination the perception takes place in the absence of the actual sensory stimulus. Perceptual learning results in a number of illusions. Size and shape constancy, habitual eye movement, continuity, and perceptual habits combine in various ways to produce a number of illusions. Some of the common illusions are Muller- Lyer Illusion, Poggendorff illusion, The Hermann grid, Ponzo illusion, and Moon Illusion to name a few. In Muller- Lyer Illusion, as may be seen below, though the length of the two lines are the same we find the line enclosed by the feather-head is longer than the one enclosed by arrow- head (see picture a given below). This may be explained based on the real life experience with the edges and corners of rooms and buildings. The line with the featherhead is viewed as if it were the corner of the room viewed from inside (Gregory, 2000). In contrast, the line with the arrowhead is viewed as if it were the corner of a room seen from outside (see picture b given below). In short, our perception of twodimensional designs is largely misguided by the cues that suggest a 3-D space. Picture a Picture courtesy: http://pubpages.unh.edu/~jel/intro/Mind_tools.html Picture b Picture courtesy: www.psypress.com/groome/figures.asp If two objects make images of the same size then the more distant object must be definitely larger. This also explains Muller-Lyer Illusion. If the feather-headed line looks farther than the arrow-headed line then it has to be longer than the latter. The above explanation, of course, presumes that the viewer has years of experience with straight lines and sharp edges. Groups of people in South Africa, the This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Zulus, live in a ‘round’ culture and they rarely encounter straight lines in their everyday life. They live in huts that are shaped like rounded mounds, their toys are round in shape and are curved, and there are no straight roads or rectangular buildings in their environment. Research on the Zulus report interesting findings. The Zulus hardly experience the Muller-Lyer illusion that confirms that past experiences and perceptual habits determine how we view the world. We tend to perceive movement or motion when the objects rapidly change their positions. This is called as stroboscopic movement. This is typically seen in the strobe lights flashed on dance floors. Each time the strobe flashes it shows the dancers in a particular static position. But when the light flashes rapidly then normal motion is seen. Another well-known visual illusion is the Poggendorff Illusion (shown below). Picture courtesy: www.michaelbach.de/ot/ang_poggendorff/index.html In the figure above it appears that the angular line that is on the left side of the parallel lines is at a higher plane as compared to the angular line that is on the right side of the parallel lines. However, one would find on extending the angular lines towards each other they are placed in exactly the same plane. 6.7 EXTRA SENSORY PERCEPTION Though almost half of the general public believes in existence of extra-sensory perception (ESP) very few psychologists share this belief. It is seen that movies and television programs picture a lot of ESP and other paranormal phenomena as accepted facts. But how far are these facts are based on evidence is questionable. ESP refers to the purported ability to perceive events in ways that cannot be explained by mere sensory capabilities. The study of ESP phenomena is the subject matter of the field of psychology called Parapsychology. Clairvoyance, telepathy, precognition and psychokinesis are few of the basic forms of ESP. The purported ability that allows a person to perceive events or gain information in ways that appear to be unaffected by distance or normal/usual physical barriers is referred to as clairvoyance. Telepathy is one where one is able to have an extrasensory perception of another person’s thoughts. To put it in simple terms, telepathy refers to the ability to read someone else’s mind. The purported ability to perceive or to predict a future event is called precognition. This may take prophetic dreams that foretell future. Under psychokinesis one is able top exert influence over inanimate object by will power. Though this does not come under the realm of ESP it is often studied by parapsychologists. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com If one has an apparent clairvoyant or telepathic experience he would be convinced that ESP exists. But to determine how much of the experience is beyond mere coincidence is always difficult. Late.J.B.Rhine had done tremendous work in the area of psi events. Much of his experiments made use of the Zener cards that consists of a deck of 25 cards with each bearing one of five symbols. In a typical clairvoyant test the subjects were asked to guess the symbol of the cards as they were turned up from a shuffled deck of cards. A pure guess in this test generally produced an average score of 5 hits out of 25 cards. None of the early experiments by Rhine using the Zener cards were valid for many reasons. The cards were poorly made that the symbols almost showed faintly on the back of the cards. Further there is also enough evidence that early experimenters had tendency to sometimes unconsciously give clues about the cards using their eyes. Nevertheless, modern psychologists who are well aware of the need for doubleblind experiments, security and accuracy in record keeping meticulous control. Hundreds of experiments have been reported in parapsychology journals that support psi abilities in the past one decade. Still psychologists are skeptical about psi abilities because fraud continues to plague this field. Especially in places where the purported psychic abilities are involved in making money more caution needs to be exerted in trusting the findings as valid. Another major factor that stands as a drawback to research in parapsychology is inconsistency. Every study with positive findings has another study to prove it wrong. ESP researches hold that this effect shows that parapsychology skills are very delicate. On the other hand the critics argue that one scoring temporarily above change can only receive credit for run of luck. It is not fair to assume that the ESP is temporarily gone when the run is over. They emphasize on the point that all the runs must be counted and considered. Many of the most spectacular studies in parapsychology cannot be replicated. The same researcher using the same experimental subjects cannot get the similar results every time. To add to this improved research methods usually result in fewer positive results. This stands as a major drawback. Another problem that plagues psi experiments in that of reinterpretation. For instance, ex-astronaut Edgar Mitchell worked on telepathetic experiments from space. In some trials, Mitchell claims, the ‘receivers’ scored above chance while the others scored ‘below chance’. Though we might assume that below-chance trials were failures to find telepathy Mitchell interpreted them as ‘successes’. He claimed that the ‘failures’ represented intentional ‘psi missing’. Skeptics argue that if both high scores and low scores indicated success then what indicates failure! Nevertheless, the outcome of many ESP studies is beyond debate. In a recent study that involved mass media, people attempted to identify ESP targets from a distance. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com This enabled large scale testing of the ESP phenomena. The results of about 1.5 million ESP trials can be summarized in one single line: There was no significant ESP effect (Milton & Wiseman, 1999). Results of various researches done on ESP phenomena for nearly 13 decades indicate that nothing conclusive can be said about the occurrence of psi events. Serious problems relating to evidence, procedure and scientific rigor are found in psi experiments. Survey of leading parapsychologists and skeptics by Blackmore (1989) reveal that belief in psi has decreased in contrast to the unconditional acceptance of psi by the media. Some researchers will, however, continue to attempt to prove the psi. Some would continue to remain skeptic considering the results of the huge body of research evidence available in the past 13 decades as good enough to abandon the concept of ESP (Mark, 2000). One has to, at the least, exert caution in accepting the evidence reported by researchers who are uncritical ‘believers’. 6.6 (i) LET US SUM UP Perception includes process of selecting, ordering, synthesizing and interpreting the sensory impressions that impinge on our sensory organs. (ii) Gestalt laws of organization how bits and pieces of information are organized into meaningful wholes. Figure and Ground, Perceptual Grouping, Closure are some of them. (iii) Perceptual constancy connotes the phenomenon by which the physical objects are perceived as same despite changes in their physical appearance. Size Constancy, Color (or brightness) Constancy, Shape Constancy are few of them. (iv) Both monocular and binocular cues are used to perceive distance and depth. Relative size, Interposition, Linear perspective, Aerial perspective, Height on plane, Texture gradient, Monocular movement parallax are few of the monocular cues. Binocular Cues include convergence and retinal disparity. (v) Visual Cliff experiments of the 1960’s by Eleanor Gibson and Richard Walk is a classic experiment done to study development of depth perception which supports the hypothesis that depth perception could be partially innate and partially learned. (vi) Perceptual learning refers to changes in perception that can be attributed to prior experience due to changes in the brain that alter the way we process sensory information. This results in distorted perceptions of the stimuli referred to as illusions. (vii) ESP refers to the purported ability to perceive events in ways that cannot be explained by mere sensory capabilities. (viii) Clairvoyance, telepathy, precognition and psychokinesis are few of the basic forms of ESP. (ix) Researches done on ESP phenomena over 13 decades indicate that nothing conclusive can be said about the occurrence of psi events. Serious problems relating to evidence, procedure and scientific rigor are found in psi experiments. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 6.7 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) 6.8 (i) (ii) (iii) (iii) 6.9 LESSON-END ACTIVITIES Look around the room and identify each principle of perceptual organization evident there. Take a photograph of natural scenery and identify the monocular cues that is used to perceive. Looking at the moon on a dark night check if you experience moon light illusion. Make an attempt to stimulate discussions about ESP among your friends highlighting the research evidences for and against it. POINTS FOR DISCUSSION Justify how gestalt laws of perception help us understand this world. Establish how learning plays an important role in perception. Substantiate the principles behind the illusions commonly experienced. Critically analyze the research evidences available on psi phenomena. CHECK YOUR PROGRESS (i) List the various principles of perceptual organization. (ii) Explain various types of perceptual constancies with examples. (iii) Describe ‘Visual Cliff’ experiment. (iv) What are binocular cues? 6.10 REFERENCES Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint.Delhi.Akash Press. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition.New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. Goldstein, E. B. (Ed.) (2001). Blackwell handbook of perception. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Gaetano Kanizsa (1979) Organization in Vision: Essays on Gestalt Perception. Praeger Publishers . MSN Encarta. (2007). Perception © 1993-2007 Microsoft Corporation. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761571997/Perception_(psychology).html This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com LESSON 7 LEARNING Aims and Objectives Introduction Nature of Learning Classical Conditioning 7.3.1 Pavlov’s Experiment 7.3.2 Extinction 7.3.3 Spontaneous recovery 7.3.4 Stimulus generalization 7.3.5 Stimulus discrimination 7.3.6 Higher-order conditioning Operant Conditioning 7.4.1 Thorndike’s Law of Effect 7.4.2 Skinner’s Experiment 7.4.3 Types of Reinforcement 7.4.3.1 Primary Reinforcer & Secondary Reinforcer 7.4.3.2 Positive Reinforcement 7.4.3.3 Negative Reinforcement 7.4.3.4 Punishment 7.4.4 Schedules of Reinforcement 7.4.4.1 Fixed-ratio schedule 7.4.4.2 Variable-ratio schedule 7.4.4.3 Fixed-Interval schedule 7.4.4.4 Variable-Interval schedule Observational Learning 7.5.1 Principles of Observational Learning 7.5.2 Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment 7.5.3 Steps in Observational Learning Cognitive Learning 7.6.1 Insight Learning 7.6.1.1 Kohler’s Experiment with Sultan 7.6.1.2 Critical aspects of Insight Learning 7.6.1.3 Cognition in Animals 7.6.2 Sign Learning 7.6.2.1 Tolman’s classic experiment Let us sum up Lesson-End activities Points for Discussion Check your progress References 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 7.10 7.11 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 7.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The previous lessons focused on elementary phenomena like sensation and perception. This lesson covers issues concerned with the phenomena learning. At the end of this lesson you will be able to: (i) appreciate how we learn various behaviors by forming associations between different stimuli (ii) understand how reinforcements shape our behavior (iii) learn how observing others’ experience can cause change in our behavior potential (iv) understand how our cognitive processes aid in learning 7.1 INTRODUCTION Learning is a process that depends on one’s experience. It is something that results in long term changes in behavior potential. Many theories are available that provide a varied explanation on learning process. Major traditional behavioristic theories are classical conditioning, operant conditioning, observational learning and cognitive learning. These theories provide important insights into learning, even though some of them use much simpler organisms than humans to draw emperical evidences supporting their stand. Pavlov’s experiment with dogs, Skinner’s experiment with rats and pigeons, Tolman’s experiment with rats, and Kohler’s experiments with chimps are few examples.This lesson will cover the basic theories of learning, specifically the behavioral and cognitive theories. 7.2 NATURE OF LEARNING Learning is often referred to as a relatively permanent change in behavior (or behavior potential) that results from experience or practice. Changes in behavior due to maturation process or that occurs as a result of temporary conditions like effect of drug, adaptation, disease, and fatigue. The phrase ‘relatively permanent’ in the definition above implies that changes in behavior that are transient or spontaneously reversible cannot be considered as learned behavior. For instance, adaptation to dim illumination can be easily reversed on exposure to bright light. Even repeated exposure to this process does not affect the nature of change. On the contrary, a behavior that is learned is long lasting and repeated exposure affects the nature of change. The change is accumulative. For ‘learning’ to be inferred the change has to observable. It should be either directly observable from the way in which an individual behaves, or it should be indirectly observed by comparing those exposed to certain conditions with those who are denied the exposure. The term ‘due to practice’ denotes exposure to specific experiences. Now consider the example of an experimental condition that studies verbal learning. Practice, This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com here, would refer to successive presentation of list of words at a rate determined by the experimenter. Imprinting and habituation may be eliminated from what it means by learning since neither of these phenomena involves practice. Similarly, short term memory would be excluded from what is considered as ‘learning’ because it is not a ‘relatively permanent’ change. Though literally a number of different problems have been investigated by learning studies only a small number of paradigms are needed to describe the experimental procedures. Paradigms refer to the basic arrangements used by an experimenter to produce the phenomenon that is of interest to him. The few paradigms that have been used in experiments on learning are listed below: · · · · 7.3 Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning Observational Learning Cognitive Learning CLASSICAL CONDITIONING Russian Physiologist, Ivan Pavlov, is famous for his theory of classical conditioning. Conditioning is a process by which a natural response to a stimulus begins to follow another stimulus that remained neutral to it earlier. Pavlovian Classical Conditioning was considered as the prototype of all learning by most psychologists of the 1920s. 7.3.1 Pavlov’s Experiment Pavlov, while experimenting with dogs to study his physiological research, noticed that the dog salivated not only to the sight of food but also to the sound of footsteps of the attendant who brought food. The dogs were responding to both the biological need (hunger). In addition to this natural response they also displayed a learned response of salivating to a neutral stimulus ‘footstep of the attendant’. This kind of learning is termed as ‘Classical Conditioning’. Picture courtesy: animalbehaviour.net/ClassicalConditioning.htm This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Classical conditioning is one in which an organism learns a response to a neutral stimulus that had not brought that response earlier. To demonstrate classical conditioning Pavlov conducted a series of experiments. For instance, in one of his experiments he attached a tube to the salivary gland of the dog that helped him to measure precisely the amount of salivation that occurred. Then, he sounded the bell few minutes after which he presented the dog with meat powder. While pairing the sound of bell and the presentation of meat powder Pavlov made sure that exactly the same amount of time lapsed between the presentation of sound and the meat. During the initial trials of the experiment the dog would salivated only to the meat powder. However, after few pairings of the sound and the meat the dog started salivating just on hearing the sound, even when there was no meat presented. We would perhaps have a startle reaction when we hear a bell and would not salivate. It is obvious that salivation was not a natural response to the sounding of bell. Hence the sound of the bell in the experiment mentioned above is a neutral stimulus. Picture courtesy: www.northern.ac.uk/.../Learningtheories.htm Salivating to the meat is a natural response. When meat is placed on the mouth of the dog it would salivate because of the biological makeup of the dog. Hence the meat in the above experiment is called the unconditioned stimulus (US) and the salivation produced in response to presentation of meat is an unconditioned response (UR). Unconditioned responses are innate responses that are natural and that do not involve any training. They are always a response to the unconditioned stimulus. For conditioning to take place the neutral stimulus (ringing of bell) is repeatedly paired with unconditioned stimulus (meat powder). During the process of conditioning the bell gradually gets associated with the meat. Now the bell brings in the same kind of response like that of the meat. During this phase the salivation gradually increases each time the bell is sounded, until the bell alone in the absence of meat powder causes the dog to salivate. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com By the time the conditioning is complete the bell has evolved from a neutral stimulus to a Conditioned Stimulus (CS). The bell, now, can bring in salivation on its own. Salivating to the bell is called as Conditioned Response (CR). 7.3.1 Extinction. The property of the conditioned stimulus to bring in a conditioned brought out by conditioned response is not permanent. It gradually loses its property is it is presented alone without the unconditioned stimulus over a number of trails. This phenomenon is called as extinction. Extinction occurs when a previously conditioned response gradually decreases in frequency and disappears eventually in time. 7.3.2 Spontaneous Recovery One interesting fact about conditioning is that once a conditioned response is extinguished it is not vanished forever. The extinguished response may reappear after time has elapsed without exposure to the conditioned stimulus. This is called spontaneous recovery. Nevertheless, the response that occurs after the extinction is much weaker that the original conditioned response and they would get extinguished more readily than before. 7.3.3 Stimulus Generalization Pavlov noticed that his dogs that were used in conditioning were not only responding to the sound of the bell but also to stimulus that were similar to bell, like the sound of the buzzer, or the tuning fork. This phenomenon he termed as stimulus generalization. It occurs when a conditioned response follows a stimulus that is similar in characteristics to the original conditioned stimulus. The more the two stimuli are similar the greater would be the generalization. 7.3.4 Stimulus Discrimination On the other hand, if the stimuli are sufficiently different from one another that they both are perceived as different then only the conditioned stimulus would evoke a conditioned response and the other would not. This is called stimulus discrimination. It is the process by which an organism learns to differentiate among stimuli and restricts its response to one stimulus in particular. 7.3.5 Higher-order conditioning One conditioned stimulus can act as a natural stimulus when paired with a neutral stimulus. Such frequent pairing would get the organism respond to the neutral stimulus as it would to the conditioned stimulus. This is called higher-order conditioning. It is a form of conditioning that occurs when an already conditioned stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus over a number of trials till such time the neutral stimulus evokes the same response as that of the conditioned stimulus. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com The classical conditioning explains how we learn responses like fear for darkness and how one gets back to drinking at the sight of alcohol after a period of abstinence. Much of our behavior in daily life can be explained using classical conditioning. 7.4 OPERANT CONDITIONING Not all learning is involuntary. Operant conditioning explains how voluntary responses are strengthened or weakened depending on positive or negative consequences. In classical conditioning the original behavior is a natural biological response. On the contrary, operant conditioning is applied on the behaviors that are voluntary. In operant conditioning the organism performs a behavior deliberately in order to produce a desirable outcome. Here the organism operates on its environment to produce a result that it desires. 7.4.1 Thorndike’s Law of Effect E.L.Thorndike observed that when cats were put in a cage with a fish dangling outside the cats would learn, by trial and error, to press the paddle and get out of the cage. He explained this formulating the Law of effects. He theorized that responses that satisfy are more likely to be repeated while those that are not satisfying are less likely to be repeated. Here, in his experiment, pressing the paddle resulted in satisfaction since the cat could get out of the cage by this behavior. Hence the cat learnt the response of pressing the paddle that it tends to repeat every time it was put in the cage. Picture courtesy: http://www.animalbehaviour.net/OperantConditioning.htm 7.4.2 Skinner’s Experiment Thorndike’s research served as the foundation for the work of B.F.Skinner who is considered to be one among the most popular behaviorists of his times. Skinner devised a Skinner box that he used to study operant conditioning. The animals in the Skinner box learn to press the lever so as to obtain food that would be delivered on the tray placed inside the box. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Picture courtesy: http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/Kardas/Images Suppose a pigeon is placed inside the Skinner box. It would just move around exploring the place in a relatively random fashion. By chance, at some point of time, it would peck the key that in turn would result in delivery of food pellet. The pigeon does not learn the connection between the pecking at the hole key and getting the food pellet right after the first trial. It would still continue exploring the box. Again by chance, sooner or later, the pigeon pecks the key and gets the food pellet delivered. In time the frequency of the pecking behavior will increase. Eventually the pigeon would simple go pecking the key to get the food pellets until its hunger is satisfied. This demonstrates that the pigeon has learnt that receipt of food pellet is contingent on the pecking behavior. The pigeons in a variation of this experiment were taught to discriminate between two stimuli using the same principle of reinforcement. As seen in the picture above the Skinner Box was provided with two lights (red and green). If the pigeons pecked the key when green light was on then it was provided with a food pellet. On the other hand if it pecked the key when red light was on the pigeon will not get any food pellet. The red and green lights were randomly flashed for brief periods in the experiment. The pigeons gradually learned to discriminate between red light and green light. They pecked the key only when the green light was on and not when the red light was on! 7.4.3 Types of Reinforcement In this situation, the food pellet serves as a reinforcer that increases the probability that the pecking behavior will be repeated. Any stimulus that increases the probability of occurrence of a preceding behavior is termed as a reinforcer. There are two types of rein forcers: the primary reinforcer and the secondary reinforcer. 7.4.3.1 Primary reinforcer and Secondary reinforcer. A primary reinforcer is that stimulus that satisfies biological needs like hunger and thirst. Food to satisfy hunger, water to satisfy thirst, and woolen clothes to keep oneself warm can be seen as primary reinforcers. In contrast, a secondary reinforcer becomes reinforcing not by itself, but because of its association with the primary reinforcer. Money is a reinforcer because it can get us food, or a bottle of biseleri water. What makes a stimulus a reinforcer is highly This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com individualistic. If on presentation of the stimulus the rate of response of previously occurring behavior increases then that stimulus can be identified as a reinforcer. 7.4.3.2 Positive reinforcer. Another way in which reinforcers are classified is based on their effect on behavior. If a reinforcer increases the probability of occurrence of a behavior then it is termed as positive reinforcer. Food, water, praise, and money, for example, when presented following a response are likely to increase the likelihood of occurrence of the response in future. These are examples of positive reinforcers. 7.4.3.3 Negative reinforcer. On the contrary, if removal of a stimulus following a response results in increased probability of occurrence of the behavior then it is a negative reinforcer. A typical example is going to a movie when you are worked out to relieve your tension. In this example getting rid of your tensions and getting refreshed after a movie reinforces movie-going behavior. Removal of the negative state increases the occurrence of the behavior, and this acts as negative reinforcer. 7.4.3.4 Punishment. Punishment is presenting a negative stimulus that would decrease the occurrence of the behavior. The distinction between negative reinforcement and punishment is very important. While negative reinforcement involves removing of negative stimulus punishment involves presenting a negative stimulus. Negative reinforcement increases the occurrence of the behavior while punishment decreases the occurrence of the behavior. 7.4.4 Schedules of reinforcement Equally important as the type of reinforcement is the schedule of reinforcement. The frequency and the timing of reinforcement following the behavior are varied in different schedules of reinforcement. Continuous reinforcement is one where every time the organism exhibits the desired behavior it is reinforced. For example, a pigeon on continuous reinforcement schedule would get a food pellet every time it pecks the key. The other type of reinforcement schedule is called the partial reinforcement schedule. In this schedule the behavior is reinforced some, and not all, of the times. Gambling is a typical example of partial reinforcement. In this the behavior may some times be rewarded and some times not. Although many different partial reinforcement have been studied four of them are popularly used. The schedules differ in two ways: one is the number of responses needed to elicit reinforcement, and the other is the amount of time that needs to be elapsed before the reinforcement. The first type may be of either fixed-ratio or variable-ratio schedule. The second type may be of either fixed- interval or variable- interval schedule. 7.4.4.1 Fixed-Ratio schedule. In the fixed-ratio schedule the reinforcement is provided only after a certain number of responses made. Piece-rate pay in industry is a typical example of this. A tailor in an industry will receive the pay depending on the number of garments she has stitched. Another example is a pigeon on a FR10 schedule would receive a food pellet after every 10th peck. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 7.4.4.2 Variable-Ratio Schedule. On the contrary, in variable-ratio schedule reinforcement is provided after an average number of responses but unpredictably. Gambling devices and systems that arrange occasional but unpredictable payoffs may be seen as examples of this type of reinforcement. Another example of this could be a pigeon on VR10 that would receive food pellet after say 5th , 10th , 9th, 15th, 11th over five trails which averages out to 10 (5+10+9+15+11=50, and average rate of reinforcement would be 50/5=10). 7.4.4.3 Fixed-Interval schedule. This type of schedule is one in which the organism is reinforced after an established time interval. For example, a rat on FI 5 may be reinforced once every five minutes. The major drawback of this schedule is that the behavior decreases immediately after reinforcement. The rat would stop responding immediately after reinforcement but responds more and more rapidly as the time for the next reinforcement approaches. 7.4.4.4 Variable-interval schedule. In this schedule the reinforcement is given at various times, and it generally results in more consistent behavior. If a response has been reinforced on the average every five minutes but unpredictably, the rat responds at a steady rate. For example, a rat on VI 10 would receive reinforcement after say 7th , 12th, 10th, 10th, 11th second (7+12+10+10+11=50, and average rate of reinforcement would be 50/5=10). The rate is high if the average interval is short, and the rate is low if it is long. 7.5 OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING Conditioning principles do not exhaust possible explanations of all behaviors, especially human learning. Learning need not occur through direct experience. Observational learning, in which we observe and imitate others behaviors, also play a big part. The process of observing and imitating specific behavior is often called modeling. By observing and imitating models we learn all kinds of social behaviors. Bandura and others (1961) have developed their social learning based on social modeling. 7.5.1 Principles of Observational Learning This type of learning was first explained by Albert Bandura (1977) in his popular social learning theory. He says we learn by watching others. People whose behavior is observed are called Models. Any one can serve as a model. Examples of models can be parents, politician, movie stars, friends or even the boy next door. If the model’s behavior is rewarded then the observer may imitate that behavior. On the other hand, if the model’s behavior is not rewarded one may not imitate that behavior. 7.5.2 Bobo Doll Experiment The observational learning was dramatically demonstrated by Bandura and his coworkers. In the classic experiment by Bandura young children watched a film of an adult wildly hitting a 5- foot-tall inflated bobo doll (Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1963a, 1963b). Later the children were brought to another room where attractive toys were kept but were This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com denied the chance to play with the attractive toys. This was done to frustrate the children since the experimenters were interested to see the children’s reaction to frustration. The children were now given the bobo dolls similar to the one shown on the movie, and sure enough the children displayed the same kind of behavior as it was done by adult models in the movies. Amazingly some of the children mimicked the aggressive behavior almost identically. The complete sequence of Bandura’s experiment is shown in the picture below. Picture Courtesy: http://www.education.umd.edu/Depts/EDHD/geron/lifespan/5-1.html Not only negative behaviors but also positive behaviors are learned through observational learning. When children were exposed to a model playing with a dog in ‘Fearless Peer’ they were more likely to approach a strange dog than those children who had not watches the Fearless Peer. 7.5.3 Steps in Observational Learning According to Bandura, observational learning takes place through four steps. The first step involves paying attention to the model’s behavior. Attention is drawn towards a modeled behavior and most critical feature of the model’s behavior is noted. After doing so the mental image of the model’s behavior is stored in memory so that it can be retrieved later. The third step involves reproducing the action. Any specific situation similar to the one stored in memory may trigger us to convert remembered behavior into action. The fourth step involves remaining motivated to learn and carry out the behavior. If the action performed by us is reinforced we add it to our behavior repertoire or else it may be gradually wither away. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 7.6 COGNITIVE LEARNING The cognitive learning theorists argue that learning cannot be reduced to mere forming of ‘association’ as contented by Pavlovian and Skinnerian psychologists. They hold that cognitive process like perception, thinking and memory play key role in learning. Insight Learning by Kohler and Latent Learning by Tolman may be seen as examples of cognitive learning theories. In fact even Bandura’s observational learning may be seen as an instance of cognitive learning since it also explains learning as one that involves attention, imagery, and memory. In sum, the cognitive learning theorists try to study the cognitive processes that underlie learning. Cognitive learning connotes higherlevel learning involving knowing, understanding, and anticipation. 7.6.1 Insight Learning. Wolfgang Kohler, German psychologist, proposed that sudden recognition of relationships lead to solution of complex problem. He experimented with chimpanzees. Kohler’s work with chimpanzees, carried out in 1920’s, remains particularly important to understand cognitive learning. The problems that Kohler set for his chimpanzees left enough scope for insight, because no parts of the problem were hidden from view(in contrast to Skinnerian experiments where the food dispenser in skinner box are hidden from the animal’s view). Typically Kohler placed a chimpanzee in an enclosed area with a desirable piece of fruit, often banana, out of reach. To obtain the fruit the animal had to use the near by object as a tool. Usually the chimpanzee solved the problem, and did it in a way that suggested he had some insight. 7.6.1.1 Kohler’s Experiment with Sultan. Kohler’s typical experiment can be described as follows: 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 placed 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 small stick. Sultan tries to reach the fruit with the smaller of two sticks. Not succeeding, he tears at a piece of wire that projects from the netted cage, but that is too in vain. Then he gazes about him (there are always in the course of these tests some long pauses, during which the animal scrutinizes the whole visible area). He suddenly picks up the little stick once again, goes upto the bars directly opposite to the long stick, pulls it towards him with the “auxiliary”, seizes it, and goes with it to the point opposite to the objective (the fruit), which he secures. Picture Courtesy: http://www.pigeon.psy.tufts.edu/psych26/kohler.htm This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Several aspects of the performance of those chimpanzees are unlike those of Thorndike’s cat on skinner’s rats and pigeons. The solution here is sudden rather than being the result of a gradual trial and error process. Another point is that once a chimpanzee solved a problem with few irrelevant moves. This is most unlike a rat, which continues to make irrelevant responses in Skinner box for many trials. Kohler’s chimpanzees could readily transfer what they have learned to a novel situation. For example in one problem, sultan was not put in a cage, but some bananas were placed too high for him reach. To solve the problem, sultan stacked some boxes thrown around him, claimed the “platform”, and grabbed the bananas. In subsequent problems, if the fruit was again too high to reach, sultan found other objects to construct a platform. In some cases sultan used table and a small ladder, and in one case sultan pulled Kohler himself over and used the experimenter as a platform. 7.6.1.2 Critical aspects of Insight Learning. There are three critical aspects of the chimpanzee’s solution: its suddenness, its availability once discovered and its transferability. These aspects are at odds with the behaviorist notion of trial and error behaviors like the one observed by Thorndike, Skinner, and others. Instead the chimpanzee’s solution may reflect a mental trial and error. The animal forms a mental representation until it hits on a solution, and then enacts the solution in the real world. The solution, therefore, appears sudden because the representation persists over time, and the solution is transferable because the representation is either abstract enough to cover more than the original situation or malleable enough to be extended to a novel situation. 7.6.1.3 Cognitions in Animals. More recent studies done on primates provide even stronger evidence for cognition in animal learning. Particularly fascinating are studies showing that chimpanzees can acquire abstract concepts that were once believed to be the sole province of humans. In the typical study, chimpanzees learn to use plastic tokens of different shapes size and colors as words. For example, they might learn one token refers to apple and another to papers, where there is no physical resemblance between the token and the object. The fact that chimpanzees can learn these references means they understand concrete concept like “apple” and “paper”. More impressively they also have abstract concept like “same”, “different” and “cause”. Thus chimpanzees can learn to use their “same” token when presented either two “apple” tokens or two “orange” ones and their “different” token when presented one “apple” and one “orange” token. Likewise chimpanzees seem to understand casual relations: they will apply token for “cause” when someone cut paper and scissors, but not when shown some intact paper and scissors (premack, 1985a; premack&premack, 1983). 7.6.2 Tolman’s Sign Learning Operant Conditioning principle emphasis that the reinforcement in essential to ‘stamp in’ new behavior. In contrast, latent learning principle suggests that learning occurs even in the absence of reinforcement. However, for the behavior to occur overtly reinforcement is requirement. It is for demonstration and not for learning per se that reinforcement is required. This is demonstrated by Edward Tolman. His experiments are said to demonstrate what is called Sign learning or latent learning. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com The Pavlovian conditioning theorists believe that the rat learns specific units of SR connections. The Skinnerian conditioning theorists believe that the rat learns the situation through successive approximations that is shaping, and perhaps, chaining. However Tolman believes that the exact thing that happens in the learning is signs and not the learning of specific units either alone or in combination and summation. The rat rather learns a cognitive map of learning task. Sign learning connotes an acquired expectation that one stimulus will be followed by another in a particular context. Thus, what is learned is expectations rather than sequence of responses. Tolman allowed his rats to learn a maze and later interrupted their path with barriers. The rats immediately shifted to the nearest straight path to their goal as if they already knew the entire path. Even when the maze has been suddenly rotated to 90°, the rats were able to follow their learned path. These experiments, Tolman holds show that the learning occurring in these cases are sign learning not mere bonding of unitary S-Rs. 7.6.2.1 Tolman’s classic experiment. Tolman’s classic experiment demonstrating latent learning consisted of three groups of rats that were made to run in complex maze for 16 consecutive days. Rats in Group 1 i.e., ‘Reward group’ were rewarded every time they reached goal box on all the 16 days. Rats in Group 2 i.e., in ‘Non-reward group’ were not given any reward on any of 16 days when they it reached goal box. The rats in the Group 3 i.e., ‘Latent Learning group’ were not given any reward for the first 10 days, but were given reward for the remaining 6 days. Results of Tolman’s experiment were interesting. For the first 10 days the rats in the Reward groups did better than those in the Nonreward and Latent Learning groups. On the 11th day when the reward was introduced for the first time to the rats in the Latent Learning group they performed as well as the ones in the Reward group. This demonstrates the distinction between learning and performance. Cognitive maps are internal images or mental representations of an area like maze, city, campus, and the like that underlie an ability to choose alternative paths to the same goals. The rats seemed to develop a ‘Cognitive Map’ of maze even when no reward was given. When reward was administered to them this cognitive map allowed them to reach high level of performance immediately. Discovery learning is a type of cognitive learning in which skills are gained by insight and understanding and not by rote (de Jong & Van Joolingen, 1998). Although rote learning is efficient most psychologists agree that when people discover facts and principles on their own then it is more lasting and flexible than rote learning. Discovery seems to offer better understanding of new and unusual problems. Two groups of students, for instance, were asked to calculate the area of a parallelogram by multiplying the height by the length of the base. One group was encouraged to see how a piece of parallelogram could be moved to create a rectangle. Later both the groups of students were made to work on problems where height times base formula didn’t seem to work. Those students who simply memorized the formula got confused. Those who were encouraged to discover had better understanding of this new problem. Thus the best teaching strategies are based on guided discovery where in the students are given adequate freedom to actively think about problems and adequate guidance to gain useful knowledge by themselves. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 7.7 (i) LET US SUM UP Learning is referred to as a relatively permanent change in behavior (or behavior potential) that results from experience or practice. Classical conditioning by Ivan Pavlov states that learning involves forming association between two stimuli. The learner associates previously neutral stimulus (CS) with a stimulus (UCS) that elicits a natural response (UCR). After conditioning the CS acquires the capacity to elicit a response similar to the UCR. (ii) (iii) Thorndike in his law of effect theorized that responses that satisfy are more likely to be repeated while those that are not satisfying are less likely to be repeated. (iv) Operant conditioning explains how voluntary responses are strengthened or weakened depending on positive or negative consequences. In operant conditioning the organism performs a behavior deliberately in order to produce a desirable outcome. (v) Consequences of behavior are termed as reinforcements. The types of Reinforcement and the schedules of reinforcement will decide how quickly a behavior is learnt and how long it would stay. (vi) Albert Bandura who put forth the observational learning theory says we learn by watching others. Those whose behavior is observed are called Models. If the model’s behavior is rewarded then the observer may imitate that behavior. On the other hand, if the model’s behavior is not rewarded one may not imitate that behavior. (vii) The cognitive learning theorists argue that learning cannot be reduced to mere forming of ‘association’ as contented by Pavlovian and Skinnerian psychologists. They hold that cognitive process like perception, thinking and memory play key role in learning. (viii) Insight Learning and Sign learning can be seen as instance of cognitive theory in addition to Bandura’s theory. (ix) Wolfgang Kohler observed that animal forms a mental representation of the problem until it hits on a solution, and then enacts the solution in the real world. The solution will appear sudden because the representation persists over time. The solution is transferable because the representation is abstract enough to cover more than the original situation. (x) Tolman’s Sign Learning is also known as latent learning. It suggests that learning occurs even in the absence of reinforcement. However, for the behavior to occur overtly reinforcement is requirement. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 7.8 (i) (ii) (iii) LESSON-END ACTIVITIES Reflecting back on your personal experience which type of reinforcement has been effective in getting you learn better? If you find your sister spanking your niece what would be your advice (apply principles of operant conditioning)? Apply principles of observational learning act as a model and try helping a kid in your neighborhood some specific behavior. 7.9 POINTS FOR DISCUSSION (i) Critically compare and contrast classical and operant conditioning theories. (ii) Bandura’s theory is a cognitive theory. Substantiate. (iii) Evaluate the validity of cognitive learning theories. 7.10 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS (i) What are the essential features of learning? (ii) What is higher order conditioning? (iii) Which is the most effective schedule of reinforcement? (iii) Describe Tolman’s experiment in the study of sign learning? (iv) 7.11 REFERENCES Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint. Delhi. Akash Press. Cormier, S.M. (1986) Basic Processes of Learning, Cognition and Motivation. NJ. : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Mowrer, R.R. (2001). Handbook of Contemporary Learning Theories. NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com LESSON 8 MEMORY AND FORGETTING 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Aims and Objectives Introduction Historical Approach to Memory Theoretical Model of the Memory System 8.3.1 Sensory Memory 8.3.2 Short-term Memory (STM) 8.3.3 Long-term Memory (LTM) 8.3.3.1 Procedural Memory 8.3.3.2 Declarative Memory Memory Process 8.4.1 Encoding 8.4.1.1 Automatic Processing 8.4.1.2 Effortful Processing 8.4.2 Storage 8.4.3 Retrieval 8.4.4 Interaction between Encoding and Retrieval 8.4.4.1 Organization of information 8.4.4.2 Context of encoding Forgetting 8.5.1 Causes of Forgetting 8.5.1.1 Decay of memory trace 8.5.1.2 Interference mechanism 8.5.1.3 Retrieval failure 8.5.1.4 Motivated forgetting 8.5.1.5 Organic causes of forgetting 8.5.1.5.1 Amnesia caused by disease 8.5.1.5.2 Retrograde Amnesia 8.5.1.5.3 Anterograde Amnesia Let us sum up Lesson-End activities Points for Discussion Check your progress References AIMS AND OBJECTIVES In this lesson, the faculties of memory and forgetting will be discussed in detail. After going through this lesson, you will be aware of the following items. 1. 2. 3. 4. Model of memory system Different types of memory Forgetting and Various causes of memory 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 8.10 8.0 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 8.1 INTRODUCTION Memory connotes the capacity of an individual to record, retain and reproduce the same information. Memory may be seen as referring dual aspect. In one way memory may be seen as a process by which we store newly acquired information for later recall. Another way in which memory is defined is the recall for specific experience or the complete recollection of all the remembered experiences that are stored in the brain Crooks & Stein, 1991). 8.2 HISTORICAL APPROACHES TO MEMORY Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850 – 1909) is recognized as the first researcher who used scientific techniques to study memory. He prepared a list of ‘non-sense syllables’ that consisted of consonant- vowel-consonant trigrams. In order to test his memory he used relearning. He quantified his memory performance using a saving score. To identify the relationship between savings and the time between learning and relearning he used a forgetting curve. Frederic Bartlett (1886-1969) tested memory using everyday stimulus materials such as objects, birds and stories. He used the method of serial reproduction to demonstrate effects of social factors on the recalling capacity of an individual. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 8.3 THEORETICAL MODEL OF MEMORY SYSTEM The three-stage information-processing model of memory has been guiding psychologists’ thinking on memory since 1960s. Three distinct stages of memory have been identified namely sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. These three distinct systems of memory help is to process, store and recall information (Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968, 1971). Information coming via sensory input SENSORY MEMORY Brief impressions from senses: Visual (Iconic), Auditory (Echoic), and so on. Forgetting due to decay SHORT-TERM MEMORY Acoustic, Visual and semantic coding Forgetting due to improper coding and lack of rehearsal. LONG-TERM MEMORY Encoding of procedural and declarative memories Adapted from Crooks & Stein (1991) Forgetting due to interference, retrieval failure, and possible decay. During early years of research in psychology of remembering it was believed that we use the same kinds of memory to store all kinds of information. For instance, it was believed that varied type of information like the recollection of your first school and the skills needed to drive a car are stored in the same LTM. However, recent researches suggest that we use different long-term memories to remember incidents and a different one to retain a skill. Similarly, we may also use a different memory to remember general facts and a different one to store personal facts relating to an experience. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 8.3.1 Sensory memory. Information entering through the sensory system is stored in the sensory memory as brief impressions, approximately to the initial 200 - 500 milliseconds after an item is perceived. This sensory memory is highly transitory and hence we may not even be consciously aware of the memory. This type of memory is also referred to as sensory registers. The stimuli that we first receive are momentarily retained in sensory memory. These fleeting impressions appear to be accurate reproductions of original sensory inputs. The coding process that takes place in the sensory memory is in the form of physiological process of our sensory system. No organization or categorization of information take place in this stage, and it is regarded as the most primitive memory storage. The basic purpose of this memory is to hold sensory impressions just long enough for important features of this information to be transferred to the next system, the short term memory. If we do not attend to these impressions then they may just be forgotten within a second or two. If we attend to these sensory impressions then they get transferred to the STM. There are as many sensory memories as there are sensory modalities. Most prominent ones among them are the visual and auditory information. Iconic (visual) memory consists of the images that we see. The impressions may fade away within 0.3 seconds when not used. The Echoic (Auditory) memory is the auditory after image or echo that remains after the physical stimulus ceases. The echoic memory also, like the iconic memory, functions to retain information temporarily for possible further processing. 8.3.2 Short-term memory. Information from sensory memory that have been attended to are sent to the STM. This is an intermediate between sensory memory and long-term memory. Unless active effort is taken to hold the information in consciousness the information in the STM fades away within 20 seconds or less. Unless repeatedly rehearsed the information is likely to fade from this memory quickly. This can be seen in the case of remembering a phone number. Unless we rehearse the number it fades and we are no longer able to remember the number. By active rehearsal, however, we can retain information in the STM as long as we wish to. Further the amount of information that can be stored in this system is less than that of the sensory memory. The STM has limited capacity to hold information. It can hold about 7 items or chunks of unrelated information on the basis of how it sounds (acoustic coding). Only about 3 chunks can be stored when information is stored based on how they look (visual coding) or what they mean (semantic coding). Chunk simply refers to a meaningful unit of STM. It should be noted that the STM capacity does not necessarily reflect 7 numbers or letters and they can store about 7 pieces of information that can be letters, words or even meaningful sentences. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 8.3.3 Long-term memory. The information that we remember for more than 20 seconds moves to the LTM and get stored in it. Information from the short-term memory, when repeatedly rehearsed, reaches the long-term memory (LTM). Information may remain for hours, days, and even a lifetime in this LTM. While we retrieve information for LTM it passes through the STM. LTM usually lasts longer, or even indefinitely. However, if the information is encoded poorly it will be subjected to interference and hence may be quickly forgotten. The LTM is filled with facts, feelings, images, skills, and attitudes resembling a giant storehouse. In addition to storing information from past experiences LTM also helps us to deal with and process new information. When faced with new problems and situations we could simply pull certain chunks of information from LTM to STM and use it to handle the situation. Information in the LTM is organized in the form of network of linked ideas, as shown in the section 8.4.4. The more two items are separated in the network the longer the time it would take to answer. Networks of associated memories may have a common experience. For instance, when you see a picture of your high-school graduation day celebration you would remember a plethora of things that are connected to it. You will find that one memory leads to the other, which again would lead to another, and so on. Redintegrative memory seems to spread through the various branches of the memory network. The basic idea in redintegration is that one memory serves as a clue to another memory. Information is stored in the LTM in the form of either Procedural memory or Declarative memory. 8.3.3.1 Procedural Memory. Procedural memory is what helps us to perform skills. It is primarily employed in learning motor skills. For example: typing, playing a piano, or participating in sports competition. The information that we learn from books and from listening to lectures when recalled maybe termed as declarative memory. Procedural memories are hard to acquire but remain almost permanently. 8.3.3.2 Declarative Memory. Declarative memory stores factual information. It is expressed in words or symbols. It is acquired more quickly but the information is susceptible to forgetting. These two memories are stored in different parts of the brain and develop at different times. Abilities develop quite early in life during infancy, but we develop capacity to remember facts much later. The Declarative memory can be categorized into episodic memory and semantic memory. The former refers to autobiographical events and is stored in a chronological order. Semantic memory, on the other hand, consists of general non-personal knowledge, like meanings, facts, and concepts. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 8.4 KINDS OF MEMORY PROCESSES Memory is described in terms of three specific processes namely encoding, storage and retrieval. Encoding refers to getting information into the brain, Storage refers to retaining the information and Retrieval refers to getting back the information. 8.4.1 Encoding Some encoding occurs almost automatically. For instance, one’s memory for the route he walks to class everyday is handled by automatic processing. On the other hand, learning conceptual material requires conscious and effortful processing. 8.4.1.1 Automatic processing occurs with little or no effort where enormous amount of information is encoded. Automatic processing occurring without the effort of the individual occurs without interfering with thinking. Some examples are, recalling the entire day’s events when searching for something misplaced, and understanding a word spoken in the native language of the person. Some types of automatic processing are learned. For instance, reading a sentence from the reverse end may be difficult initially. But after effortful practice it would become almost automatic. 8.4.1.2 Effortful Processing is one where information is remembered only with effort and attention. Rehearsal or conscious repetition may boost memory. Repetition, relearning and over- learning lead to better memory in verbal tasks. Information is processed in three ways: By encoding its meaning, by visualizing and by mentally organizing it. This processing is done automatically but requires different methods to enhance it. Some of the strategies to enhance coding are given below: Encoding meaning: Meanings are encoded while processing verbal material, which we associate with what we already know or imagine. In memorizing materials deeper semantic encoding is recognized to be far more superior to shallow visual encoding. Encoding Imagery: Images help us enhance memory. Mnemonic devices that aid in improving our memory are based on this principle. Organizing: Meaning and imagery enhance memory by organizing information. Chunking demonstrates how we organized information into meaningful units. Hierarchies also play a role in enhancing memory. Information that is not encoded effectively is forgotten. 8.4.2 Storage (retaining memory) Retaining involves three types of storage namely sensory memory storage, STM storage and LTM storage. Sensory memory is largely in the form of Iconic and Echoic memory. Some of the information from the sensory memory is given importance that is attended to is transferred to the STM. The STM has limited storing capacity. If the This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com information is repeatedly rehearsed then it reaches the LTM. The storage here is limitless. An average adult has about a billion bits of information in memory. 8.4.3 Retrieval (getting information out) Memory connotes the process when something has been learned and is retained. It may be indicated by recalling, recognizing and relearning. More the number of information in the STM the more is the time taken to retrieve information from the STM. During the process of retrieval each and every item is examined one at a time. This serial search takes place in amazing speed that we are not aware of (Sternberg, 1966). Difficulty in remembering information stored in LTM could be due to long time taken to access them rather than due to loss of information. In other words, poor memory at this point would reflect retrieval failure and not to problem in storage. If retrieve information from the LTM can be compared to trying to locate a book in a huge library, then retrieval failure can be compared to searching for the book in the wrong rack or searching for the book that is misfiled and hence inaccessible. Forgetting or retrieval problems are common with everyone. For instance, a student who is unable to retrieve a specific term or formula in an exam may be able to remember the same after he moves out of the exam. Tip of the tongue phenomena (TOT), also known as tip-pf-tongue aphasia is a typical example of retrieval failures. In this unusual condition of forgetting we find that we are unable to reproduce an item like name of a person, or a term at the first attempt, even though we are quite confident that we know the word, and also the first letter of the word. It is likely that we know how the word sounds, the shape of the word, its meaning and perhaps even the first letter of the word. We may even readily recognize the word among other words when someone tells it as the word that we have been searching for. TOT where the person knows everything about that information but is unable to retrieve it is an example of ‘stage one retrieval error’. This may be due to some interference with the normal retrieval process. Seeing the TOT we can understand that the information is organized in the LTM in the form of associations and linkages (Collins and Quillion, 1969). Sometimes the word is recovered through spontaneous recovery. Studying things that are related to the word while they are in the TOT would help us identify the associations and linkages of items in LTM that form categories and hierarchies. 8.4.4 Interaction between Encoding and Retrieval The operations carried out during the encoding phase make later retrieval easier. Organizing the information during the encoding stage and ensuring that the context of retrieval is the same as the one where encoding has taken place are two ways by which we can improve the chances of successful retrieval. Retrieval is successful if effort is made to organize the information during encoding stage. An experiment by Bower, Clark, Wizzenz and Lergold (1969) beautifully illustrates the beneficial effect of categories in organizing encoding memory. In this This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com experiment the subjects were asked to memorize lists of words. Some of the subjects were given the list of words by arranging them in the form of a hierarchical tree. Other subjects were given the same list of words that were arranged randomly. On later testing it was found that the subjects who were presented the words with the hierarchical organization were able to recall 65% of the words while those subjects who were presented the same set of words arranged in random order recalled only 19% of the words. In addition to the organization of the information the context of encoding and retrieval also plays an important role in the success of retrieval. Retrieval is successful when the context in which the information is to be retrieved is the same as the one where the information was originally encoded. For instance, we would be able to recollect the names of our classmates in the first grades better when we walk into the corridors of the elementary school. Thus, the context in which we encode the information stands as an important cue for retrieval. Here context can seen as including both external environment and internal 8.4.4.1 Organization of Semantic memory: Organization of information makes retrieval easier. Bower, Clark, Wizzenz and Lergold (1969) conducted an experiment that illustrates the beneficial effect of categories in organizing encoding memory. T h e subjects were asked to memorize lists of words. For some subjects the words in a list were arranged in the form of a hierarchical tree, much like the example shown in figure. For other subjects, the words were arranged randomly. When tested later, the subjects presented with the hierarchical organization recalled 65% of the words; where as the subjects presented with random order recalled only 19% of the same words. Figure given below illustrates one way concepts are thought to be arranged in LTM. It has been concluded that information is filled in categories and subcategories as a network with several pathways to reach a piece of information. Another common experience that details the organization of LTM is reintegration, where a particular event may bring up old emotions and memories. These thoughts and emotions show that there is a connection in the way in which LTM stores or categorizes information. 8.4.4.2 Context of encoding: It is easier to retrieve a particular factor episode if one is in the same context in which he encoded it. This may mean that we can remember events better when we are in the same situation as of the event. The context in which an event was encoded is itself one of the most powerful retrieval cues possible, and a mass of experimental evidence supports this. Context is not always external to memorizer. What is happening inside of us when we encode information – our internal state – is also part of context. 8.5 FORGETTING Forgetting or retention loss connotes the apparent loss of information already encoded and stored in an individual's long term memory. It can be a spontaneous one or This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com may involve a gradual process in which old memories are unable to be recalled. There are many reasons why we forget things. Some of them are briefly discussed below. 8.5.1 Causes of Forgetting There are five basic reasons for why forgetting occurs: 1) The decay of memory trace, 2) Problems with interfering materials, 3) A break down in retrieval process, 4) Emotional and motivational conditions, and 5) Organic factors. 8.5.1.1 Decay of memory trace: This decay maybe said to occur due to neurochemical or anatomical changes. Some state that information in the STM may decay but that information in the LTM are permanent and difficulty in recalling events maybe due to retrieval problems. Some scientists state that decay does occur in the LTM and that memorized decay over time and disappear. If decay theory explained all forgetting, we would expect that the longer the time between the initial learning of information and our attempt to recall it, the harder it would be to remember it, since there would be more time for the memory trace to decay. Yet people who take several consecutive tests won the same material often recall more of the initial information when taking later tests than they did on earlier tests. If decay were operating we would expect the opposite to occur. 8.5.1.2 Interference mechanism: This theory states that our memory of new information maybe hindered by the events that occur before or after we learn. There may be two types of interference, Retroactive interference and Proactive interference. INTERFERENCE PROACTIVE INTERFERENCE MARATHI IS IMPAIRED BY MEMORY OF HINDI HINDI MARATHI LANGUAGE TEST RETROACTIVE INHIBITION HINDI IS IMPAIRED BY MEMORY OF MARATHI Retroactive interference occurs when a later event interferes with recall of earlier information. Proactive interference is where previously learnt information hinders learning in the present. The following diagram illustrates experimental paradigm followed in experiments on retroactive and proactive interference. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Experimental Design for the study of Retroactive interference: Group Experimental Group Control Group Step 1 Learn Hindi Learn Hindi Step 2 Learn Marathi Rest Step 3 Test retention of Hindi Test retention of Hindi Experimental design for the study of proactive interference Group Experimental Group Control Group Step 1 Learn Hindi Rest Step 2 Learn Marathi Learn Marathi Step 3 Test retention of Marathi Test retention of Marathi 8.5.1.3 Retrieval failure: In certain cases retrieval may not occur because of the TOT phenomena. Failure to retrieve information does not mean the information has disappeared it may mean that there has been a poor encoding of the information. Even memories that seem impossible to retrieve may pop into mind when right cues are used. 8.5.1.4 Motivated forgetting: Repression is an example of motivated forgetting where memories that is painful, embarrassing or degrading maybe forcibly forgotten. According to Freud, repression occurs because we re unable to deal with these events in the conscious level. There is general agreement among psychologists that motivated forgetting dies play a role in blocking at least some material stored in long term memory. 8.5.1.5 Organic causes of forgetting: Certain physical illnesses or accidents may cause a loss of memory. There are three prominent types of organic amnesia: 1) Amnesia caused by disease 2) Retrograde Amnesia 3) Anterograde Amnesia 8.5.1.5.1 Amnesia caused by disease: Some diseases produce actual physical deterioration of brain cells, impairing memory as well as a variety of cognitive functions. For instance, cardiovascular disease is characterized by decreased blood circulation, which sometimes limits o2 supply to the brain to the point that some brain cells die. Strokes are another common physical cause of memory impairment. Here, a vessel in the brain ruptures, with resulting damage to cells. Alzheimer’s disease is another illness that produces progressively widespread degeneration of brain cells. This devastating disease produces severe memory deficits and other impairments of mental functioning. 8.5.1.5.2 Retrograde Amnesia: Sometimes a blow to the head may cause loss of memory for certain details or events that occurred prior to the accidents. This condition is called as retrograde amnesia. In many of the cases, lost memories return gradually, with older memories tending to come back first. In almost all cases investigated, memories for recent events have been shown to be more susceptible to disruption than This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com older memories. Retrograde amnesia is more likely to impair declarative memory, particularly episodic type, than to interfere with procedural memory 8.5.1.5.3 Anterograde Amnesia: Amnesia can also work in the opposite direction. Some victims of brain damage may be able to recall old memories established before the damage but cannot remember information processed after the damage has occurred. This condition is called anterograde amnesia. It may be caused by injury to a specific area of the brain. It may also be associated with certain surgical procedure and chronic alcoholism. Unlike retrograde amnesia, anterograde amnesia is often irreversible. 8.6 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) LET US SUM UP Memory connotes the capacity of an individual to record, retain and reproduce the same information. Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850 – 1909) Frederic Bartlett (1886-1969) we the first ones to use scientific techniques to study memory. The three-stage information processing differentiates three distinct stages of memory namely sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. The stimuli that we first receive are momentarily retained in sensory memory. Images that we see are stored as Iconic memory and the auditory stimuli are stored as Echoic memory. Information from sensory memory that has been attended to are sent to the STM where it stays for 20 seconds or less. If no effort is taken to rehearse the information at STM it would fade away. Information from the short-term memory, when repeatedly rehearsed, reaches the long-term memory (LTM). Procedural memory and Declarative memory are the two types of memory in the LTM. Memory process includes encoding, storage and retrieval. Encoding refers to getting information into the brain, Storage refers to retaining the information and Retrieval refers to getting back the information. (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) Successful retrieval depends on organization of the information and the context of encoding and retrieval. (ix) Forgetting or retention loss connotes the apparent loss of information already encoded and stored in an individual's long term memory. Few causes of Forgetting that have been identified are the decay of memory trace, problems with interfering materials, a break down in retrieval process, emotional and motivational conditions, and organic factors. (x) This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 8.7 LESSON-END ACTIVITY (i) Try and draw a hypothetical network of facts on animals to depict how information is organized in LTM. (ii) Listen to the song that is close to your heart and record the flood of memories that flow on hearing the song. Record the information stored in redintegrative memory. (iii) List some instances when you have forgotten something. Analyze the cause behind each ‘forgetting’. 8.8 (i) (ii) (iii) 8.9 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) 8.10 POINTS FOR DISCUSSION Evaluate the information processing model of memory. Critically examine the factors influencing forgetting. Validate the TOT phenomena using Freudian theory. CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Name the process involved in memory. Discuss how information moves from sensory memory to LTM. What is meant by interference? What do you mean by motivated forgetting? REFERENCES Baddeley, A.D. (1999). Essentials of Human Memory. Hove, England: Psychology Press. Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint. Delhi. Akash Press. Cormier, S.M. (1986). Basic Processes of Learning, Cognition and Motivation. NJ. : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com LESSON 9 THINKING: CONCEPT FORMATION & PROBLEM SOLVING 9.0 9.1 9.2 Aims and Objectives Introduction Thinking 9.2.1 The Process of thinking 9.2.2 Components of Thinking 9.2.2.1 Implicit speech elements 9.2.2.2 Mental images 9.2.2.3 Concepts Concept Formation 9.3.1 Types of Concepts 9.3.2 Theories on Concept Formation 9.3.2.1 Association Theory 9.3.2.2 Hypothesis-Testing Theory 9.3.2.3 Exemplar Theory Problem Solving 9.4.1 What are problems? 9.4.2 Stages of Problem Solving 9.4.2.1 Representing the problem 9.4.2.2 Generating possible solutions 9.4.2.3 Evaluating the solution 9.4.3 Problem Solving Strategies 9.4.3.1 Trial and error 9.4.3.2 Testing hypothesis 9.4.3.3 Use of algorithms 9.4.3.4 Heuristics 9.4.4 Factors affecting problem solving 9.4.4.1 Characteristics of the problem 9.4.4.2 Perceptual obstacles Let us sum up Lesson-End activities Points for Discussion Check your progress References 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.9 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 9.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This lesson deals with the fundamentals of thinking. By the end of this lesson you will be able to: (i) understand what our thinking is made up of (ii) learn how we acquire concepts (iii)understand how we solve problems by thinking (iv) appreciate the process of thinking as a whole 9.1 INTRODUCTION Animals’ adaptability owes to their physical strength. Human beings are highly adaptable creatures who owe a large part of the success to their intelligence and thinking. Cognition connotes mentally processing information. Concepts are the fundamental blocks of thinking. Mental images and language also aid in thinking process. Further, thinking can be seen as taking various forms like day dreaming, problem solving and reasoning. Thus a complete understanding of the constituents of thinking and the forms of thinking is essential to understand our thinking process. 9.2 THINKING Thinking refers to the collection of internal processes directed towards solving a problem. Specifically, it connotes the use of symbols or concepts to imagine something internally, and to solve problems mentally. As a process thinking involves manipulation of mental representations available to us in order to solve problems. This mental representation could be a word, a visual image, a sound, or data in any other form. Diverse cognitive processes like understanding the language, memory retrieval and perceiving patterns in sensory inputs are involved in thinking. 9.2.1 Process of thinking The process of thinking involves transforming the representation into new and different form that would enable one to answer a question, solve a problem, or help him reach a goal. Though what actually goes on during thinking is elusive the nature of the fundamental elements that are used in thinking is fairly well understood today. 9.2.2 Components of thinking Thoughts are basically made up of implicit speech elements, mental images or concepts. Implicit speech refers to the motoric elements of thought. Mental images refer to those images made up of visual scenes, sounds, or tactile sensations that are manipulated in some systematic manner. Concepts, on the other hand, represent abstract or symbolic forms. 9.2.2.1 Implicit Speech. Psychologists during Watson’s time believed that thinking was essentially talking to ourselves. John Watson (1930) who is considered as the founder of behaviorism argued that thinking involves specific motor reactions that are This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com perhaps difficult to observe. He maintained that sub-vocal or implicit speech occurs when we think. This he said was evident from the tiny movements of the tongue and throat that occur while we think. Jacobson (1932), for example, used recording device to record very subtle muscular movements of the tongue and throat when the subjects in his experiment were asked to silently think about various problems. In contrast, a study by Smith and his coworkers (1947) reported that even when all of the skeletal muscles of his subject were temporarily paralyzed in order to make them immobile he could think not only about the questions put to him during the experiment but also about the entire experimental procedure. Findings of Simth’s study suggest that thinking is an internal mental activity that is independent of motor action. 9.2.2.2 Mental Speech. Thinking is also defined as consisting of mental images of visual scenes, sounds, or tactile sensations that are systematically manipulated by us. Imagery is a quasi-sensory or quasi-perceptual experience occurring in the absence of stimulus conditions that are known to produce genuine sensory counterparts (Richardson, 1969). Imagery can also be seen as reinstatement of the perceptual activity that goes on in an individual (Hebb, 1968). The functions served by imagery are ubiquitous. Though very vivid imagery can even disrupt adoptive problem solving it does play an important role in certain fields like mnemonics. A strong positive correlation is said to exist between image-ability of the stimuli and accuracy of recall in a variety of learning test situations. A number of studies were done to investigate the physiological correlates of imagery in order to distinguish it from other mental events and other processes that characterize perception. Much of the researches in this line have focused on the eye movement activity as the most relevant correlate of mental imagery. Bower (1972) and Janssen (1976) report that eye movements are neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for imaging. Imaging a moving stimulus at the most appears to benefit from the chance to make eye movements (Antrobus, Antrobus and Singer, 1964). 9.2.2.3 Concepts. If you are asked to describe what is in your kitchen you may give a detailed list of things like a few boxes of masala, some spoons and plates, rice, dal, sugar and salt. However, you are more likely to use broader categories like utensils, groceries, etc. Usage of such categories implies operation of concepts. Concepts are regarded as building blocks of thinking. It refers to categorization of objects, events, or people that share common properties. Concepts help us to classify new objects into some form that is comprehendible in terms of our past experience. For instance, on seeing a small, four-legged creature with a small tail we may easily identify it as a dog even if we have never come across that particular breed of dog in life before. Concepts right away influence our behavior. Here in this example, once you identify it to be dog you may perhaps pet it rather than fearing it. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 9.3 Concept formation We develop concepts of different kinds in varied ways. They are explained by different theories on concept formation that are discussed below. Before going on to understand how we form concept it is essential for us to know about the different types of concepts that exist. 9.3.1 Types of Concepts Concepts may be categorized as artificial concepts and natural concepts. If a concept is clearly defined by a unique set of properties then it is called as artificial concept. They are also referred to as Formal concepts. For example, consider the geometric shape ‘square’. Only if a shape has all four sides of it equal to one another we call it ‘square’. Some concepts are fuzzier and are difficult to define. For example, consider trying to define table and bird. The natural concepts, nevertheless, have much relevance to our everyday lives. Unlike artificial concepts these do not have any universal, unvarying defining feature. They are, in contrast to the artificial concepts, defined by a set of general, relatively loose characteristic features. These are exemplified by prototypes that are typical and highly representative example of a concept. For example, a crow may be considered as prototype of ‘bird’ and a study table may be considered as prototype of ‘table’. There is generally good agreement between people as to which examples of a natural concept are prototypes and which examples fit less well. While cars are viewed as good examples of vehicles, elevators are not. Hence, cars can be taken as examples of prototype. The concepts are also often categories as Broad Vs Specific concepts. This can be identified when concepts are hierarchically arranged. For example, Airplane may be seen to refer to a broad concept while Fighter planes, helicopter, and commercial passenger jets can be seen as specific concepts. Concepts help us to think about and understand the complex, intricate world in which we live. One of the most important undertakings for cognitive psychologists represents gaining understanding of how people classify their knowledge of the world. 9.3.2 Theories on Concept Formation Three popular theories that explain the process by which we acquire concepts are Association Theory, Hypothesis-Testing Theory and Exemplar Theory. 9.3.2.1 Association theory, proposed by Clark Hull (1920) maintains that learning concepts are through acquisition of S-R associations. For example, we associate pattern of stimuli like ‘has wings’, ‘can fly’, ‘lays eggs’ and ‘builds nest’ with the response ‘bird’ and thus form the concept of ‘Bird’. As the first step we form a mental representation of This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com the concept that is brought enough to permit us to generalize the responses to many different instances of the concept. After doing so whenever we encounter a new instance of the concept we respond correctly based on stimulus generalizations. 9.3.2.2 Hypothesis testing theory proposed by Jerome Bruner and his coworkers suggests that we develop concepts by forming and testing hypothesis systematically. We develop a strategic hypothesis-testing plan that would enable us to identify the member of a particular concept. At the first level, we list the attributes critical for belonging to that particular category. We then generate hypothesis about how attributes determine the particular concept. If the hypothesis enables us to make the correct decision then we retain the hypothesis and if not we discard it. This theory largely explains how we form artificial concepts rather than natural concepts. 9.3.2.3 The theory proposed by Eleanor Rosch (1973)’s called Exemplar theory provides explanation of how we form natural concepts. It states that natural concepts are represented in our memories by examples and not by abstract rules. Attributes of natural concepts are not easily described. For example, concepts like fish, furniture, and bird cannot be precisely defined to include all cases under the category since not all instances are good examples of the concept. We find that not all instances of a natural concept are equally good examples of their respective categories. Some examples seem to be more typical while some are less typical. Our concept always centers on the best example, referred to as prototype. The more the object is closer to the prototype the more easily it is identified as belonging to that category. 9.4 PROBLEM SOLVING Imagine you want to go to watch a movie with your friends and your professor asks you to complete some assignment that he had given you. Situations like these are said to be problematic. 9.4.1 What are problems? When there is a discrepancy between our current status and some goal that we wish to achieve, with no obvious ways to bridge the gap then a problem is said to be present. The three essential components of a problem are original state (OS), goal state (GS) and the Rules and restrictions that govern movement from original state to goal state. The basic crux of the problem is that we must find out ways and means to resolve a predicament in order to achieve some goal. In the above example, your goal is to go out to watch a movie but the teacher’s assignment is holding you back from reaching your goal. 9.4.2 Stages of Problem Solving. No matter how complex the problem is all problems require the same step of responses while arriving at a solution. Representing the problem, generating possible solutions and evaluating the solution are the three logical steps involved in problem solving. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 9.4.2.1 Representing problems. The first step towards solving any problem is defining the problem to conceptualize it in familiar terms that would help better understanding of the problem. Better understanding of the problem in turn will help us solve the problem easily. The manner in which the problems are represented in your mind will influence the ease with which solutions can be generated. In the case of some problems representing them visually would make solutions easy. In some other cases representing the problem mathematically would also help. 9.4.2.2 Generating possible solutions. The second step consists of generating possible solutions. One approach could be of trial-and-error. This involves logically listing out the various alternatives and picking up the best solution available. Here again, how we represent the particular problem decides how quickly it can be solved. In some cases representing the problem as a mathematical formula would work while in others representing the problem as a word problem would prove better. Consider for example the following problem: Find a number such that if 3 more than 4 times the number is divided by 3, the result is the same as 5 less than 2 times the number (Mayer, 1982, p.448). The same problem can be represented in another manner: (3+4) ÷ 3= 2X-5. In the case of this problem representing it in mathematical formula makes solutions much quicker and easier than when it is represented in word form. 9.4.2.3 Evaluating the solution. The final stage in problem solving involves evaluating the appropriateness of the solutions. It may be very easy for some types of problems like the one mentioned above. Simply by substituting the value obtained, as solution in the formula would reveal whether the solution is right or wrong. However, evaluating a solution to a problem when more than one solution is possible to the problem is not simple. For instance, problems like which course should I join is such a problem where evaluating the solutions would be complex. This is due to the vague nature of the problem. Since most students are not too clear about their goals they are uncertain about the effectiveness of their choice even after they have selected the course. In short, vaguely defined problems are always difficult to evaluate. 9.4.3 Problem Solving Strategies Our ability to find a workable solution to a problem is dependent on how clearly the problem is defined and the way we approach the problem. A number of strategies are available to solve a problem. Four strategies that are commonly used to solve problems are going by trial and error, testing hypothesis systematically, Use of algorithms, and Heuristics. 9.4.3.1 Trial and Error. Some problems have a narrow range of solution. In such cases trial and error seems to be the best strategy that can be used for a solution. For instance, imagine a situation in which your roommate in the hostel tells you that there was a visitor for her who wanted to meet her urgently, and that she does not remember the visitor’s name. You would, logically ask for what could be the age of the lady and how she appeared, and start phoning the ladies whom you know and who fit the description of the visitor, one by one. You continue calling to check if it was that person who visited you This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com until you hit the right person. This explains how we arrive at solutions using trial-anderror. This strategy appears to be effective when the likely solutions are probably few in number. 9.4.3.2 Hypothesis Testing. This is rather a systematic approach to solve problems. In case the number of probable solutions is many then trial-and-error would not be a feasible one. In such cases, you may use hypothesis testing which would be narrowing down the choices of solutions based on some information. In the above example, you could think of those people whom you had some important business like someone whom you had promised to lend money or someone who had lent you her notes and phone only those ladies. 9.4.3.3 Algorithms. Systematic exploration of every possible answer until the right one is hit is called algorithm. Algorithms are best suited for computers that can sort thousands of possible solutions without getting exhausted. This strategy guarantees a correct solution if one is aware of all the possibilities, which is very rare in reality. For instance, we cannot apply this strategy to the above mentioned problem. Using this strategy we may call every single lady who fits your friend’s description the phone numbers of whom are available with you. However, not everyone’s number may be available with you. It is even possible that you have never met this person before. 9.4.3.4 Heuristics. This refers to a variety of rule-of-the-thumb strategies that can get us quick solutions. Based on our knowledge and experiences with strategies in the past we develop certain ‘quick- fix’ methods for dealing with problems. Means-ends analysis is perhaps one of the most common heuristics we use. This involves identifying the distance between the original state and goal state, and choosing the set of operations that will reduce this distance by moving through a series of sub-goals that would help us to move systematically towards the final solution. Another common heuristics strategy is working backwards. This involves moving from the goal state towards the original state. 9.4.4 Factors affecting problem solving Characteristics of the problem and the perceptual obstacles in us affect the way in which a problem is solved. 9.4.4.1 Characteristics of the problem. Ill-defined problems and complex problems are difficult to be solved. A jigsaw problem may be a well-defined problem while problems like ‘what do I do after completing MSc Psychology?’ are not clearly defined. Complexity of the problem is defined as the number of steps required to solve the problem. The more the number of steps needed to solve the problem the more difficult it is. 9.4.4.2 Perceptual Obstacles. More than the characteristics of problems perceptual obstacles affect the way we understand and solve the problem. Some of them are mental set, functional fixedness and confirmation bias. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Mental Set. This refers to the tendency to approach a problem in a set or predetermined way regardless of the requirements of the specific problem. As a result we would apply strategies that have been successful in the past, without analyzing the current problem carefully. Functional Fixedness. This refers to set or fixed in our perception about the functions of an object. It restrains one from thinking of novel use of the particular object. Imagine you are in the situation shown in the first picture. The task given to you is to tie both the strings that are dangling. The strings are placed enough apart that it is impossible to hold on to one and grasping the other even after stretching the maximum. As may be seen in the picture several objects are present in the room that can be used to arrive at the solution. It occurs to very few people that the pliers can be tied to one string and may be used as pendulum that can be freely grasped when it comes swinging near you (as shown in the second figure). We, generally, overlook this simple solution since we may so fixed in our perception in the way pliers are used and cannot think of using it as a pendulum! Picture courtesy: http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/intro/ibank/set4.htm Confirmatory Bias. We are inclined to seek out evidence that will confirm our hypothesis and overlook all the evidences to the contrary. This phenomenon is called confirmatory bias. This is beautifully demonstrated in Peter Watson (1968) experiment where he gave the subjects some three number series (4, 6, 8; 10, 12, 14; or 1, 3, 5) and asked them to identify the rule. He asked the subjects to propose additional series that would indicate whether each one did or did not conform to the rule. The subjects identified the rule to be ‘increasing by two’ while Watson’s unknown rule was ‘numbers in increasing magnitude’! The only way to find out Watson’s general rule would be to search for evidences and propose series of number that would disprove your hypothesis (like suggesting 4, 5, 7). This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 9.5 LET US SUM UP (i) Thinking connotes the use of symbols or concepts to imagine something internally, and to solve problems mentally. (ii) Thoughts are basically made up of implicit speech elements, mental images or concepts, where implicit speech refer to the motoric elements of thought, mental images refer to images made up of visual scenes, sounds, or tactile sensations that are manipulated in some systematic manner, and concepts represent abstract or symbolic forms. (iii) Concepts are categories into artificial and natural concepts based on how clearly they are defined. Based on the hierarchical arrangement of concepts they are also categorizes as Broad Vs Specific concepts. (iv) We develop concepts of different kinds in varied ways like by S-R associations, or by forming and testing hypothesis systematically, or by representing them as prototypes (v) A problem is said to be present when there is a discrepancy between our current status and some goal that we want to achieve, with no obvious ways to bridge the gap. (vi) While solving a problem we typically go through three logical steps namely representing the problem, generating possible solutions and evaluating the solution. (v) Four commonly used problem-solving strategies are going by trial and error, testing hypothesis systematically, Use of algorithms, and Heuristics. (vi) Characteristics of the problem and the perceptual obstacles in us affect the way in which a problem is solved. Ill- defined problems and complex problems are difficult to be solved. Our previous experiences resulting in mental set and functional fixedness, and the confirmation bias in us also affect problem solving. 9.6 (i) (ii) LESSON-END ACTIVITY List the type of imageries you had used this morning. After doing so try and identify the how many of them were visual, auditory, and tactile. Drawing a network connecting various concepts identify the broad and specific concepts in that. (iii) Recollect the problem that you encountered recently. Identify the strategy that you used to solve the problem. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 9.7 (i) (ii) 9.8 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) 9.9 POINTS FOR DISCUSSION Evaluate the role played by mental images and concepts in our thinking process. Critically analyze how perceptual obstacles affect our ability to solve problems. CHECK YOUR PROGRESS What are mental imageries? Define a prototype. What are heuristics? Give examples. How can characteristics of problems affect the ease with which they can be solved? REFERENCES Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint.Delhi.Akash Press. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition.New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com LESSON 10 REASONING AND DECISION MAKING Aims and Objectives Introduction Reasoning 10.2.1 Types of Reasoning 10.2.1.1 Deductive reasoning 10.2.1.2 Inductive reasoning 10.2.2 Syllogisms. 10.2.3 Causes of Errors in Reasoning. 10.2.3.1 Faulty Premise 10.2.3.2 Misinterpretation 10.2.3.3 Belief bias Effect Decision Making 10.3.1 Rational Approaches 10.3.1.1 Compensatory Models 10.3.1.1.1 Additive Model 10.3.1.1.2 Utility Probability Model. 10.3.1.2 Non-Compensatory Model 10.3.1.2.1 Maximax strategy 10.3.1.2.2 Minimax 10.3.1.2.3 Conjunctive strategy 10.3.1.2.4 Elimination by aspects 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.3.2 Heuristic Approaches 10.3.2.1 The representative heuristics 10.3.2.2 The availability heuristics 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.0 Let us sum up Lesson-End activities Points for Discussion Check your progress References AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The previous lesson offered fundamentals on concept formation and problem solving to orient the student to thinking process. In continuation with it this lesson includes reasoning and decision making which are again forms of thinking. A student successfully completing reading this lesson will possess: (i) a broad understanding of different kinds of logical reasoning (ii) an appreciation of factors leading to faulty reasoning (iii) an understanding of various approaches to decision making. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 10.1 INTRODUCTION Thinking takes different forms like problem solving and reasoning. Our life is filled with choices. Where we are confronted with innumerable choices from which we need to pick the right one we resort to our thinking capabilities. Faulty reasoning may result in inappropriate decisions. Various approaches are available that can guide us to make the right decision. Choice of the decision making strategy will depend on the factors that make up the situation. In the following sections fundamentals of reasoning, causes of errors in reasoning and the varied approaches available to make appropriate decisions are briefly discussed. 10.2 REASONING Life is full of situations that have inbuilt problems or that pose situations requiring us to make decisions. Our ability to reason decides how effectively we can solve problems and making good decisions. There are two ways in which people reason when they make decisions. 10.2.1 Types of reasoning Poor decisions and failure to solve problems are often attributed to faulty reasoning. The two basic types of reasoning are Deductive reasoning and Inductive reasoning (Rips, 1990). 10.2.1.1 Deductive reasoning begins with assumption that what one thinks is true. This assumption is used to draw conclusions about a specific instance. For instance we know that all cats have a shorter life span compared to humans. So we can deduce that three-year old Arthi who receives a kitten for her birthday from her aunt would outlive the kitten. It should be noted that the deductions are valid as long as they begin with valid assumptions and follow certain rules of logic (Skyrms, 1986). DEDUCTIVE REASONING PRINCIPLE EXAMPLE 1 EXAMPLE 2 EXAMPLE 3 EXAMPLE 4 EXAMPLE 5 10.2.1.2 Inductive reasoning, in contrast to deductive reasoning, starts with specific instances. Starting with specific instances it reaches a general conclusion by generalizations. For example, if you see every women acquaintance being sensitive, say you find your wife, mother, sister, girlfriends, and almost every woman you know being sensitive then you would conclude that women in general are sensitive beings. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com INDUCTIVE REASONING PRINCIPLE EXAMPLE 1 EXAMPLE 2 EXAMPLE 3 EXAMPLE 4 EXAMPLE 5 In our lives most of us use both deductive and inductive reasoning (Halpern, 1984). Yet the discipline of formal logic plays emphasis on deductive reasoning. A classic model often used to study deductive reasoning is provided by syllogism. 10.2.1 Syllogisms Syllogism is a model for studying deductive reasoning. It is an argument consisting of two or more presumably true statements. These presumably true statements are called premises. Premises are followed by a conclusion which may or may not follow logically from the premises. Once the syllogism is established one is not asked whether the premises are true or the conclusion is valid, but is asked whether the conclusion logically follow the premises. Consider the following examples: All men are humans All humans are animals Therefore, all men are animals God is love Love is Blind Therefore, God is blind As may be seen above the conclusion logically follows the two premises in the first example. We are comfortable with this kind of argument since it is consistent with our knowledge of the world. On the other hand, everyone may have doubts on the validity of the argument in the second example. If we accept the first example and reject the second it merely reflects our inconsistency in applying principles of formal logic. This explains how psychological content verbally expressed arguments can misdirect our reasoning. Abstracting the above examples of syllogisms by substituting letters for real words we see that both follow the same form. All Xs are Ys. All Ys are Zs. Therefore, all Xs are Zs. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com In order to apply syllogistic reasoning correctly the following three requirements have to be met: (1) Each premise must be considered in terms of all of its possible meanings. (2) All of the possible meanings of the premises must be combined in every possible way (3) Only if a conclusion applies to every possible combination of all possible meanings of premises can we call it a valid conclusion. Even if one combination of the premise meanings is inconsistent with the conclusion the syllogism is considered to be erroneous. 10.2.3 Causes of Errors in Reasoning By applying the rules of formal logic consistently and systematically while we reason out things we would be successful in solving problems and making decisions. By quickly accepting faulty premises, or by misinterpreting a premise, or because of our attitudes and beliefs acquired due to experience we end up erring in our reasoning. 10.2.3.1 Faulty Premise. Even when the syllogism is actually valid the conclusions drawn may be faulty owing to incorrect premise. Consider the following examples: Children from broken homes end up as delinquents. Ramu is from broken home. Ramu will end up as delinquent. All women are emotionally labile No one who is emotionally labile can become a President Therefore, no women can become a president Though the syllogism is actually valid in the above examples, the conclusions are faulty. This is because the basic premise itself is not correct. Not all children from broken homes end up as delinquents. Similarly not all women are emotionally labile. Hence the conclusions drawn are also incorrect. 10.2.3.2 Misinterpretation. Instead of considering all possible meanings of the premise we may conclude that there is only one meaning which can be a cause of misinterpretation of a premise. Most common misinterpretation is when we assume that if a premise is true then its converse is also true: We assume that is ‘All As are Bs’ then ‘All Bs are also As’. However, using syllogism we may find that this need not be the case. Consider the following example: 10.2.3.3 Belief bias Effect. We tend to accept conclusions that conform to our beliefs and reject those that do not conform to our beliefs. This is labeled as belief bias effect. When we face a conflict between principles of logic and what we believe about the world then we tend to rely more on our preexisting beliefs, which can hamper our ability to think logically. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 10.3 DECISION MAKING Our life is shaped by the decisions we take in a number of situations. Decision making is a process that occurs when there are lots of alternative choices from which we need to choose one and reject the rest. Our approach to arrive at a decision can be based on strong logical analysis of the various aspects of the situation, or could be based on some rule-of-thumb which we have framed over years through experience. Various decision making approaches are discussed below. 10.3.1 Rational Approaches Few rational approaches, based on some logical analyses, to decision making are outlined below: 10.3.1.1 Compensatory Models. Making decisions is quite complex since there are both desirable and undesirable dimensions on either sides of an issue. Compensatory models help us to evaluate how the desirable outcomes, all put together, can compensate for undesirable ones. The two specific models of decision making under the compensatory model type are Additive Model and Utility-Probability Model. 10.3.1.1.1 Additive Model allows us to weigh both potential positive features as well as negative features for each available alternative. To begin with we list the common features of the various alternatives and assign arbitrary units that reflect what value it has for us. These numbers are then totaled for obtaining a separate score for each alternative that is listed. For instance, consider the situation in which one needs to make a career decision. You have three alternatives after narrowing down your choices. They are becoming a Psychology teacher, or taking up private psychological consultancy or looking after your family business. There are both attractive and unattractive dimensions for each alternative. You may assign quantitative values (from -2 to +2) on each dimension relative to each of the three alternatives, as may be seen in table below: ADDITIVE MODEL FACTORS Interest Personal Autonomy Income Vacation time Stress Satisfaction Score Teaching Psychology +1 +1 0 +2 +1 +2 Psychological consultancy +2 +1 +2 -1 -2 +2 Family business -1 +1 +2 0 -2 -2 +7 +4 -2 Adapted from Feldman, R.S. (1993). This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Scanning through the final score for each alternative it appears that teaching psychology would be the most satisfying alternative. This model is very easy to implement. 10.3.1.1.2 Utility Probability Model. This model weighs the desirability of each option on two scales namely utility and probability. Utility here refers to the value placed on positive or negative outcomes. Probability refers to the likelihood that the choice would actually produce the potential outcome. As shown in the table below the first step in this model involves listing several potential outcomes and assigning a utility score (from -10 to +10). The second step involves assigning a number to indicate the probability that the choice made would actually result in the given potential outcome (values range from 0 to 1). Consider the potential outcome ‘financial difficulty’. The table reveals that according to the decision maker in this example probability that he would run into financial difficulties is more when he chooses option ‘marriage’ than ‘no marriage’. The next step involves multiply the utility values by the probability values to determine expected utilities. Finally, all the expected utilities are added under each option. The alternative that has the highest value is ultimately selected. In the example here, the total expected utility value for choice of marriage is 1.8 while it is 7.7 for no-marriage decision (use the values in the last column). Hence it is likely that the decision maker may decide not to go in for marriage at this point of time. UTILITY PROBABILITY MODEL Potential Outcome Utility (-10 to +10) Marriage/No marriage Probability (0 to 1.0) Marriage/No marriage Expected Utility (U X P) Marriage/No marriage +7 / +2 +4 / +1.5 Happy Good Study Habits Personal space needs Financial difficulty Limited socialization Lowered Motivation to stay trim +10 / +10 +5 / +6 -8 -4 -3 +5 .7 .8 .2 .8 .7 .4 / .2 / .3 / .9 / .1 / .1 /0 / +6 / -8 +1.2 / +5.4 -6.4 / -.8 -2.8 / -.4 -1.2 / 0 / -4 / -3 Adapted from Feldman, R.S.(1993) 10.3.1.2 Non-Compensatory Model. In certain decision- making approaches not all features of each alternative is considered since the features do not compensate for each other. Table below lists choices of four cars. Assume that all the four are comparably priced. Hence the decision models are applied to five other features namely mechanical reliability, crash test rating, leg room, noise level, and resale value. 10.3.1.2.1 Maximax strategy, the basic strategy, involves comparing the choices on their best features. After comparing so the alternative with the strongest best feature will This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com be selected. In the example here, car B will be chosen since it has the best mechanical reliability. 10.3.1.2.2 Minimax strategy is one where the alternatives are compared on their weakest feature. For instance, in the example given below car A has 4 as the least value while B, C and D have 3, 3, and 1 respectively. Since car A has the weakest feature highly rated than the rest of the cars it may be chosen. 10.3.1.2.3 Conjunctive strategy sets minimum acceptance value for the features. We might set a minimal acceptable value for features. For example, we may set 4 as minimum of every feature. If so then car A which has 4 or more than 4 on each feature it will be selected. 10.3.1.2.4 Elimination by aspects involves eliminating undesirable alternatives one by one. This involves setting certain criteria that each feature must meet, failing which it will be eliminated. If even after this elimination we are left with more than one alternative then we use another criteria. This is continued until we are left with just one alternative. WHICH CAR TO BUY? Feature A B C D Mechanical reliability Crash test rating Leg room for occupants Noise level 6 10 9 5 4 9 6 1 5 5 4 3 5 3 3 6 Resale value 5 4 7 3 Adapted from Feldman, R.S. (1993). 10.3.2 Heuristic Approaches It is not always possible to make decisions based on such rational and systematic strategies. If we did so then we would be left with nothing else than charting alternatives and calculating probabilities. Important life choices may be made using those strategies since they are worth investing the time. In our everyday life we need to make a dozen decisions that are not so important, and that need to be done quickly. In such cases we only rely on few relevant facts, intuitions and certain heuristics to make decisions. Heuristics are short-cut approaches with their unique advantages. Two common rule-ofthe-thumb decision- making strategies are discussed hereunder. 10.3.2.1 The representative heuristics involves judging the likelihood of something by comparing it intuitively to our preconceived notion of a few characteristics that represent a given category to us. If you are given description of a person as ‘petite, soft This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com spoken, very gentle, sensitive and willing to listen’ and were asked whether it is that of a psychologist or a police officer you are more likely to see it as a psychologist than a police officer. This is so because you might have seen prototype of police officer as ‘tough, daring, and assertive’ while that of a psychologist as ‘gentle, soft-spoken, and gentle’. If, one the other hand, you by chance had an experience where police officers were considerate and soft spoken and also knew that the population of police in that city is 100 times more than that of psychologists then that could have changed your decision. 10.3.2.2 The availability heuristics, another heuristic strategy, bases decisions on the degree to which we can access information from our memories. It is based on two assumptions: the probability of an event is directly related to its frequency of occurrence in the past, and the events occurring frequently are better remembered than less common ones. We decide to serve fast food in kids’ party at home instead of a full course meal because past experience shows that kids prefer snacks and fast-foods rather than complete cuisine. Similarly one living near Bhopal may consider relocation seriously to avoid the tragedy that could happen as it did many years back despite the fact that the probability of occurrence of such an accident is statistically minute today. Here, we find that decisionmaking is based on vivid images rather than by logical evaluation of probabilities. With little intellectual effort heuristics strategies can help us make accurate decisions. If used inappropriately these rule-of-thumb strategies may lead to bad decisions. 10.4 (i) LET US SUM UP Our ability to reason decides how effectively we can solve problems and making good decisions. People reason logically using Deductive reasoning and Inductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning begins with assumption that what one thinks is true and this assumption is used to draw conclusions about a specific instance. In contrast, inductive reasoning starts with specific instances and tries to reach a general conclusion by generalizations. (ii) (iii) Deductive reasoning can be studied using Syllogism. Syllogism is an argument consisting of two or more presumably true statements called premises followed by a conclusion that may or may not follow logically from the premises. Once the syllogism is established one is asked whether the conclusion logically follow the premises. (iv) Some of the causes of errors in reasoning are quickly accepting faulty premises, misinterpreting a premise, and our own attitudes and beliefs acquired due to past experience. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com (v) Decision making is a process that occurs when there are lots of alternative choices from which we need to choose one and reject the rest. (vi) Our approach to arrive at a decision can be based on strong logical analysis of the various aspects of the situation referred to rational approach, or could be based on some rule-of-thumb which we have framed over years through experience called heuristics. (vii) Rational Approaches are further divided into Compensatory models and Noncompensatory models. Compensatory models help us to evaluate how the desirable outcomes, all put together, can compensate for undesirable ones. NonCompensatory Model does not consider all features of each alternative since the features do not compensate for each other and hence focus on either the strongest or the weakest feature to make a decision. (viii) Heuristics are short-cut approaches also referred to as rule-of-the-thumb decision making strategies. The representative heuristics involves judging the likelihood of something by comparing it intuitively to our preconceived notion of a few characteristics that represent a given category to us. The availability heuristics bases decisions on the degree to which we can access information from our memories of past experience with similar factors. 10.5 (i) LESSON-END ACTIVITIES What kind of reasoning do you find people use commonly? Think of two instances where your friends have used deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning. What was the toughest decision you had to take so far? Analyze the kind of approach to had taken to make that decision. POINTS FOR DISCUSSION Compare the two types of logical reasoning and discuss which one is preferable over the other. Critically evaluate the rational approaches and heuristic approaches to decision making. CHECK YOUR PROGRESS What is Syllogism? List the common errors in reasoning. Differentiate compensatory and non-compensatory models of decision making. (ii) 10.6 (i) (ii) 10.7 (i) (ii) (iii) This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 10.8 REFERENCES Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint. Delhi. Akash Press. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. ___________________________________________________________________ This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com LESSON 11 LANGUAGE Aims and Objectives Introduction Structure of language 11.2.1 Phonemes 11.2.2 Morphemes 11.2.3 Rules of Language 11.3 Language and Cognition 11.3.1 Whorfian Hypothesis 11.3.2 Studies on Dani of New Guinea 11.3.3 Language and stereotypes 11.3.4 Language and thinking capabilities 11.4 Language Acquisition 11.4.1 Language Acquisition Device (LAD). 11.4.2 Critical periods in language acquisition 11.5 Language Development 11.5.1 Sequence of Language Development 11.6 Let us sum up 11.7 Lesson-End activities 11.8 Points for Discussion 11.9 Check your progress 11.10 References 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES In the previous lessons we focused our attention on process involved in thinking and various forms of thinking. This lesson can be viewed as a continuation of that since language is an expression of thinking. At the end of this lesson you will be able to: (i) understand what is the structure of language (ii) appreciate how our thinking affects language and vice versa (iii) learn about how we learn language (iv) know about the various stages through which language develops 11.1 INTRODUCTION Language is manifestation of the power of thinking. Language is often said to be the jewel of in the crown of human cognition (Pinker, 2000). It is also referred to as the ‘human essence’ (Chomsky, 1972). Every language has a structure that defines everything from the basic sound in the language to the rules that guide the language. It is fascinating to study how language influences our thought and in turn how our thoughts influence the language that we speak. There are a many view points suggesting different kind of relationship between language and cognition. All these aspects of language in addition to language acquisition and development are discussed below. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 11.2 STRUCTURE OF LANGUAGE The three building blocks of language are the Phonemes, the Morphemes and the Grammar. Grammar includes Semantics and Syntax. 11.2.1 Phonemes The elementary sounds of different languages are called phonemes. To say ‘Mat’ we need a set of basic sounds like ‘m’, ‘a’ and‘t’. These are called phonemes. Each and every language differs from each other with regard to the number of phonemes it has. While English language has about 40 there are other languages that have about 20 to 80 phonemes. People who grow up hearing to a set of phonemes from one language usually find it difficult to pronounce phonemes of another language. 11.2.2 Morphemes The smallest unit of language that carries meaning is termed as Morpheme. Some phonemes are morphemes in English language like ‘I’ and ‘a’. However, most of the morphemes are combinations of two or more phonemes. Some morphemes are words. An example of this could be ‘Mat’. Some morphemes are prefixes and suffixes, like ‘pre’ means that occurs before, and ‘ed’ that denotes past tense. 11.2.3 Rules of Language Grammar refers to a system of rules that help us to speak and understand. It includes semantics and syntax. The rules we use to derive meaning from morphemes, words or sentences are called semantics. It tells is that adding ‘ed’ to talk’ would mean that it has happened in the past. When we read the words ‘hunting fox’, given the context, the semantics tells us whether it refers to a fox that is hunting or it is people who are hunting fox. The rule that an adjective should come before a noun (like ‘black horse’) in English is an example of syntax. 11.3 LANGUAGE AND COGNITION The understanding on the mutual influence of language and cognition has undergone significant changes since 1950s. The various views and development in the understanding of how our language and thinking are related is discussed below. 11.3.1 Whorfian’s hypothesis It is well accepted that language bears a relation with thinking. Benjamin Lee Whorf (1956), a linguist, contended that language not only influences thinking but it also determined what we are capable of thinking. This he called the linguistic relativity hypothesis. If this was true then people who grew up in a culture that has only few words for colors should have problems in perceiving the spectrum of colors than do those whose languages have many words for colors. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 11.3.2 Dani of New Guinea. Eleanor Rosch (1973) studied the Dani of New Guinea who has only two words for colors. One of the two words is for bright warm colors while the other is for dark cool ones. Eleanor found that the Dani could still discriminate among different colors, and could remember different hues virtually in the same way as an English speaker does. This proves contrary to the linguistic determinism. More support to this is got from a more recent study by Davidoff (2004) that compared English children and Himba children. It suggests that the color categories in a language have a greater influence on the color perception in the native language users. The English language contains 11 basic color terms while the Himba language has only 5 basic colors. Davidoff noted that English children distinguished more colors and remembered the different hues better than the Himba children. Even today many linguists do not agree with Whorfian hypothesis that language actually determines how we think. However, they do not hesitate to accept that language can influence how we think and how we categories our experiences effectively and even the extent to which we attend to details in our everyday experiences. Language influences our perception, and even our decisions. 11.3.3 Language and Stereotypes Language can help create and maintain stereotypes. When a group of students were asked to rate the attractiveness of psychology as a career for men and women, those who read statements written in a gender- neutral language rated it as more attractive than those who read statements written in sexist language. 11.3.3 Language and thinking capabilities Language not only influences how we think but also may influence how well we think is certain domains. For examples children from Asian countries score better in mathematical skills than English-speaking children as the Asian language makes it far easier to learn numbers that have a base-10. Chinese language, for example, has number ‘11’ and ‘ten-one’ and ‘12’ as ‘ten-two’. The English language, in contrast, bears little conceptual relation to the base-10 mode of thinking where ‘11’ is ‘eleven’ and ‘12’ is ‘twelve’. In total the English language seems to hamper the development of mathematical skills while the Asian languages seem to facilitate it. To sum up, language appears to provide the whole foundation for many human behaviors and capabilities. 11.4 LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Invariance of Language Development is evident. All over the world children go through the same stages of language development. Learning language is a part of the biological heritage of the developing infant and child (Chomsky, 1972). This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 11.4.1 Language Acquisition Devise Children are biologically predisposed to learn any language very easily due to the presence of Language Acquisition Device (LAD). It is this LAD is responsible for the process of language development. Young children from many different cultures acquire language in virtually the same manner without any formal instructions. This invariance of language development among children stands as proof to the fact that all children have a native ability to develop language. Another evidence for this fact is the similarity in the sequence of language acquisition among children all over the world. In spite of the large variations in the language of the adults around them children across the world see to develop language in virtually same sequence. Even when there are no models around children seem to go through the same sequence of language development. 11.4.2 Critical periods in language acquisition Language learning too, like any other innate behaviors, has some critical period. This is particularly evident when it comes to acquiring the sound system of new language. There exists a critical period for learning new phonemes and the rules of their combination. The first few months of one’s life is the critical period for shaping the phonemes of one’s native language. It is noted that infants less than one year old easily discriminate phonemes of any language. Nevertheless they lose this ability by the end of first year. Similarly there is critical period for acquiring the sound of a second language. Young children are more likely than adults to speak a second language without an accent after a few years of picking up the language. There is no strong evidence for a critical period in learning syntax. Studies on few children who grew up in dire circumstances that prohibited them from learning any language stand as evidence to this. Perhaps the case study of ‘Genie’ is the best documented one. She stuttered horribly when she was in her childhood. It was when she was fourteen years of age that she was discovered. She had lived tied to a chair since the age of 20 months without being spoken to. She was fed by her mother who was blind. Her mother would feed her hurriedly and would punish her if she ever uttered a word. Genie had virtually grew up without any social contact. As one can expect, Genie did not develop language. After she was discovered at fourteen years of age she was taught language by psychologists and linguists. She could not become proficient at syntax despite all the teaching. Genie learned to use many words but never could learn how to combine them into simple phrases. Neither could she combine phrases to form elaborate sentences. The critical factor behind this lack of language development appears to be the relatively late age at which the language was learned. This is consistent with the fact that there is a critical period for learning syntax. It also is compatible with the fact that Genie’s lack of language during the early years had led to some atrophy of the left brain hemisphere. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 11.5 LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT The word infant has its root in the Latin word ‘infans’ that means ‘without language’. Neither the brain nor the shape of the mouth and throat of an infant is yet ready for speech, and hence they are not capable of speech at birth. But sure they can vocalize from their first moments of living on this earth. 11.5.1 Sequence of Language Development The average ages at which children acquire different levels of language abilities are listed by Lenneberg (1969) and Moskowitz (1978). Random vocalization and cooing starts as early as three months in one’s life. By six months the baby is able to engage in babbling which increases in quantum by the end of the first year. By the baby’s first birthday it is able to comprehend few words in addition to increased babbling. When they reach one year and a half the child is able to use some individual words that are mostly nouns. However, it is still unable to make use of any phrase. A two year old has a vocabulary for about 50 words that include many two word phrases. Ability to form sentences is still not developed at this period. Good language comprehension in addition to using longer phrases and short sentences though with errors in often seen commonly by the time the child is two and a half years old. The vocabulary goes on a constant increase with the child holding a vocabulary of about 1000 words with much lesser errors when he reaches three years of age. He can now form longer sentences too. By four years of age the language development is close to basic adult speech competence. Infant Crying and Cooing: Crying and cooing are the only means of vocalization for the first four months in life. Parents find it impossible to differentiate between cries of pain, hunger or surprise on the basic of sound alone until five months of age. But by the time the baby is seven months old parents can fairly discriminate between these different sounds (Muller, Hollien, and Murry, 1974; Ricks, 1975). Though there is no evidence that infants cry to communicate it certainly does help parents with information about what they want. So very early in life infants learnt that vocalizations improve their wellbeing by getting them what they need. Infant babbling: Babbling begins by the time infant reaches fourth or fifth month in life. Infant babbling consists of sounds like ba-ba, da-da, ma-ma or goo-goo. It is closer to speech than crying. Infant babbling is similar across all cultures, and there seems to be uniformity universally. Babbling is mixture of certain phonemes and it can form the base for any language. Babbling is controlled by a maturational process which prepares the vocal tract for speech. Vocalization is influenced by the surrounding environment over the next several months. Infants continue to use the sounds that are similar to what they hear around them. They may stop using the sounds that do not match with their parents’ language. Gradually the speech sounds they produce come to resemble the phonemes of the language that is being spoken around them. The beginning of speech: By the time the infants reach the sixth or seventh month they start communicating with others through gestures. They might hold up objects to This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com show them to others. Eventually, by ten or eleven months, they start pointing at objects to direct attention of others towards it. At this stage they also understand the meaning of other’ pointing at things. They would now start looking at the place where other’ point rather than looking at the face or hand of the adult as they did earlier. When they reach the end of the first year they start combining gestures with single words to communicate. These one-word utterances mark the beginning of speech. Single-word utterances: Speech through one-word utterances is minimal. But it does convey lot of information. For instance, when a one year old says ‘mama’ for mother it might express any of the following ideas: ‘I want mommy’, ‘Mommy is there’, ‘Mommy, come here’, ‘Mommy, look here’, ‘Where is mommy?’. By the beginning of the second year the child has only about a handful of words. It increases to over 200 words by the end of the second year. Nelson (1973) observed that children first talk about such things as food, animals, and toys that they are attracted to. Only much later do they speak about inanimate things like tables, chairs, books, and cars. Two-word utterances: During the period from one and a half years to two years the child starts forming two-word utterances like ‘no milk’, and ‘more juice’. Misinterpretation by parents forces the child to communicate more effectively, and twoword utterances are an improvement shown towards that. They use only most important words, and their two-word sentences are short and to the point. Expanded sentences: From ages two through seven the child’s sentences expand to help them communicate better. Their communication becomes less ambiguous. They start, for the first time, using article, past-tense, plurals, and other elements by the time they are five. The impetus for all this effort is nothing but greater communication of thought. 11.6 (i) (ii) LET US SUM UP Language is manifestation of the power of thinking. The three building blocks of language are the Phonemes, the Morphemes and the Grammar. Grammar includes Semantics and Syntax. (iii) Language affects our Cognition. Whorfian hypothesis that language actually determines how we think is not accepted by majority of the linguists. But language is found to influence how we think and how we categories our experiences effectively. Language influences our perception, and even our decisions. (iv) Universally all children go through the same stages of language development. According to Chomsky, (1972) children are biologically predisposed to learn any language easily due to the presence of Language Acquisition Device (LAD) which is actually responsible for language development. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com (v) There exists a critical period for acquiring language. There exists a critical period for learning new phonemes and the rules of their combination especially when it comes to acquiring the sound system of new language. (vi) Language Development occurs through a sequence of developmental stages from the time infant is born. Infants are born without language. The following may be seen as the sequence of language development: Random vocalization and cooing, babbling, individual words, two word phrases, longer phrases and short sentences, and longer sentences. 11.7 (i) (ii) LESSON-END ACTIVITIES Identify the phonemes in your native language. Make an album with pictures of children (use your own photographs if available) at different ages and try to match it with the level of language competence that they have achieved. Knowing about LAD and critical period available for acquiring language suggest some ways in which you can teach language to someone. POINTS FOR DISCUSSION Evaluate the validity of Whorfian hypothesis from a psychologist’ point of view. Every individual has the same capability to learn any language in the world. Justify the statement. Critically analyze the most often quoted ‘Genie study’. CHECK YOUR PROGRESS How is syntax different from semantics? What is Chomsky’s contribution in the field of psycholinguistics? List the various stages of language development appropriate to each age. (iii) 11.8 (i) (ii) (iii) 11.9 (i) (ii) (iii) 11.10 REFERENCES Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint. Delhi: Akash Press. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology - The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com LESSON 12 INTELLIGENCE – THEORIES AND ASSESSMENT 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Aims and Objectives Introduction Definition of Intelligence History of Measurement of Intelligence Theories of Intelligence 12.4.1 Factor Theories 12.4.1.1 Two-Factor Theory 12.4.1.2 Primary Mental Abilities 12.4.1.3 The Structure of Intellect 12.4.2 Process Theories 12.4.2.1 Multiple Intelligence 12.4.2.2 Triarchic Theory of Intelligence 12.4.2.2.1 Componential subtheory 12.4.2.2.2 Experiential Subtheory 12.4.2.2.3 Contextual Subtheory 12.5 Assessment of Intelligence 12.5.1 The Classical Tests of Intelligence 12.5.2 Wechsler’s Test of Intelligence 12.5.2.1 Adult Intelligence Scale or WAIS 12.5.2.2 WISC 12.5.2.3 WPPSI 12.5.2.4 WAIS-R NI 12.5.3 Raven’s Progressive Matrices 12.5.3.1 Standard Progressive Matrices 12.5.3.2 Coloured Progressive Matrices 12.5.3.3 Advanced Progressive Matrices 12.5.3.4 Standard Progressive Matrices Plus 12.5.4 Culture- fair intelligence tests 12.5.4.1 Cattell’s Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT). 12.5.4.2 Sternberg Multidimensional Abilities Test (STAT) 12.6 Let us sum up 12.7 Lesson-End activities 12.8 Points for Discussion 12.9 Check your progress 12.10 References 12.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Having studied about certain cognitive processes like thinking and memory in the previous lesson we now shift our attention to intelligence. A student after completing this lesson will be able to: This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com (i) (ii) understand intelligence as a construct appreciate the various theories that have tried to explain the structure and process of intelligence (iii) learn the historical development in intelligence testing (iv) gain knowledge on the various assessment tools available to measure intelligence 12.1 INTRODUCTION Intelligence may be regarded as mental property that includes many related cognitive abilities, such as the capacities to reasoning, planning, problems solving, abstract thinking, comprehending ideas, using language, and learning. Intlligence has been formally defined in a number of different ways. There are several ways intelligence is undertood and defined depending on the theoretical orientations of the persons defining the term. This defining intelligence has always been a matter of controversy. 12.2 DEFINITIONS OF INTELLIGENCE The word intelligence is derived from the Latin verb, ‘intelligere.’ The root word intelligre means ‘to understand.’ The original term intelligere in Latin implies that the construct of intelligence should stand for a deeper understanding of the relationships of all things around us. Thus, it has to do with a capability for metaphysical manipulation of such objects once such understanding is mastered. The report of a task force of the American Psychological Association (1995) had observed that ‘intelligence’ are attempts to clarify and organize this complex set of phenomena. Inspite of considerable clarity has been achieved in some areas, no such conceptualization has yet answered all the important questions and none commands universal assent.In fact, when two dozen prominent theorists were recently asked to define intelligence, they gave two dozen somewhat different definitions. Another group of 52 reserachers who have their background in mainstream science of intelligence assembled in 1994 held that intelligence is a very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. Intelligencet is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings—"catching on", "making sense" of things, or "figuring out" what to do. 12.3 HISTORY OF MEASUREMENT OF INTELLIGENCE Alfred Binet (1905) was requested by Paris municipal authorities to diagnose the reason for poor performance of children in elementary schools and he responded to their request by attempting to arrive at a scale to apply for identifying the potentialities of the children to profit from the instruction in the school. Binet conceived the concept of intelligence and it as ‘...judgment, otherwise called good sense, practical sense, initiative, the faculty of adapting one's self to circumstances...auto-critique.’ Since no scientific This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com foundation was available for him he resorted to evolving a scale he designated as intelligence scale that provided a standard measure to identify the mental age of the children. First he selected a series of items the children are supposed to be capable of solving. The items were deliberately chosen to be heterogeneous ranging from sensory discrimination to vocabulary knowledge. The difficulty level of the items ranged from ‘most simple’ to ‘most difficult’ levels. By administering the items across a range of children varying in age, he could sort out the specific items that were passed by different age groups of children. Thus he could identify the set of items pertaining to each group of children that were passed by that age group of children. When a child could answer the items generally answered successfully by a group of children who were of his age, he was supposed to be having a normal level of intelligence, and the child is considered to have an average level of intelligence. When a child could answer the set of items pertaining to a group of children elder to him, he is considered to have high intelligence and conversely if he could answer only the set of items pertaining to a group of children younger to him, he is considered to have less than average intelligence. Thus the sets of items passed by children of each age group were obtained. Thus, items pertaining to each group was arrived at and identified as providing measure of mental age of the children. When a child could pass a set of items pertaining to a particular age, then he is supposed to be having a mental age matched to the age- level the items stood for. This made it possible to determine the mental age for each child and to find out the proportion between the child’s chronological age and his mental age. Terman (1916) and colleagues at Stanford University translated Binet's test, adapted the content for U.S. schools, and Terman called the new version the StanfordBinet test. Taking the advice from Stern, Terman tried to arrive at an integer based on the proportion of mental age to the chronological age. Hence he divided the mental age by the chronological age and multiplied the resultant by hundred to get the measure, Intelligence Quotient (IQ). Thus 100 had been taken as the average level of IQ and deviations from the average had been used to identify the extent of mental retardation or giftedness. During world war several intelligence tests were developed especially for screening people for recruitment to the armed forces. was initially perceived as a unitary concept, which could be assessed and quantified and expressed by a single number. However, sooner psychologists considered whether the concept could legitimately be split into components. 12.4 THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE Numerous theories are available in literature that have made attempts to explain the construct intelligence. Some of them are focused on explaining the structure of intelligence. They have attempted to describe intelligence as made up of different components. On the other hand, some theories have tried to explain intelligence as a process. Some of the commonly referred theories are discussed below. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 12.4.1 Factor Theory Factor theories of intelligence focus on the structure of intelligence, that is, on the skills and abilities that it comprises of. In the course of development of intelligence theories several attempts have been made to slice the structure into different factors. Factor analysis, a sophisticated procedure used to identify the constellation of variables in a domain has been used to identify the factors of intelligence. Factors refer to sources of differences seen among an array of variables. 12.4.2 Two Factor Theory. Charles Spearman (1940) put forth two- factor theory of intelligence to account for the variations seen in intelligence. This is the first widely influential theory of intelligence. Individuals who have the skill to quickly assemble colored blocks to match pictures of complex designs also found usually tending to perform well when they are given the task of assembling pieces of a puzzle. This as well as other behaviors that reflect an ability to visualize and manipulate patterns and forms in space suggests existence of a spatial ability factor. Spearman factor analyzed the scores of a large number of subjects on diverse tests that assessed many different intellectual skills and abilities. This enabled Spearman to assess which of these skills were related to each other. Based on the findings of the investigation the Spearman’s model of intelligence was developed. Spearman observed that some subject consistently scored high and a roughly equal number consistently scored low on all of the various tests purporting to assess different aspects of intelligence. People who scored high (or low) on one kind of test were found to obtain scores at a similar level on the other tests. But, their scores on various skill tests did tend to differ to some extent. These observations influenced Spearman to propose that intelligence is made up of two components: a g- factor or general intelligence and a s-factor or special factor involving the collection of specific intellectual abilities. The existence of g-factor suggests that every individual has a certain level of general intelligence (g- factor), probably genetically determined, and it underlines all of our intelligent behavior. Every individual also has some specific abilities (s- factors) that are more useful in doing some tasks than in doing other tasks. General intelligence is needed for all, from plumber to philosopher to do their intellectual activity. Musical ability, mechanical ability, mathematical ability are special abilities and are emphasized by s- factor. S-Factor might vary from persona to person. Spearman’s ‘g’ factor theory of intelligence had been modified by Raymond Cattell (1905), his student. Cattle held that ‘g’ itself may considered to be a two part construct, gF and gC, which stand for fluid and crystalized intelligence. Fluid intelligence refers to ability to perceive relationships without previous specific experience as is measured with matrices tests or verbal analogies. Crystallized intelligence involves mental ability derived from previous experience as are measured by word meanings, use of tools and cultural practices. Crystalized intelligence may change over years in an individual due to decline in fluid knowledge. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 12.4.1.2 Primary Mental Abilities. L.L.Thustone, acritic of Spearman, defines intelligence as “Intelligence, considered as a mental trait, is the capacity to make impulses focal at their early, unfinished stage of formation. Intelligence is therefore the capacity for abstraction, which is an inhibitory process (Thurstone, 1924/1973).” Thurstone rejects g was as statistical artifact resulting from the mathematical procedures used to study it. Adopting factor analysis, Thurstone found that intelligent behavior does not arise from a general factor, but rather emerges from seven independent factors. He named the factors identified by him the primary mental abilities. The primary abilities: word fluency, verbal comprehension, spatial visualization, number facility, associative memory, reasoning, and perceptual speed (Thurstone, 1938). Even in samples comprised of people with similar overall IQ scores, different profiles of primary mental abilities seem to result. Thus primary mental abilities seem to have clinical utility than Spearman’s ‘g’. However, in an intellectually heterogeneous group of children, he failed to find that the seven primary abilities were entirely separate, rather there existed an evidence for presence of ‘g’. onsequently, Thurstone arrived at an elegant mathematical solution that resolved these apparently contradictory results. His final version of his theory of primary abilities was a compromise that accounted for the presence of both a general factor and the seven specific abilities. The Seven Primary Mental Abilities (Thurston, 1938) are briefly described below: Table 1. The Seven Primary Mental Abilities (Thurston, 1938) Primary Mental Ability Factor Nature of the ability implied by the Factor Verbal Comprehension understanding the meaning of words, concepts and ideas Numerical Ability using numbers in order to quickly compute answers to problems Spatial Relations visualizing and manipulating patterns and forms in space. Perceptual Speed grasping perceptual details quickly and accurately; determining similarities and differences between various stimuli. Word Fluency using words quickly and fluently while performing tasks like rhyming, solving anagrams, and doing crossword puzzles. Memory recalling information. Inductive Reasoning driving general rules and principles from the information that is presented. 12.4.1.3 Structure of Intellect. J.P.Guilford has propounded a three-dimensional model of intelligence. His theory of intelligence is termed the Structure of Intellect (SI) theory. The theory views intelligence as comprising of operations, contents, and products. Succinctly the model suggest that Five kinds of operations carried on five kinds of contents yield six kinds of products, and as such one hundred and fifty elements of This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com intellect could be generated and identified as constituting and accounting for the structure of intellect. The five kinds of intellectual operations include cognition, memory, divergent production, convergent production, evaluation; the six kinds of products include units, classes, relations, systems, transformations, and implications; and, the five kinds of contents include visual, auditory, symbolic, semantic, behavioral tasks. . Since each of these dimensions is independent, there are theoretically 150 different components of intelligence possible to be identified and tested. Picture Courtesy: http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/DLT/2002/dltwsite/guilf.htm The Structure of Intellect (SI) Model of J.P.Guilford. Guilford adopted factor analysis and developed a wide variety of psychometric tests to measure the specific abilities predicted by SI theory. The tests provide an operational definition of the many abilities proposed by the theory. The convergent and divergent production operations are recognized to be synonymous with intelligence and creativity. 12.4.2 Process Approaches The factorial approaches of Spearman, Thurston, and Guilford have contributed to our understanding of the structure of intelligence as comprising of several factors. They imply that the concept that intelligence may comprise many separate abilities that operate more or less independently was established. However they do not address the important question of how people solve problems and interact effectively (i.e. intelligently) with their environments. In the last decades new theoretical models of intelligence that seek to understand intelligence as process have emerged in the field. The multiple intelligence model and the triarchic theory of intelligence theories of Howard Gardner and Robert Sternberg represent approaches different to the one adopted by earlier psychologists. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 12.4.2.1 Multiple Intelligence. Based on the findings from fields as disparate as artificial intelligence, developmental psychology, and neurology, a number of investigators have put forth the view that the mind consists of several independent modules or "intelligences." Howard Gardener has developed his theory of multiple intelligences, and argues that human beings have evolved to be able to carry out at least seven separate forms of analysis. The seven intelligences identified by Gardner include Linguistic intelligence (as in a poet); Logical- mathematical intelligence (as in a scientist); Musical intelligence (as in a composer); Spatial intelligence (as in a sculptor or airplane pilot); Bodily kinesthetic intelligence (as in an athlete or dancer); Interpersonal intelligence (as in a salesman or teacher); and Intrapersonal intelligence (exhibited by individuals with accurate views of themselves). Gardner suggests that "although they are not necessarily dependent on each other, these intelligences seldom operate in isolation. Every normal individual possesses varying degrees of each of these intelligences, but the ways in which intelligences combine and blend are as varied as the faces and the personalities of individuals." 12.4.2.2 Triarchic Theory of Intelligence. Sternberg (1979, 1981 and 1982) has proposed a theory of Practical intelligence. This theory has departed from adopting a psychometric approach to intelligence and creativity and leaned heavily on information processing approach in studying intelligence. The initial approach to developing this theory focused on how information is processed by people in order to solve problems and deal effectively with their environments. The steps people go through when solving the kinds of problems typically encountered in intelligence tests involve six steps. These steps include. Encoding comprising of identifying the key terms or concepts in the problems and retrieving any relevant information from Long Term Memory, Inferring referring to determining the nature of relationships that exist between these terms or concepts, Mapping referring to Clarifying the relationship between previous situations and the present one, Application involving deciding if the information about known relationships can be applied to the present problem, Justification involving deciding if the answer can be justified and Response referring to providing the best possible answer, based on proper information processing at each of the previous stages. Sternberg believes that people can be taught to construct their own problem solving strategies by learning to think about how they approach problems and how to function more effectively. Thus by teaching more effectively, intelligence of the individual, at least as measured by intelligence tests, can be increased. Sternberg’s (198586) has expanded his information – processing approach recently. He calls it the triarchic theory of intelligence. According to this theory, intelligence is defined as a multidimensional trait that is comprised of three different abilities: Componential, Experiential, and Contextual Sternberg has developed his Triarchic Theory of Human Intelligence (1977, 1985, 1995). TheTriarchic Theory seems to be an attempt to synthesize the various theories of intelligence. Sternberg views Intelligence as,"Purposive adaptation to, shaping of, and selection of real-world environments relevant to one's life" (Sternberg, 1984, p.271). Intelligence is purposive in that it is directed towards goals, however vague or This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com subconscious it may be. Thus, intelligence is indicated by one's attempts to adapt to one's environment. He subsumes both Spearman’s g and underlying information processing components to account for intelligence. His theory includes three facets or subtheories of intelligence including Analytical (componential) Intelligence, Creative (experiential) Intelligence, and Practical (contextual) Intelligence. Sternberg's theory builds on his earlier componential approach to reasoning and is mostly based on observing Yale graduate students. He believes that intelligence properly defined and assessed will manifest in real- life success as he observed amongst his students. 12.4.2.2.1 Componential subtheory. Analytical Intelligence (Academic problemsolving skills) is based on the joint operations of metacomponents and performance components and knowledge acquisition components of intelligence, The metacomponents seem to control, monitor and evaluate cognitive processing. Such tasks are the executive functions to order and organize performance and knowledge acquisition components. They involve the higher order mental processes that order and organize the performance components. They are used to analyze problems and pick a strategy for solving them. They determine what to do and the performance components actually carryout them. The performance components are the basic operations in any cognitive act. They execute strategies assembled by the metacomponents. The cognitive processes enable one to encode stimuli, hold information in short-term memory, make calculations, perform mental calculations, mentally compare different stimuli, retrieve information from longterm memory. The knowledge acquisition components are the processes used in gaining and storing new knowledge. They are concerned with capacity for learning. Strategies used to help memorize things provide an instance of the processes involved in this category. Individual differences in intelligence are hence related to individual differences witnessed in the use of these cognitive processes. Individuals with better reasoning ability generally spend more time understanding the problem but reach their solution faster than those who are less skilled at the task . 12.4.2.2.2 Experiential Subtheory. Creative Intelligence involves insights, synthesis and the ability to react to novel situations and stimuli. Creative intelligence is the experiential aspect of intelligence. It reflects how an individual connects the internal world to external reality. The Creative facet consists of the ability that allows people to think creatively and that which allows people to adjust creatively and effectively to new situations. More intelligent individuals will also move from consciously learning in a novel situation to automating the new learning so that they can attend to other tasks. It is assumed that the novelty skills and automatization skills are the two broad classes of abilities associated with intelligence. A task measures intelligence if it requires This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com the ability to deal with novel demands or the ability to automatize information processing, two ends of a continuum. Hence, novel tasks or situations are good measures of intellectual ability. They assess an individual's ability to apply existing knowledge to new problems. 12.4.2.2.2 Contextual Subtheory. Practical Intelligence involves the ability to grasp, understand and deal with everyday tasks. This is the Contextual aspect of intelligence and reflects Analytical Facet. Analytical Intelligence is similar to the standard psychometric definition of intelligence. Measured by Academic problem solving: analogies and puzzles belong to this category. This corresponds to Sternberg’s earlier componential intelligence. This reflects how an individual relates to his internal world. Practical Intelligence may be said to be intelligence that operates in the real world. Individuals with this type of intelligence can adapt to, or shape their environment. It might also be called ‘Street-smarts’. In measuring this facet, not only mental skills but also attitudes and emotional factors that influence intelligence are to be included. The practical intelligence is a combination of adaptation to the environment in order to have goals met, changing the environment in order to have goals met and if the two preceding acts are not working, moving to a new environment in which goals can be met. Individuals considered intelligent in one culture may be looked on as unintelligent in another. Sternberg’s theory is distinguished from other theories by not defining intelligence in terms of psychometric intelligence tests rather than performance in the everyday world. 12.5 ASSESSMENT OF INTELLIGENCE Alfred Binet, the French psychologist published the first modern version of intelligence test called the Binet-Simon intelligence scale, in 1905. He originally evolved the test to identify students who needed special help in coping with the school curriculum. Binet published revisions of his intelligence scale in 1908 and 1911. A further refinement of the Binet-Simon scale was published in in 1916 by Lewis Terman, the American Psychologist. Terman incorporated the suggestion of William Stern, the German psychologist that an individual's intelligence level be measured as an (I.Q.). Terman named the as the Standford-Binet. This scale formed the basis for one of the modern intelligence tests still commonly used today. 12.5.1 The Classical Tests of Intelligence The introduction of the Stanford-Binet IQ test initiated the modern intelligence test movement. The test employed questions of increasing difficulty, and included such items as attention, memory, and verbal skills. Terman had removed several of the BinetSimon test items and added completely new ones. The test gained acceptability and Rober Yerkes , the President of the American Psychological Association decided to use the test to develop the Army Alpha and Army Beta tests, which helped classify recruits to the Army. Thus, a high- scoring individual would get a grade of A (high officer material), whereas a low-scoring individual would get a grade of E and be rejected (Fancher, 1985). The Stanford-Binet test under went several revisions and by the time the fifth edition of the test came up it had been adminsitered to more a stratified sample of 4800 subjects This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com and norms have been developed on the data obtained on the sampele. By then the test had been found to have adequate validity as shown by correlation with the previous versions as well as other tests including WAIS.- III R. The Binet-Simon Fifth Edition included Fluid Reasoning , Knowledge, Quantitative Reasoning, Visual-Spatial Processing, and Working Memory as the five factors tested. Each of these factors is tested in two separate domains, verbal and nonverbal. Test items like verbal analogies used to test Verbal Fluid Reasoning and picture absurdities used to test Nonverbal Knowledge provide illustrtion of the type of items included in the test.It was suggeste that students with exceptional scores on this test may be deemed bright, moderately gifted, highly gifted, extremely gifted, or profoundly gifted in contrast to thethose who score poorly on this test. Applying the propertie of normal curve deviation of the subjects from the average was traced and used for identifying gifted as well as the individuals who had lower levels of intelligence were identified. The various rvisions of Standford-Binet Scales are presented in table below. Table 1 Test Structure of the Stanford-Binet: 1916 to 2003. (Adopted from Kirk A. Becker, Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition Assessment Service Bulletin Number 1, WWW.stanford-binet) Edition 1916 1937 1960/1973 1986 Structure Parallel vocabulary tests Single age scale Form L vocabulary test Parallel age scales Vocabulary test Single age scale Vocabulary routing test Subtest point scales Abilities Measured General intelligence General intelligence General intelligence General intelligence Verbal Reasoning Abstract/Visual Reasoning Quantitative Reasoning Short-Term Memory General intelligence Knowledge Fluid Reasoning Quantitative Reasoning Visual-Spatial Processing Working Memory Nonverbal IQ Verbal IQ 2003 Hybrid structure Verbal routing test Nonverbal routing test Verbal and nonverbal age scales 12.5.2 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale o r WAIS is a general test of intelligence (IQ). The test was first published in 1955 as a revision of the Wechler-Bellevue Test (1939). The later was a battery of tests that is composed from subtests Wechsler "adopted" from the Army Tests (Yerkes, 1921). Weschler defined intelligence as the This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com global capacity of a person to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his/her environment. WAIS comprises of 14 sub tests. There are 7 verbal sub tests and 7 nonverbal or performance sub tests in WAIS. Wechsler's tests provide three scores including a verbal IQ (VIQ) , a performance IQ (PIQ) and a composite, single full-scale IQ score based on the combined scores. The WAIS-R was standardized on a sample of 1,880 subjects in the age group ranging from 16 to 74. The current version is WAIS-III (1997). The median score of the sample on the full-scale IQ is centered at 100 with a standard deviation of 15. The WAIS-III is appropriate for assessing intelligence throughout adulthood and for use with those individuals over 74 years of age. WAIS, 7 – 16 yrs is used for assessing the IQ of the children aged between 7 to 16. Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI, 2 ½ - 7 yrs) For persons under 16, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC, 7-16 yrs) and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI, 2 1/2-7 yrs) is used.to assess IQ of the chilred in the age group of 2 ½ to 7 years. WAIS provides an IQ score in case only performance tests were adminsitered. A short, four-subtest, version of the battery has recently beenmade available. This permits clinicians to form a validated estimate of verbal, performance and full scale IQ in a shorter amount of time. The Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) uses the vocabulary, similarities, block design and matrix reasoning subtests of the WAIS to provide an estimate of the full IQ scores. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com The 14 subtests of the WAIS-III 12.5.3 Raven’s Matrices. Verbal Scale Non Verbal or Performance Scale Name of Test Picture Completion Digit Symbol Coding Name of Test Information Nature of the Test-Item Degree of general information acquired from culture (e.g. Who is the president of Russia?) Comprehension Ability to deal with abstract social conventions, rules and expressions (e.g. What does "Kill 2 birds with 1 stone" metaphorically mean?) Arithmetic Concentration while manipulating mental mathematical problems (e.g. How many 45c. stamps can you buy for a dollar?) Similarities Nature of the test itemTest-Item Ability to quickly perceive visual details Visual- motor coordination, motor and mental speed Block Design Spatial perception, visual abstract processing & problem solving Abstract verbal reasoning (e.g. In Matrix Reasoning what way are an apple and a pear alike?) The degree to which one has Picture learned, been able to Arrangement comprehend and verbally express vocabulary (e.g. What is a guitar?) attention/concentration (e.g. given the sequence of digits '123', reverse the sequence.) attention and working memory (e.g. Given Q1B3J2, place the numbers in numerical order and then the letters in alphabetical order) Symbol Search Vocabulary Nonverbal abstract problem solving, inductive reasoning, spatial reasoning Logical/sequential reasoning, social insight Digit span Visual perception, speed Letter-Number Sequencing Object Assembly Visual analysis, synthesis, and construction This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com J.C.Raven (1938) developed the Progressive Matrices. They popularly used tests of reasoning and clear thinking. They are well known as non verbal tests of abstract reasoning. Each item presents a matrix with a specific pattern and the respondent is asked to identify the missing segment required to complete a larger pattern. The test items are presented in the form of a 3x3 or 2x2 matrix, giving the test its name. The matrices are available in three different forms for testing the participants of different ability: 12.5.3.1 Standard Progressive Matrices were the original form of the matrices, published in 1938. The booklet comprises five sets (A to E) of 12 items each. The items within a set become increasingly difficult, requiring ever greater cognitive capacity to encode and analyze information. The items are presented in black ink on a white background. 12.5.3.2 Coloured Progressive Matrices was designed for use with younger children, the elderly, and people with moderate or severe learning difficulty. This test contains sets A and B from the standard matrices, with a further set of 12 items inserted between the two, as set Ab. Mostof the items are presented on a coloured background to make the test visually stimulating for the test taker. The very last few items in set B are presented as black-on-white. By this way, if participants performance surpassed the tester's expectations, transition to sets C, D, and E of the standard matrices is fecilitated. 12.5.3.3 Advanced Progressive Matrices contains 48 items, presented as one set of 12 (set I), and another of 36 (set II). Items are presented in black ink on a white background, and become increasingly difficult as progress is made through each set. The items are appropriate for adults and adolescents of above average intelligence. 12.5.3.4 The parallel forms of the standard and coloured progressive matrices were published in 1998. An extended form of the standard progressive matrices, Standard Progressive Matrices Plus, was also published at the same time, offering greater discrimination among more able young adults.Raven's Progressive Matrices and Vocabulary tests measure the two main components of general intelligence (Spearman’s g): the ability to think clearly and make sense of complexity, known as eductive ability and the ability to store and reproduce information, known as reproductive ability. 12.5.4 Culture-fair Intelligence Test Culture- fair intelligence tests are also called culture- free tests. They are designed to assess intelligence without relying on knowledge specific to any individual cultural group. The first culture- fair test developed to assess intelligence was the Army Examination Beta which was developed by the United States military during World War II to screen recruits of average intelligence who were illiterate or for whom English was a second language. From the postwar period, culture-fair tests, which rely largely on nonverbal questions were used in public schools with Hispanic students and other nonnative-English speakers who were not having familiarity with both English language and American culture. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 12.5.4.1 Cattell’s Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT). Raymond Cattell developed the Culture Fair Intelligence Test. (CFIT). The Cattell Culture Fair Series consist of scales one to three for ages four and four onward. The scales are intended to assess intelligence independent of cultural experience, verbal ability, or educational level. The tests consist mostly of paper-and-pencil questions involving the relationships between figures and shapes. Parts of scale one, used with the youngest age group, utilize various objects instead of paper and pencil. Activities in scales two and three, for children age eight and eight onwards, include completing series, classifying, and filling in incomplete designs 12.5.4.2 Sternberg Multidimensional Abilities Test (STAT). Sternberg published Sternberg Multidimensional Abilities Test (STAT) in 1992. The STAT is a battery of multiple-choice questions. The battery divided into nine multiple levels for differing ages, and will be suitable for group administration to individuals in kindergarten through college, as well as to adults. Two forms of the test are be available The questions purport to tap into the three independent aspects of intelligence including analytic, practical and creative ones proposed in Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence. The STAT measures three abilities including analytical, creative and practical using both multiple choice and essay questions. It yields separate scores for componential information processing (analytical ability), coping with novelty (synthetic ability) and (as a separate score) automatization and practical- intellectual skills. Crossed with these scores are scores for three content areas including verbal, quantitative, and figural. The various kinds of processing are each measured in each of the three content domains, yielding 4 x 3 = 12 separate subtests per level. It is possible to diagnose not only strengths and weaknesses in information processing, but also in various kinds of representations of information. The test is a group test, and can be administered in its totality in three class periods. Portions of can also be administered in the class in lesser period. Thus, the scores provided by the test correspond strictly to the aspects of intelligence specified by the Triarchic Theory. The theory specified that intelligence can be understood in terms of components of information processing being applied to relatively novel experience and later being automatized in order to serve three functions in the environment: adaptation to, selection of, and shaping of that environment. All the measures are considered important to success in life and have been used to develop programs for children and to select business managers. Together, the three measures provided more information than just the analytical intelligence measured by standard IQ tests. The STAT test items differ from those on conventional tests of intelligence. There is more emphasis on ability to learn than on what has been learned. For instance, verbal skill is measured by learning from context, not by vocabulary (which represents products rather than processes of learning). The test measures skills for coping with novelty, whereby the examinee must imagine a hypothetical state of the world (such as cats being magnetic) and then reason as though this state of the world were true. The test measures practical abilities, such as reasoning about advertisements and political slogans, not just about decontextualized words or geometric forms. These are only a few of the differences that separate this test from its predecessors claimed by its author. Sternberg admits that the STAT is not immune to effects of prior learning, nor is it "culture- free." However, he This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com states that his test seems broader and more comprehensive than other existing tests, and hence allows for more diversity in backgrounds than would be true of typical tests. 12.6 LET US SUM UP (i) Intelligence may be regarded as mental property that includes many related cognitive abilities, such as the capacities to reasoning, planning, problems solving, abstract thinking, comprehending ideas, using language, and learning. Numerous theories that have made attempts to explain the nature of the construct intelligence can be broadly classified into Factor theories and Process theories. (ii) (iii) Factor theories of intelligence focus on the structure of intelligence, that is, on the skills and abilities that it comprises of. In the course of development of intelligence theories several attempts have been made to slice the structure into different factors. (iv) Some of the factors theories of intelligence are Two- factor theory by Spearman, Seven Primary Mental Abilities by Thurston and Structure of Intellect by J.P.Guilford. (v) Two- factor theory by Spearman (1940) propose that intelligence is made up of two components: a g- factor or general intelligence and a s- factor or special factor involving the collection of specific intellectual abilities. (vi) Thurston found that intelligent behavior does not arise from a general factor, but rather emerges from seven independent factors which he prefered to call primary mental abilities. The primary abilities: word fluency, verbal comprehension, spatial visualization, number facility, associative memory, reasoning, and perceptual speed (Thurstone, 1938). (vii) J.P.Guilford, in his Structure of Intellect (SI) theory, has propounded a threedimensional model of intelligence. The theory views intelligence as comprising of operations, contents, and products. Since each of these dimensions is independent, there are theoretically 150 different components of intelligence possible to be identified and tested. (viii) Process theories of intelligence seek to understand intelligence as process. The Multiple Intelligence model by Howard Gardner and the triarchic theory of intelligence by Robert Sternberg represent approaches different to the one adopted by earlier psychologists. (ix) Howard Gardener developed the theory of multiple intelligences, and idenitified at least seven intelligences that include Linguistic intelligence, Logical- mathematical intelligence, Musical intelligence, Spatial intelligence, Bodily kinesthetic intelligence, Interpersonal intelligence and Intrapersonal intelligence. (x) In Triarchic Theory of Intelligence Sternberg proposed a theory of Practical intelligence. According to this theory, intelligence is defined as a multidimensional This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com trait that is comprised of three different abilities: Componential, Experiential, and Contextual. (xi) The Classical Tests of Intelligence include Army Alpha and Army Beta tests, which helped classify recruits to the Army. (xii) Modern version of intelligence testing started with Alfred Binet, who published the Binet-Simon intelligence scale, in 1905 which he revised in 1908 and 1911. Terman refined the Binet-Simon scale and published Standford-Binet Scale in 1916. (xiii) Other tests of intelligence are Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) an d its variations namely Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI), WISC; different forms of Raven’s Progressive Matrices namely Standard Progressive Matrices Coloured Progressive Matrices , Advanced Progressive Matrices , Standard Progressive Matrices Plus, Cattell’s Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT) and Sternberg Multidimensional Abilities Test (STAT) to name a few. 12.7 LESSON-END ACTIVITIES (i) Adapting test items from the standard test try making your own test of intelligence. (ii) Make a table with the plus and minus of each theory of intelligence you have studied in this lesson. 12.8 POINTS FOR DISCUSSION (i) Critical compare the trait theories of intelligence. (ii) Evaluate Sternberg’s theory of intelligence. (iii) Can any test be ‘culture fair’? 12.9 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS (i) Define intelligence and IQ? (ii) State the difference in perspectives of trait theories and process theories of intelligence. (iii) Which is the origin of intelligence testing? 12.10 REFERENCES Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint. Delhi: Akash Press. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology - The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com LESSON 13 EXTREMES OF INTELLIGENCE AND INFLEUNCES ON INTELLIGENCE 13.0 13.1 13.2 Aims and Objectives Introduction Extremes of Intelligence 13.2.1 Mental Retardation 13.2.1.1 Description 13.2.1.2 Mild Mental Retardation 13.2.1.3 Moderate Mental Retardation 13.2.1.4 Severe Mental Retardation 13.2.1.5 Profound Mental Retardation 13.2.2 Intellectual Giftedness 13.2.2.1 Definitions of Giftedness 13.2.2.2 Identification of the Gifted 13.2.2.3 Savantism 13.2.2.4 Triarchic Theory of Giftedness http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Standard_deviation_diagram.svg 13.2.2.5 Characteristics of Giftedness 13.2.2.5.1 Characteristics of gifted children 13.2.2.5.2 Characteristics of gifted adolescents 13.2.2.5.3 Characteristics of gifted adults Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence 13.3.1 Genetic Relationships and Intelligence 13.3.2 Environmental Influences 13.3.3.1 Head Start Programs 13.3.3.2 Kibbutzim Let us sum up Lesson-End activities Points for Discussion Check your progress References AIMS AND OBJECTIVES In the previous Unit we have discussed intelligence as a construct and the various theories of intelligence and also assessment of intelligence. After completion of this Unit you will be able to (i) appreciate different levels of mental retardation (ii) understand the construct of giftedness and theories of giftedness 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 13.8 13.0 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 13.1 (iii) the various factors influencing intelligence. INTRODUCTION There are wide individual differences in intelligence and intelligence is spread through various levels among the individuals. At one extreme are seen levels of intelligence characterizing mental retardation. On the other extreme of the intelligence continuum we find individuals having very high intelligence that contribute to giftedness. However, psychologists have now come to regard giftedness as not confined to only the range of intelligence and invoke other variables to explain giftedness. The extremes in levels of intelligence and the factors influencing intelligence are discussed here under. 13.2 EXTREMES OF INTELLIGENCE 13.2.1 Mental retardation Mental retardation is regarded as a developmental disability. It first appears in children under the age of 18. Mental disorder is defined as an intellectual functioning level that is well below average and significant limitations in daily living skills. The level of intellectual functioning is determined by using standard intelligence tests and considering the IQ obtained on them. The living skills connote the adaptive functioning. 13.2.1.1 Description. Mental retardation begins in childhood or adolescence, before the age of 18, and persists throughout adulthood in most cases. An individual diagnosed as having mental retardation if he or she has an intellectual functioning level well below average and significant limitations in two or more adaptive skill areas. Mental retardation is operationally defined as IQ score below 70-75 on standardized tests that measure the ability to reason. Adaptive skills include the ability to produce and understand language (communication), home- living skills, use of community resources, health, safety, leisure, self-care, and social skills, self-direction, functional academic skills (reading, writing, and arithmetic), and work skills. Mentally retarded children reach developmental milestones such as walking and talking much later than the general population. Symptoms of mental retardation may appear at birth or later in childhood, and the time of onset depends on the suspected cause of the disability. In certain cases of mild mental retardation, diagnosis may not be made before the child enters preschool. Because, in these cases, the children typically have difficulties with social, communication, and functional academic skills which could be observed prior to they entering the school. Children with a neurological disorder or illness such as encephalitis or meningitis may suddenly show signs of cognitive impairment and adaptive difficulties. Mental retardation varies in severity. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) is the diagnostic standard for professionals in mental health in the United States. The DSM-IV classifies four different degrees of mental retardation: mild, moderate, severe, and profound. These categories are based on the functioning level of the individual. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 13.2.1.2 Mild mental retardation. Children who have their IQ score range from 50-75, are diagnosed for mild mental retardation. They can often acquire academic skills up to the 6th grade level. The mildly retarded can become fairly self-sufficient and in some cases, live independently, with community and social support. 13.2.1.3 Moderate mental retardation. Children who have their IQ score range from 35-55, are diagnosed for moderate mental retardation. Moderately retarded individuals can carry out work and self-care tasks with moderate supervision. They typically acquire communication skills in childhood and are able to live and function successfully within the community in a supervised environment. 13.2.1.4. Severe mental retardation. Children who have their IQ score range from 2040, are diagnosed for severe mental retardation. Severely retarded individuals may master very basic self-care skills and some communication skills. Many severely retarded individuals are able to live in a group home. 13.2.1.5. Profound mental retardation. Children who have their IQ score range from 20-25, are diagnosed for profound mental retardation. Profoundly retarded individuals may be able to develop basic self-care and communication skills with appropriate support and training. Their retardation is often caused by an accompanying neurological disorder, and they need a high level of structure and supervision. The American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR) has also developed another widely accepted diagnostic classification system for mental retardation focusing on the capabilities of the retarded individual rather than on the limitations. The categories used in this classification system describe the level of support required. They are: intermittent support, limited support, extensive support, a n d pervasive support. The AAMR classification mirrors the DSM-IV classification. Intermittent support, for instance, refers to support needed only occasionally, during times of stress or crisis. This the type of support typically required for most mildly retarded individuals. Pervasive support, or life-long, daily support for most adaptive areas, would be required for the profoundly retarded. 13.2.1 Intellectual Giftedness 13.2.1.1 Definitions of giftedness. Lewis Terman has been a source of influenicing psychologists and educationists to equated giftedness with high IQ. This trend continues even today evern though work of Guilford and Gardner and others have demonstrated the existence of multiple intelligence. Researches conducted in the 1980s and 1990s has lent increasing support to the credibility of the notions of multiple components of intelligence. Most of the recent investigators define giftedness in terms of multiple qualities, not all of which are intellectual. Thus, IQ scores are often viewed as inadequate measures of giftedness, and motivation, high self-concept, and creativity seem to be recognized as the key qualities in many of these broadened conceptions of giftedness. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com The work of Sternberg and Davidson in presenting the varied conceptions of giftedness to show that the many different conceptions of giftedness presented are distinct and that the conceptions of giftedness are interrelated in several ways. Most of the investigators define giftedness in terms of multiple qualities, not all of which are intellectual and IQ scores are often viewed as inadequate measures of giftedness. Motivation, high self-concept, and creativity are key qualities in many of these broadened conceptions of giftedness. Joseph Renzulli's (1978) has put forth a definition called "three ring" definition of giftedness. Renzulli defines gifted behaviors rather than gifted individuals. The three ring theory suggests that gifted behavior consists of three components that reflect an interaction among three basic clusters of human traits. These include above average ability, high levels of task commitment, and high levels of creativity. Those possessing or capable of developing this composite set of traits and applying them to any potentially valuable area of human performance are potential candidates to become gifted in their behavior. These individuals capable of developing gifted behavior require a wide variety of educational opportunities and services that are not ordinarily provided through regular instructional programs 13.2.2.2 Identification of the Gifted. A varity of measures including portfolios of student work, classroom observations, achievement measures, and intelligence scores are currently used for identifying gifteness (Johnsen, S. K., 2004). Identifying Gifted Students: A Practical Guide." Waco, Texas: Prufrock Press, Inc.. As seen intelligence is one of the measures used in identification of gifteness is the score derived from an intelligence measure. The general cutoff for many programs for the gifted is often placed near the sigma 2 level on a standardized intelligent test ; children above this level being labeled 'gifted'. Some assessors testing IQ use the following classifications to describe differing levels of giftedness. The following bands apply with a standard deviation of σ = 15 on a standardized IQ test. Each band represents a difference of one standard deviation from the mean of a standard deviation. Bright: 115+, or one in six (84th percentile) Moderately gifted: 130+, or 1 in 50 (97.9th percentile) Highly gifted: 145+, or 1 in 1000 (99.9th percentile) Exceptionally gifted: 160+, or 1 in 30,000 (99.997th percentile) Profoundly gifted: 175+, or 1 in 3 million (99.99997th percentile) This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Most tests of IQ do not have the capacity to make finer discrimination among the levels of intellignece at higher levels of IQ.gifted individuals although they may be only effective at determining whether a student is gifted rather than distinguishing among levels of giftedness. The Wechsler tests, for instance have a ceiling of about 16and it has been stated by Wechsler, the author of the test, that they are intended to be used within the average range (between 70 and 130), and that they are not intended for use at the extreme ends of the population. Many people believe giftedness is a strictly quantitative difference, measurable by IQ tests. Others have described giftedness as a fundamentally different way of perceiving the world, which in turn affects every experience had by the gifted individual. 13.2.2.3 Savantism. Savants are the people who perform exceptionally in one field of learning. Autistic savantism connotes the exceptional abilities exhibited by autistics or people with developmental disorders. The term savaantism was introduced in a 1978 article in Psychology Today that described this condition. 13.2.2.4 Triarchic Theory of giftedness. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Standard_deviation_diagram.svg Gifted individuals are proficient in using the knowledge-acquisition components. They are able to learn new information at a greater rate (Sternberg, 1997). The knowledge-acquisition components are used in obtaining new information. They complete tasks that involve selectively choosing information from irrelevant information. They can also be used to selectively combine the various pieces of information they have gathered. Sternberg associated the componential subtheory with analytical giftedness.. This is one of three types of giftedness that Sternberg recognizes. Analytical giftedness is influential in being able to take apart problems and being able to see solutions not often seen. Individuals with only this type are not as adept at creating unique ideas of their own. This is the form of giftedness that is tested most often. Other areas deal with creativity and other abilities that are not easily tested. Sternberg gave the example of a student, “Alice”, who had excellent test scores and grades, and teachers viewed her as extremely smart. She was later seen as having trouble in graduate school because she was not adept at creating ideas of her own (Sternberg, 1997). The experiential subtheory correlates with another one of Sternberg’s types of giftedness. Synthetic giftedness is seen in creativity, intuition, and a study of the arts. Individuals with synthetic giftedness are not often seen with the highest Iqs, because there are not currently any tests that can sufficiently measure these attributes. But synthetic giftedness is especially useful in creating new ideas to create and solve new problems. Sternberg also associated another one of his students, “Barbara”, to the synthetic giftedness. Barbara did not perform as well as Alice on the tests taken to get into school, but was recommended to get admission at Yale University based on her exceptional creative and intuitive skills. Barbara was found to be very valuable in creating new ideas for research at later stage (Sternberg, 1997). This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com The contextual subtheory of Sternberg explains another type of giftedness, called practical giftedness. This involves the ability to apply synthetic and analytic skills to everyday situations. Practically gifted people are superb in their ability to succeed in any setting (Sternberg, 1997). An example of this type of giftedness given by Sternberg is "Celia". Celia who did not have outstanding analytical or synthetic abilities, but ‘was highly successful in figuring out what she needed to do in order to succeed in an academic environment’. She was found to knew what kind of research was valued, how to get articles into journals, how to impress people at job interviews, and the like, p.44). Celia’s contextual intelligence allowed her to use these skills to her best advantage. Sternberg also admits that an individual is not restricted to having excellence in only one of these three intelligences. Many people may possess an integration of all three and may have high levels of all three intelligences. 13.2.2.5 Characteristics of giftedness. Gifted individuals, in general, learn more quickly, deeply, and broadly than their peers ; may learn to read early and operate at the same level as normal children who are significantly older ; tend to demonstrate high reasoning ability, creativity, curiosity, a large vocabulary, and an excellent memory; often can master concepts with few repetitions, and may also be physically and emotionally sensitive, perfectionistic, and may frequently question authority.. Some have trouble relating to or communicating with their peers due to disparities in vocabulary size (especially in the early years), personality, and interests. Creative individuals, as children, they may prefer the company of older children or adults (The National Foundation for Gifted and Creative Children, USA,2007) Giftedness is often found not evenly distributed throughout all intellectual spheres an individual may excel in solving logic problems and still be a poor speller while another gifted individual may be able to read and write at a far above average level and still have trouble with mathematics. It seems possible that there are different types of giftedness with their own unique features. Some gifted individuals experience hightened sensory awareness showing and are overly sensitive to sight, sound, smell and touch. For instance, they may get extremely uncomfortable seeing a wrinkle in their socks or may get disturbed showing difficulty in concentration hearing the sound of the ticking clock. This resembles sensory overload that can cause one to avoid chaotic and crowded environments. There are also some gifted individuals who are able to keep unwanted distractions out and focus on the task. Such individuals are able to thrive in midst of activity and stimulation. However, there are many cases whose awareness may fluctuate between conditions of hyperstimulation and withdrawal. 13.2.2.5.1 Characteristics of Gifted Children. The National Foundation for Gifted and Creative Children, USA (2007) has listed the characteristics of gifted children This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com and the characteristics include high sensitivity, excessive amounts of energy, boredom and a short attention span. They require emotionally stable and secure adults around. They resist authority if it not democratically oriented. They have preferred ways of learning, particularly in reading and mathematics. They may become easily frustrated because of entertaining their own big ideas and not having the resources or people to assist them individually in carrying these tasks to fruition. They learn from an exploratory level and resist rote memory and just being a listener. They cannot sit still unless absorbed in something of his/her own interest. They are very compassionate and have many fears such as death and loss of loved ones, If they experience failure early, may give up and develop permanent learning blocks, and may also withdraw when they feel threatened or alienated and may sacrifice their creativity in order to "belong". Many children tested exhibit a high IQ, are often exhibit "frozen" creativity as well. Often there is an ability to express their feelings initially. 13.2.2.5.2 Characteristics of Gifted Adolescents. Young gifted people between the ages of 11 and 15 frequently report a range of problems. Several dynamics of giftedness seems to continually interfere with adjustment gains during adolescence. Buescher (1986) found that gifted young people encounter several potent obstacles, singly or in combination, , during the early years of adolescence. Ownership: Talented adolescents "own" and yet simultaneously question the validity and reality of the abilities they possess. Older students and adults have been found to entertain of disbelief, doubt, and lack of self-esteem (Olszewski, Kulieke, & Willis, 1987). This is called "impostor syndrome." While talents have been recognized in many cases at an early age, doubts about the accuracy of identification and the objectivity of parents or favorite teachers continue to be entertained by the gifted individual (Delisle & Galbraith, 1987; Galbraith, 1983). The peer pressure toward conformity, coupled with any adolescent's wavering sense of being can lead to the denial of even the most outstanding ability. The resulting conflict, whether mild or acute, has to be resolved by gaining a more mature "ownership" and responsibility for the identified talent. Further, since they have been given gifts in abundance, they feel that they must give of themselves in abundance. This adds to the pressures experienced by them. The receiving gifts is also felt to imply that their abilities belong to parents, teachers, and society. Dissonance: Talented adolescents often feel like perfectionists. They set their standards high and expect to do more and be more than their abilities might allow. Childhood desires to do demanding tasks in a perfect manner get more exaggerated during adolescence. Talented adolescents experience real dissonance between what is actually done and how well they expected it to be accomplished. Taking Risks: Risk taking has been used to characterize younger gifted and talented children, but it decreases with age, so that the bright adolescent is much less likely to take chances than others. This may be due to the fact that gifted adolescents appear to be more aware of the repercussions of certain activities, whether these are positive or negative. Less risk taking could be attributed to the need to maintain control. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Competing Expectations: Adolescents are susceptible to criticism, suggestions, and emotional appeals from others. Delisle (1985) has pointed out that the "pull" of an adolescent's own expectations must swim against the strong current posed by the "push" of others' including those of parent and teachers, desires and demands. The dilemma gets more complicated by the numerous options within the reach of a highly talented student. Impatience: As adolescents, gifted adolescent students can be impatient in many ways. The may be eager to find solutions for difficult questions, anxious to develop satisfying friendships, and prone to selecting difficult but immediate alternatives for complex decisions. This predisposition for impulsive decision making, combined with exceptional talent, can make young gifted adolescents particularly intolerant of ambiguous, unresolved situations. T Premature Identity: Due to the competing expectations, low tolerance for ambiguity, and the pressure of multiple potentials an adolescent wants to have an adult like identity, a stage normally achieved after the age of 21, much earlier in his age. . This would create a serious problem for talented adolescents. They may reach out prematurely for career choices that will short cut the normal process of identity crisis and resolution. 13.2.2.5.3 Characteristics of Gifted Adults. The personality traits and social and emotional needs of gifted children have been widely described (Erlich, 1982; Terman, 1925; Torrance, 1962; Webb, Meckstroth, & Tolan, 1982). Several longitudinal studies have indicated that the early advantage experienced by gifted children continues into adulthood: gifted children become adults of superior vocational achievement, generally satisfied with themselves and their lives (Oden, 1968; Terman & Oden, 1947,1959). Inspite of this, by age 62, most gifted men have experienced the same dissatisfactions with family life, as have most people (R.R. Sears, 1977). Among the female subjects the women who reported to be happiest had been found to be those who had the best coping skills, and the skills were dependent on their early experience (P.S. Sears & Barbee, 1977). The effects of early experience, particularly in terms of early educational advantage, seem to be one of the most important contributory factors in later adult achievement (Bloom, 1964; Oden, 1968; Terman, 1925). The predominant characteristics found among male scientists (Roe, 1952), creative artists and writers (Cattell, 1971), female mathematicians (Helson, 1971), and architects (MacKinnon, 1962), among others, include impulsivity, curiosity, high need for independence, high energy level, introversion, intuitiveness, emotional sensitivity, and nonconformity. Based on anecdotal and observational material as a basis, Lovecky (2003) has described five traits that seem to be present in gifted adults and that seem to be central features of their giftedness. These traits include divergency, excitability, sensitivity, perceptivity, and entelechy. They produce potential interpersonal and intrapersonal conflict, and unless otherwise the gifted adults learn to value themselves and find support, identity conflicts and depression may result. Self- growth through knowing and This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com accepting self may lead to the discovery of sources of personal power. Nurturing relationships through realistic expectations and learning to share one may provide a supportive environment for the gifted adults to grow and flourish. 13.3 GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES Individuals differ from one another in their intellectual ability. How much of this difference can be attributed to the particular genes we inherit, and how much to the environment in which we are raised? Though the heredity – environment issue, has been debated in regard to many aspects of human behavior, the focus has primarily been on the area of intelligence. Most experts agree that at least some aspects of intelligence are inherited, but opinions on the relative contributions made by heredity and environment differs. 13.3.1 Genetic Relationships and Intelligence Studies correlating IQs between persons of various degrees of genetic relationship have been the source of evidence bearing on the inheritance of intelligence. Results of over 100 studies of this nature are tabulated below: Familial resemblance in intelligence test performance. Adopted from a survey of 110 studies compiled by Bonchard and Mc Cue (1981). Relationship Identical Twins Reared together Reared apart Fraternal Twins Reared together Siblings Reared together Reared apart Parent / child Foster parent / child Cousins Correlation 0.82 0.72 0.60 0.47 0.24 0.40 0.31 0.15 In general, more similar tested intelligence is seen in closer genetic relationship. As may be seen from the above table, the average correlation between the IQs of parents and their natural children is 0.40; and the correlation between parents and their adopted children is 0.31. The pair sharing genetic relationship seems to have a higher correlation between their IQs than the pair that does not share the relationship. It is also seen in case of twin studies. Identical twins, because they develop from a single egg, share precisely the same heredity. We find the correlation between their IQs is This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com very high of about 0.86. The correlation between the IQs of fraternal twins (who develop from separate eggs and are not more alike genetically than ordinary siblings) is about 0.60. Here again, the pair that shares closer genetic relationship has higher correlation between their IQs than the other pair. The results shown in the table indicate that although genetic determinants of intelligence are strong, environment is also important. It is noted that when siblings are reared together – in the same home environment – IQ similarity increases. Other studies have shown that adopted children’s intellectual ability is higher than what would be predicted on the basis of their natural parents’ ability. Though the effect of nature (or genetics) on intelligence is obvious the fact that environment also make a difference in intelligence cannot be denied. Estimation of what portion of the variability in test scores is due to environment and what portion is due to heredity is possible using trait similar to those given in the table. Several methods are followed to arrive at these estimates. The widely used method is comparing the variability of fraternal and identical twins on a given trait. Two quantities are estimated in order to do this. They are: (a) Estimate of the total variability due to both heredity and environment (VT). This is estimated from the observed difference between pairs of fraternal twins, and Estimate of the environmental variability alone (VE). This is estimated from the observed differences between pairs of identical twins. (b) The difference between the two quantities is the variability due to genetic factors (VG). It can be stated as VT – VE = VG The heritability ratio is given by the ratio between genetic variability and total variability as shown below. VG / H = VT or VG / VT = H. Heritability, hence, may be defined as the proportion of a trait’s variation within a specified population that can be attributed to genetic differences. Heritability can assume any value between 0 and 1. H approaches 1 when identical twins resemble each other much more than fraternal twins on a given trait. H approaches 0 when the resemblance between Identical twins is about the same as the resemblance between fraternal twins on a given trait. Estimation of H can be done in a number of ways other than by comparing identical and fraternal twins. The theory that permits us to make such estimates is very elaborate and is presented at length in genetic textbooks. But for our purpose, it is sufficient to state that H measures the fraction of the observed variance in a population that is caused by differences in heredity. An important point to be noted is that H refers to This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com a population of individuals, not a single individual. For instance, the attribute height has an H of 0.90. This means that 90% of the variance in height observed in a population is due to genetic differences and 10% is due to environmental differences. While discussing intelligence H is generally used to designate the fraction of an individual’s intelligence that is due to heredity. However, using the term in this way is incorrect. Studies on intelligences show wide variations in their report on heritability estimates for intelligence. While some researchers report values as high as 0.87; others report values as low as 0.10. The estimate of H for the date presented in the table is 0.46 (Chipuer, Rovine & Plomin, 1989). The wide variation in heritability estimates suggests that the research is weighed down by a number of uncontrolled variables that influence the results in ways that cannot be specified. It is to be remembered that heritability research is based on field studies and not on well-controlled laboratory experiments; individual cases are observed where they can be found. Field studies are always subject to the influence of uncontrolled variables and it is particularly seen when different investigators report quite different conclusions. The situation is further complicated by the fact that assumptions made in assessing heritability may not always be correct. For example, in research on twins, the assumption is that twins who are reared together experience roughly the same environment, whether they are fraternal or identical twins. But this may not be true. Identical twins look more alike than fraternal twins. It is possible that this may be lead to parents and others treating them more alike than fraternal twins. A reliable estimate of heritability is not possible due to the absence of better – controlled studies. Though heredity clearly has an effect on intelligence, the degree of this effect is uncertain. Probably it is less influential than claimed by some researchers but not completely nonexistent, as others have claimed (Kamin, 1976). Most probably, a number of genes whose individual effects are small but cumulative may be determining intellectual ability. 13.3.2 Environmental Influences. Nutrition, health, quality of stimulation, type of feedback elicited by behavior and emotional climate of the home are few of the environmental conditions that determine how an individual’s intellectual potential will develop. Given two children with the same genes, the higher IQ score when tested in first grade will be attained by the child with the better prenatal and postnatal nutrition, the more intellectually stimulating and emotionally secure home, and the more appropriate rewards for academic accomplishments. Studies have shown that IQ difference between children of low and high socio-economic status become progressively greater between birth and entrance into school. This suggests that environmental conditions accentuate whatever differences in intelligence are present at birth (Bayley, 1970). 13.3.2.1 Head Start Programs: Efforts have been made to provide more intellectual stimulation for children from underprivileged families during their early years because these children tend to fall behind in cognitive development even before they enter school. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com In 1965, as part of President Johnson’s War on Poverty, funds for a number of programs designed to provide learning experiences for 2 – 5 years – olds from poor homes was authorized by the Congress. Project head Start funded these programs and they varied in their approach. Some programs had special teachers visit the children at home several times a week to play with them. They got the children engaged in activities like building with blocks, looking at pictures, and naming colors. They even taught the children concepts as big - little and rough – smooth. In brief, the kind of intellectual stimulations that children in upper-class homes usually receive from their parents were provided by the teachers. The parents were also taught how to provide the same kinds of activities for their children. In other programs, the children attended special classes that involved similar interactions with teachers where the children were engaged in play – learning activities. While some of these programs involved the parents others did not. In general, these early education programs have been showing promising results. Higher scores were found in children who have participated in such programs on the Stanford – Binet or WISC on entering school and they tend to be more self confident and socially competent than children who have not received special attention. Follow- up studies suggested that early educational programs produce some lasting benefits. Several studies have followed progress of disadvantaged children who participated in special preschool programs when they were 3 years of age upto high school. By the time they were 15 years of age, these students were more than a full grade ahead of a matched control group of students who had received no preschool experience. In addition to this, comparison of the students with preschool experience with the control group showed that they scored higher on tests of reading, arithmetic, and language usages, were less apt to need special remedial classes, they exhibited less antisocial behavior; and were more likely to hold after – school jobs (Hohmann, Banet, & Weikart, 1979; Palmer & Anderson, 1979; Lazar & Darlington, 1982; Zigler & Berman, 1983; Lee, Brooks Gunn & Schnur, 1988). Head Start programs showed that early intellectual stimulation can have a significant impact on later school performance. But they appear to be less important than parental involvement. Programs that actively involve the parents produce the greatest gains. Such programs may induce t interest them in their children’s development and show them how to provide a more stimulating home environment (Darlington, 1986). 13.3.3.2 Kibbutzim: Studies of children living in Israeli Kibbutzim demonstrate the environmental effects on intellectual performance even more dramatic than Head Start. For some time, large differences in intellectual and educational background among Jews of different cultural ancestry were the problem faced by Israel. Generally, the average intellectual ability of Jews of European ancestry is considerably higher than that of Jews of Arabic countries. Israeli children who are raised on certain types of Kibbutzim, where they do not reside with their parent but live in a children’s house under the care of women specially trained in child rearing are exceptions to this observation. The children’s IQ scores under these special conditions tend to be unrelated to the country of parental origin. Children whose parents came from Arabic countries score as high as This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com children whose parents came from Europe. Although individual differences in IQ scores still exist, the differences cannot be attributed to ancestry (Smilansky, 1974; Rabin & Beit – Hallahmi, 1982). Thus, the contribution an enriched environment can make toward helping children reach their intellectual potential can be indicated. 13.4 LET US SUM UP (i) Mental disorder is defined as an intellectual functioning level that is well below average and significant limitations in daily living skills. (ii) The level of intellectual functioning is determined by using a standard intelligence tests and considering the IQ obtained on them. (iii)Mentally retarded children reach developmental milestones much later than the general population (iv) Based o n functional levels the DSM-IV classifies four different degrees of mental retardation: mild, moderate, severe, and profound. (v) Lewis Terman has been a source of influenicing psychologists and educationists to equated giftedness with high IQ. This trend continues even today. (vi) Many different conceptions of giftedness are presented and they are distinct, but,interrelated in several ways. (vii) Most of the investigators define giftedness in terms of multiple qualities, not all of which are intellectual and IQ scores are often viewed as inadequate measures of giftedness. (viii) Sternberg suggests that gifted individuals are able to learn new information at a greater rate , have greater creativity and intution, and practival intellignce. (ix) Gifted individuals learn effeciently, have high reasoning ability, creativity, curiosity, a large vocabulary, and an excellent memory; physically and emotionally sensitive, perfectionistic, and may frequently question authority (x) Gifted children and adolescents have distinct personality charateristics. (xi) Most experts agree that at least some aspects of intelligence are inherited, but opinions on the relative contributions made by heredity and environment differs. 13.5 LESSON-END ACTIVITIES (i) Think of any one you know in person who is mentally retarded and estimate his level of mental retardation based on information you have on that person. (ii) Think of any one you know in person who is gifted and estimate try to compare his potentialities in terms of Sternberg’s mental components. (iii) Make a self-estimate of your intelligence level. (iv) Enumerate your characteristics that are similar to be found in gifted people. 13.6 POINTS FOR DISCUSSION (i) Whether mental retarded has no hope in life for self- functioning? (ii) Critically evaluate the use of IQ to identify the gifted. (iii) What are the consequences of being mentally retarded or gifted? This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com (iv) How do you account for your IQ in terms of contributions of heredity and environment? 13.7 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS (1) What is mental retardation and what would be impact of different levels of intelligence at lower levels? (2) What is giftedness and how giftedness in people are recognized? (3) How heredity and environment determine the level of intelligence of an individual? 13.8 REFERENCES Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint. Delhi: Akash Press. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology - The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com LESSON 14 CREATIVITY 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Aims and Objectives Introduction Definitions of creativity Creative Person 14.3.1 Affect and Creativity 14.3.2 Characteristics of creative individuals 14.4 Creative Process 14.4.1 Divergence process 14.4.2 Creative Problem Solving Model 14.5 Intelligence Creativity Distinction 14.6 Neurobiology of creativity 14.7 Measuring Creativity 14.7.1 The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking 14.7.2 The Creativity Achievement Questionnaire 14.7.3 Guilford test of divergent production 14.7.4 Other tests of Creativity 14.8 Let us sum up 14.9 Lesson-End activities 14.10 Points for Discussion 14.11 Check your progress 14.12 References 14.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES In the last Unit we discussed the constructs of mental retardation and giftedness and characteristics of gifted individuals, and also the factors influencing intelligence. After going through this lesson you will be able to: (i) Understand the nature of motivation (ii) Personal dynamics of creativity (iii)The processes underling creativity (iv) The steps involved in creative problem solving and (v) Appreciate the various tests that are used to assess creativity of individuals. 14.1 INTRODUCTION The word creativity in English and most other European languages is derived from the original word Latin word creatus, which literally means "to have grown." This etimological tracing of the word is reflected in the usage of the term in the literature that creativity is manifested in the production of a creative work (as for instance, a new work of art or a scientific hypothesis) that is both original a n d useful. Lay men attribute creativity to splindid peieces of arts and literature that revit one’s attention. Though This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com creativity is strikingly seen in these fields it is equally associated with any creation in any field including economics, commerce, engineering and technology, engineering, medicine, law, agriculture, etc. Since mental representations and processes underly creative thought study of creativity is mainly religated to psychology and cognitive science.Psycholgists use the term to refer to a well identified phenomena and restricting it to scecific constructs. The term creativity is a psychological phenomena that contribute to mental process involving the generation of new ideas and concepts or new associations between existing ideas or concepts.Creativity is viewed as primarily a thought process involving searching and seeking solutions that are original and appropriate, and elegant. In common parlance any thing new is reagrded as involving creativity for its production.No authoritarian defininition or standardized technique of measurement is available in psychological literature. However, J.P.Guilford had been recognized to be an recognized authority on this important subject. 14.2 DEFINITIONS OF CREATIVITY Several attempts have been made to define creativity in precise term. As many as sixty different definitions of creativity can be found in the psychological literature (Taylor,1988). Rhodes(1961) has distinguished between creative person, creative product, creative process, creative press or environment. Psychological analyses pertain to one or more of these ingredients of creativity. Johnson (1972), admits the presence of the different factors in creative activity and emphasizes that creative activity may exhibit several dimensions including sensitivity to problems on the part of the creative agent, originality, ingenuity, unusualness, usefulness, and appropriateness in relation to the creative product, and intellectual leadership on the part of the creative agent. Boden (2004) distinguishes between between ideas which are psychologically creative,which are novel to the individual mind which had the idea, and those which are historically creative, which are novel with respect to the whole of human history. She defines psychologically creative ideas as those which cannot be produced by the same set of generative rules as other, familiar ideas. Kostler (1964) emphasizes that a a concomitant presence of inspiration, cognitive leaps, or instutive insight is always present as a part of creative thought and action. Creativity could be distinguished from innovtion. Creativity is typically used to refer to the act of producing new ideas, approaches or actions, while innovation is used to denote the process of both generating and applying such creative ideas in some specific context. The term innovation is often used to refer to the entire process by which an organization generates creative new ideas and converts them into novel, useful and viable commercial products, services, and business practices. On the other hand, the term creativity is reserved to apply specifically to the generation of novel ideas by individuals or groups, as a necessary step within the innovation process.Amabile et al. (1996) suggest that while innovation begins with creative ideas," and "...creativity by individuals and teams is a starting point for innovation; the first is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the second." This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Standard literature on criativity may be dated to have begun in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when Helmholtz (1896) and Poincare (1908) had publicly discuss their creative processes. The early accounts of the creative process by the pioneering theorists including Graham Wallace (1926) and Max Wertheimer (1945) incorporated these insights.. However, the formal launching of the scientific study of creativity, from the standpoint of psychology may be said to have been made by in his presidential address focusing on concept and measurement of creativity by J.P.Guilford in 1950. More pragmatic approaches in teaching practical creative techniques may be credited to Osborn (1950), Altshuller (1950 to date) and Edward de Bono (1960 to date). The works of them have contributed to brainstorming, inventive problems techniques and lateral thinking respectively. 14.3 CREATIVE PERSON Koestler in work, The Act of Creation, has identified three types of creative individuals inclusing, the Artist, the Sage and the Jester. Such types involve elments necessary in business and could be recognized in truly creative companies.Biosociation contributes to creativity in that creativity arises as a result of the intersection of two quite different frames of reference. 14.3.1 Affect and Creativity Isen suggests that positive affect has three primary effects on cognitive activity It makes additional cognitive material available for processing, increasing the number of cognitive elements available for association. It leads to defocused attention and a more complex cognitive context, increasing the breadth of those elements that are treated as relevant to the problem. Finally, it increases cognitive flexibility, increasing the probability that diverse cognitive elements will in fact become associated. Thus these processes together lead positive affect to have a positive influence on creativity. In her Broaden and Build Model, Fredrickson suggests that positive emotions such as joy and love broaden a person’s available repertoire of cognitions and actions, thus enhancing creativity. Thus, it is reported that positive emotions increasing the number of cognitive elements available for association (attention scope) and the number of elements that are relevant to the problem (cognitive scope). Curiously, negative affect has also been foun to lead to greater creativity. Arnold Ludwig studied a large sample of 1,005 prominent 20th century individuals from over 45 different professions. Hefound a slight but significant correlation between depression and level of creative achievement. Further, several systematic studies of highly creative individuals and their relatives have uncovered a higher incidence of affective disorders (primarily bipolar illness and depression) among them than that found in the general population. It is reported that four patterns of relations could be identified with regard to affect-creativity relationship. Creativity affect can operate as an antecedent to creativity, This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com or as a direct consequence of creativity, or as an indirect consequence of creativity and affect can occur simultaneously with creative activity. Susan (2006) has summarized the findings of researchers regarding the affective characteristics of highly gifted students. A gifted individual, · · · · · · · · · · · · · Is motivated in work that excites. Persists in completing tasks in areas of interest. Is self-directed, independent. Evaluates and judges critically. Has high degree of concentration. Becomes bored with routine tasks. Is interested in “adult” problems. Is concerned about right and wrong, ethics. Has higher self-concept, particularly in academics. Has a high expectation of self and others. Has a sense of humor. Is highly sensitive. Takes other perspectives; is empathic. 14.3.2 Characteristics of creative individuals Susan (2006) summarized the findings of various researcher regarding the characteristics consistently found relating to individuals with highly creative (divergent production) individuals. A high creative individual · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · Has in-depth foundational knowledge. Prefers complexity and open-endedness. Contributes new concepts, methods, products, or performances. Has extreme fluency of thoughts and a large number of ideas. Is observant and pays attention to detail. Uses unique solutions to problems, improvises. Challenges existing ideas and products. Connects disparate ideas. Is constantly asking questions. Criticizes constructively. Is a risk taker, confident. Is attracted to the novel, complex, and mysterious. Is a nonconformist, uninhibited in expression, adventurous, able to resist group pressure. Accepts disorder. Tolerates ambiguity; delays closure. Is persistent and task committed in area of interest. Has a sense of humor. Is intellectually playful. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com · · · · · Is aware of own creativity. Is emotionally sensitive; sensitive to beauty. Is intuitive. Enjoys alone time. Is reflective about personal creative process. 14.3.3 Self-actualizing Personality Abraham Maslow studied acclaimed historical personalities including including Abraham Lincoln), Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Albert Einstein, Aldous Huxley, William James, Spinoza, Goethe, Pablo Casals, Pierre Renoir, Robert Browning, Walt Whitman, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jan Addams, Albert Schweitzer, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Joseph Haydn among others as potential models of a self-actualized person. Based on his findings Maslow identified the following characteristics as characterizing self-actualizing people. These characteristics include the following. Realistic. Realistically oriented, a Self-Actualizing (SA) person has a more efficient perception of reality, and has comfortable relations with it. This is extended to all areas of life. A Self- Actualizing person is unthreatened and unfrightened by the unknown. He has a superior ability to reason, to see the truth, and is logical and efficient. Self- Acceptance. Accepts himself, others and the natural world the way they are. Sees human nature as is, has a lack of crippling guilt or shame, enjoys himself without regret or apology, and has no unnecessary inhibitions. Spontaneity, Simplicity, Naturalness. Spontaneous in his inner life. Thoughts and impulses are unhampered by convention. His ethics are autonomous, and Self-actualizing individuals are motivated to continual growth. Focus of Problem Centering. A Self-actualizing person focuses on problems and people outside of himself. He has a mission in life requiring much energy, as it is his sole reason for existence. He is serene, characterized by a lack of worry, and is devoted to duty. Detachment: The Need for Privacy. The Self-actualized person can be alone and not be lonely, is unflappable, and retains dignity amid confusion and personal misfortunes, all the while remaining objective. He is a self starter, is responsible for himself, and owns his behavior. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Autonomy: Independent of Culture and Environment The SA person has a fresh rather than stereotyped appreciation of people and the basic good in life. Moment to moment living for him is thrilling, transcending, and spiritual as he lives the present moment to the fullest. Peak experiences "Feelings of limitless horizons opening up to the vision, the feeling of being simultaneously more powerful and also more helpless than one ever was before, the feeling of ecstasy and wonder and awe, the loss of placement in time and space with, finally, the conviction that something extremely important and valuable had happened, so that the subject was to some extent transformed and strengthened even in his daily life by such experiences" Abraham Maslow. Interpersonal relations Identification, sympathy, affection for mankind, kinship with the good, bad,and ugly are all traits of the SA person. Truth is clear to him as he can see things others cannot. He has profound, intimate relationships with few and is capable of greater love than others consider possible as he shares his benevolence, affection, and friendliness with everyone. Democratic values and attitudes The SA person is able to learn from anyone, is humble and friendly with anyone regardless of class, education, political belief, race or color. Discrimination: means and ends, Good and Evil The SA does not confuse between means and ends and does no wrong. He enjoys being ‘here and now’, getting to goal--not just the result. He makes the most tedious task an enjoyable game and has his own inner moral standards (appearing amoral to others). Philosophical, unhostile sense of humor Jokes to the SA person are teaching metaphors, intrinsic to the situation and are spontaneous. He can laugh at himself, but he never makes jokes that hurt others. Creativity The SA person enjoys an inborn uniqueness that carries over into everything he does, is original, inventive, uninhibited, and he sees the real and true more easily. Resistance to enculturation: Transcendence of any particular culture SA people have an inner detachment from culture. Although folkways may be observed, SA people are not controlled by them. Working for long term culture improvement, indignation with injustice, inner autonomy, outer acceptance, and the ability to transcend the environment rather than just cope are intrinsic to SA people. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Imperfections SA people are painfully aware of their own imperfections and joyfully aware of their own growth process. They are impatient with themselves when stuck and feel real life pain as a result. Values The SA person is realistically human due to a philosophical acceptance of self, human nature, social life, physical reality, and nature. Resolution of dichotomies Polar opposites merge into a third, higher phenomenon as though the two have united; therefore, opposite forces are no longer felt as conflict. To the SA person work becomes play and desires are in excellent accord with reason. The SA person retains his childlike qualities yet is very wise. Maslow holds that there are two processes necessary for self-actualization: self exploration and action; the deeper the self exploration, the closer one comes to selfactualization. 14.4. CREATIVE PROCESS Freud main concerns of art and aesthetics included the nature of creative experience and the artist's inner world, the interpretation of art, and the nature of aesthetic experience. In his work on Leonardo (Freud, 1910), Freud used a screen memory and two of his paintings, The Mona Lisa and St Anne, St Mary and Jesus to attempt a reconstruction of the artist's psycho-sexual development, relating Leonardo's childhood experiences to his later conflicts between his scientific and artistic creativity. The findings have their value in the uncovering of the phantasies expressed by the artwork itself rather than the restructuring of the artist's inner life. In his work on Dostoevsky, the writer (1928), Freud attempted to analyze the writer's personality, trying to account for his epilepsy, gambling, and morality. Graham Wallas ( 1926) may be credited to have presented one of the first models of the creative process. The stage model of creative insights and illuminations mooted by him include the following distinct stages. preparation involving preparatory work on a problem that focuses the individual's mind on the problem and explores the problem's dimensions, incubation where the problem is internalized into the unconscious mind and nothing appears externally to be happening, intimation the creative person geting a 'feeling' that a solution is on its way, illumination or insight where the creative idea bursts forth from its preconscious processing into conscious awareness, and verification where the idea is consciously verified, elaborated, and then applied. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com The model put forth by Wallas model is some time treated as if it had enumerted only four stages, and "intimation" is regarded as just a sub-stage in the creative process. Incubation seems to aid creative problem-solving in that it enables ‘forgetting’ of misleading clues. When incubation is not present,the problem solver may become fixated on inappropriate strategies of solving the problem (Ward). Wallas considered creativity to be a legacy of the evolutionary process. Creativity has been considered to allow humans to quickly adapt to rapidly changing environments ( Simonton ). In his book Psychology of Invention in the Mathematical Field, Hadamard uses introspection to describe mathematical thought processes. He describes his own mathematical thinking as largely wordless, and often accompanied by mental images that represent the entire solution to a problem. He surveyed 100 of the leading physicists and their experiences tallied with his experience just cited. Hadamard described the experiences of the mathematecians, theoretical physcists including Gauss and Helmholtz, and Poincare as viewing entire solutions with “sudden spontaneity.” This is confirmed by many others including Hardy, Heitler, Waerden and Ruegg in the literature. To cite just one instance, Einstein, after years of fruitless calculations, suddenly had the solution to the general theory of relativity revealed in a dream “like a giant die making an indelible impress, a huge map of the universe outlined itself in one clear vision.” Hadamard described the creative process as having steps (i) preparation, (ii) incubation, (iv) illumination, and (v) verification . It is to be noted that Hadamard’s account omits imitation which had been included as a mediating step in creative process proponded by the five step model of Wallas, and the first three cited by Hadamard as also having been put forth by Helmholtz. In 1992 Finke et al. proposed the 'Geneplore' model of creativity. This model assumes that creativity takes plac intwo distinct phases. In the generative phase preinventive structres are constructed. In this phase the individual constructs mental representations. In exploratory phase the preinventive structures creatd in the first phase are used to come up with creative ideas. However, Weisberg had argued that creativity only involves ordinary cognitive processes yielding extraordinary results. 14.4.1 Divergence process J.P. Guilford (1950) has putforth his Structure of Intellect Model and had distingusihed between convergent and divergent thinking as two modes of intellect. The former is identified with intelligence and the later with cretivity (Wallack and Kogan).Convergent thinking involves aiming for a single, correct solution to a problem, whereas divergent thinking involves creative generation of multiple answers to a set problem. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Divergent thinking may be defined as a process that involves a broad search for information and the generation of numerous novel alternative answers to problems (Guilford, 1967). Divergent thinking is reported to occur in a mental state where attention is defocused (e.g., Mendelsohn, 1976; Kasof, 1997) and thought is associative (e.g., Koestler, 1964; Mednick and Mednick, 1967; Ward, Smith, and Vaid, 1997). Hence, an automatic spreading activation mechanism triggers a large number of simultaneous mental representations. This spreading activation mechanism establishes associations that link concepts having remote association. The divergent thinking seems to be an unconscious ability to simultaneously activate and process a large number of oftenunrelated concepts that belong to distant categories. According to Guilford, divergent thinking seems to be associated with four main characteristics, including fluency (the ability to rapidly produce a large number of ideas or solutions to a problem), flexibility (the capacity to consider a variety of approaches to a problem simultaneously), elaboration (the ability to think through the details of an idea and carry it out), and originality (the tendency to produce ideas different from those of most other people). The traits associated with creativity viewed as divergent process are given in table below. Traits associated with creativity viewed as divergent process. Category Ability to see or sensitivity to problems Fluency of thinking Word fluency Associational fluency Expressional fluency Ideational fluency Example Can state difficulties or deficiencies in common products or in social institutions, make judgment that desired goals in a described situation have not been achieved. Able to think well and effortlessly Can easily state words containing a given letter or combination of letters Can easily state synonyms for a given word Can easily write well- formed sentences with a specified content Can easily produce ideas to fulfill certain requirements, for example to name objects that hare hard, white and edible, or to write an appropriate title for a given story. Can easily abandon old ways of thinking and adopt new ones. Can produce a great variety of ideas. For example in suggesting uses for a brick, subject can jump among categories, from building material to weight to missile to source of red powder. Can generalize requirements of a problem to find a solution. For example, in a problem of forming squares using a minimum number of lines, can abandon the usual idea that all squares have to be the same size. Comes up with ideas that are statistically unusual Forms associations between elements that are remote from each other in time, or remote from each other logically Flexibility of thinking Spontaneous flexibility Adaptive flexibility Originality Remote associations This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Redefinition - gives up old interpretations of familiar objects and uses them in new ways elaboration - can fill in details given a general scheme Tolerance of ambiguity Interest in divergent thinking Which of the following objects could best be used to make a needle: pencil, radish, shoe, fish, carnation? (fish - use bone) Given a general task, fill in the detailed steps. Given two simple lines, draw a more complex object. Willingness to accept some uncertainty in conclusions, not using rigid categories Open-ended thinking, where there is not a single right answer Divergent thinking appears to be an important component of creative behavior (Lubart, 2000). However, many creativity researchers do not share this conclusion to view divergent process to be identical with creativity (Hocevar, 1981; Amabile, 1996; Sternberg and O'Hara, 1999). There is consensus that divergent thinking creates a new plane of thought on which original and novel ideas might be generated (e.g., Mednick, 1962; Koestler, 1968; Rothenberg, 1996), but creative performance itself depends on the contribution of other processes as well (Guilford and Christensen, 1973). 14.4.2 Creative Problem Solving Model Alex Osburn (1963) who propounded the brainstorming originally formulated the Creative Problem Solving Model and his follower Sidney Parnes had furthered this model. The model is usually presented as five steps. But sometimes a preliminary step is added called mess-finding to the model. Mess- finding involves locating a challenge or problem to which to apply the model. The total six stages involved in creative problem solving include Mess-finding (Objective Finding), Fact-finding, Problem-Finding, Idea-finding, Solution finding (Idea evaluation) and Acceptance- finding (Idea implementation). These steps are recognized as guiding the creative process involved in creative problem solving. They direct one as to what to do at each immediate step in order to eventually produce one or more creative, workable solutions. The unique feature of the model is that each step first involves a Divergent thinking phase in which one generates lots of ideas. Facts, problem definitions, ideas, evaluation criteria, and implementation strategies are generated using divergent thinking process. Afterwards a convergent phase follows. During this phase convergent thinking processes occur and only the most promising ideas are selected for further exploration. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com T h e O s b o r n e -Parnes Creative (Courtesy, Notes from the CPSI 1998 brochure.) OF FF Problem Solving Process PF IF Objective Finding Identify Goal, Wish, Challenge Fact Finding Gather Data Problem Finding Clarify the Problem Idea Finding Generate Ideas What is the What's the goal, wish, or s i t u a t i o n o r challenge upon which background? What you want to work? are all the facts, questions, data, feelings that are involved What is the What are all problem that really the possible solutions needs to be focuses for how to solve the on? What is the problem? concern that really needs to be addressed? SF AF Solution Finding Select & Strengthen Solutions How can you strengthen the solution? WHow can you select the solutions to know which one will work best? Acceptance Finding Plan for Action What are all the action steps that need to take place in order to implement your solution? This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com As illustrated above several questions are raised to prompt creativity to fructify. Parnes (1981) has developed checklist of questions prepared by him to facilitate thinking. The seminal questions contained in the list of Parnes are presented in the table. In the Object Finding (FF) step, the individual generates a number of questions to appreciate the object. Parnes has developed a Checklist to facilitate prompting the creative process. Such questions raised in this stage include the following. What What would you like would you like to get out of to do better? life? What What would you like are your goals, to happen? as yet unfilled? In what What ways are you would you like inefficient? to accomplish, to achieve? What would you like What to organize in a would you like better way? to have? What What ideas would would you like you like to get to do? going? What What do relationship you wish you would you like had more time to improve? for? What What do would you like you wish you to get others to h a d m o r e do? money for? What takes too long? What makes you angry, tense or What is anxious? wasted? What do What y o u c omplain b a r r i e r s o r about? bottlenecks exist? In the Fact Finding (FF) step, ‘Who?’, ‘ What?’, ‘ When?’ , ‘Where?’, ‘Why?’ and ‘How?’ questions are used. Such questions used include the following. Who is or should be involved? What is or is not happening? When does this or should this happen? Where does or doesn’t this occur? Why does it or doesn’t it happen? How does it or doesn't it occur? This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com In Problem Finding (PF) step, alternative definitions of the problem are listed since the definition of a problem will determine the nature of the solutions. In this step phrasing each statement to begin with ‘In what ways might we (or I)..’, (IWWMW), would facilitate the process. Such phrases include the following. What is the real problem? What is the main objective? What do you really want to accomplish? Why do I want to do this? In Idea Finding (IF) step involves the divergent-thinking. Brainstorming is invoked in this step. It is here that a variety of idea-generation techniques can be use. Creative ideas are freely proposed without criticism or evaluation, for each of the problem definitions accepted in the second stage. In the Solution Finding (SF) three related steps are made use of. They include listing the criteria for evaluation of possible solutions considered, the ideas generated are evaluated and one or more best or appropriate ideas is selected. An evaluation matrix is useful at this stage. The criteria used in this step in evaluating the solutions possible could be set with reference to such questions as, ‘Will it work?’, ‘Is it legal?’, ‘Are the materials and technology available?’, ‘Are the costs acceptable’, ‘Will the public accept it?’ and ‘Will higher- level administrators accept it?’ In the last step of creative problem solving, Acceptance Finding (AF), the individual attempting problem solving determines the ways and means to get the best ideas into action. This requires the individual to chalk out an action plan. The action plan should specify specific step to be taken and a timetable for taking them. 14.5 INTELLIGENCE CREATIVITY DISTINCTION Whether intelligence and creativity are part of the same process or represent distinct mental processes has been debated in 1950s. In order to answer the question many investigations have been under taken correlating performance of subjects on a set of intelligence test and a set of creativity tests and trying to study the intercorrelations among scores of the subjects on tests used each domain as well as across the scores of the subjects on tests used between the domains ( Barron, Guilford or Wallach and Kogan,). The findings of such studies conssistantly suggestd that correlations between these concepts were low enough to justify treating them as distinct concepts. Some researchers believe that creativity is the outcome of the same cognitive processes as intelligence, and is only judged as creativity in terms of its consequences, i.e. when the outcome of cognitive processes happens to produce something novel. This view has been termed as the "nothing special" hypothesis (Perkins). This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Torrance in his ‘the threshold hypothesis’, proposed that a high degree of intelligence appears to be a necessary but not a suffecient condition for high creativity. This implies that, in a general sample, there will be a positive correlation between creativity and intelligence, and this correlation will not be found if only a sample of the most highly intelligent people are assessed. The findings of the studies have produced conflicting results ranging from ones lending credibility to the hypothesis an the ones discrediting the hypothesis. An alternative perspective proposed by Renzulli's three-rings hypothesis views giftedness as based on both intelligence and creativity. 14.6.1 NEUROBIOLOGY OF CREATIVITY The neurobiology of creativity has been also proposed. Creative innovation might require coactivation and communication between regions of the brain that ordinarily are not strongly connected". Highly creative people who excel at creative innovation tend to differ from others in three ways. They have a high level of specialized knowledge. They are capable of divergent thinking mediated by the frontal lobe. They are able to modulate neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine in their frontal lobe.The frontal lobe appears to be the part of the cortex that is most important for creativity. In 2005, Alice Flaherty presented a three- factor model of the creative drive. Drawing from evidence in brain imaging, drug studies and lesion analysis, she described the Creative drive is considered to be resulting from an interaction of the frontal lobes, the temporal lobes and dopamine from the limbic system ( Flasherty,2005). The frontal lobes have been seen as responsible for idea generation, and the temporal lobes for idea editing and evaluation. Abnormalities in the frontal lobe such as depression or anxiety, has been found to generally decrease creativity, while abnormalities in the temporal lobe often increase creativity. High activity in the temporal lobe has been observed to typically inhibit activity in the frontal lobe, and vice versa. High dopamine levels has been found to increase general arousal and goal directed behaviors and reduce latent inhibition, and all three effects increase the drive to generate ideas. Working Memory and the Cerebellum have been found to have a role to lay in creativity. Vandervert has described how the brain’s frontal lobes and the cognitive functions of the cerebellum collaborate to produce creativity and innovation. His explanation is based on the evidence that all processes of working memory that is responsible for processing all thought are adaptively modeled by the cerebellum. The cerebellum consisting of 100 billion neurons, which is more that the entirety of the rest of the brain, is also widely acknowledged to adaptively model all bodily movement. The cerebellum’s adaptive models of working memory processing are then fed back to frontal lobe working memory control processes where creative and innovative thoughts arise. Vandervert’s approach provides an explanation of creativity and innovation manifesting in sports, art, music, the design of video games, technology, mathematics and thought in general. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 14.7 MEASURING CREATIVITY Creativity tests were mostly devised during the past 4 decaes. They are aimed at assessing the qualities and abilities that constitute creativity. They evaluate mental abilities in ways that are different from and even diametrically opposed to conventional intelligence tests. The kinds of abilities measured by creativity tests differ from those measured by intelligence quotient (IQ) tests. Hence, persons with the highest scores on creativity tests do not necessarily have the highest IQs. Creative people tend to have IQs that are at least average if not above average. Beyond a score of 120 there is little correlation between performance on intelligence and creativity tests. Most creativity tests are based at least partially on the theory of creativity evolved by J. P. Guilford (1950). Guilford conceived that the core of creativity lies the ability to envision multiple solutions to a problem. This process involves divergent thinking as opposed to convergent thinking. Early tests designed to assess an individual's aptitude for divergent thinking include the Torrance (1962) and Meeker (1969) tests. Guilford's work at the University of Southern California by the Aptitudes Research Project (ARP) during the 1950s and 1970s helped produce a number of the ARP divergent thinking tests. These tests have been adapted by a variety of testing companies for use by educators in placing gifted students and evaluating gifted and talented programs. The ARP tests are divided into verbal and figural categories. Those that measure verbal ability include the following . Word Fluency : writing words containing a given letter Ideational Fluency : naming things that belong to a given class (i.e., fluids that will burn) Associational Fluency : writing synonyms for a specified word Expressional Fluency : writing four-word sentences in which each word begins with a specified letter Alternate Uses : listing as many uses as possible for a given object Plot Titles : writing titles for short-story plots Consequences : listing consequences for a hypothetical event ("What if no one needed to sleep?") Possible Jobs : list all jobs that might be symbolized by a given emblem The figural ARP tests measure spatial aptitude and include the following: Making Objects : drawing specified objects using only a given set of shapes, such as a circle, square, etc. Sketches : elaborating on a given figure to produce sketches of recognizable items Match Problems : removing a specified number of matchsticks from a diagram to produce a specified number of geometric shapes Decorations : using as many different designs as possible to outline drawings of common objects Divergent thinking tests are generally evaluated based on the number and variety of answers provided by the respondent to the test items. They reflect the originality. The amount of detail the responses contain is also considered for assessing creativity. This This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com reflect eloboration. A number of creativity tests currently in use include sections that measure divergent thinking. The Creativity Assessment Packet (ages 6-18) provides measures of Divergent Thinking as well as Divergent Feelings. Screening Assessment for Gifted Elementary Students (SAGES) (ages 7-13) is the test that measures traits including imagination, curiosity, risk-taking, and complexity. A Divergent Production subtest is part of the together with a Reasoning subtest. It emphasizes the identification of relationships. The Test of Creative Potential (TCP) (ages 2-adult) tests fluency, flexibility, and elaboration. Like the ARP tests, it has a figural section (Picture Decoration). This measures nonverbal ability. A verbal section and a symbolic section are also added in this test. The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) (ages 5adult) is also have both verbal and figural sections and measure fluency and other standard categories. A few creativity tests evaluate attitudes of the child rather than the thinking. Ratings are used in these tests for eliciting observations on behavior made by an observer familiar with the child, usually a parent or teacher), creative perception, or creative activity. The Creativity Attitude Survey (CAS) (grades 4-6), used 32 statements. Thechild is asked to indicate agreement or disagreement . The test assesses confidence in one's own ideas, appreciation of fantasy, theoretical and aesthetic orientation, openness to impulse expression, and desire for novelty. The Preschool and Kindergarten Interest Descriptor (PRIDE) (ages 3-6) includes 50 items that assess children's behavior. The test requires an observer to provide ratings on a child. This test asseses the child in the areas including Independence-Perseverance, Imagination-Playfulness, Originality, and Many Interests. The Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students (SRBCSS) (child and adolescent) include 95 questions. This test is used by teachers to evaluate students in such areas as motivation, leadership, art, music, dramatics, and both precise and expressive communication. The Creativity Checklist (CCL) (grades Kgraduate school) also rrequires an observer to check items on the list with regard to a child being assessed. It measures resourcefulness, constructional skill, ingenuity or productiveness, independence, and positive self- referencing behavior, as well as the more standard fluency, flexibility, and complexity that are common to divergent thinking tests. A few creativity tests are specifically meant for assessing creativity in minority populations. Such groups have difficulty with regard to taking tests that place a strong emphasis on verbal and semantic ability. The SOI-Learning Abilities Test (ages 2-adult) one such tests meant for assessing the creativity of the minority group. This includes such categories as constancy of objects in space, auditory attention, psychomotor readiness, auditory concentration for sequencing, and symbolic problem-solving. The Eby Gifted Behavior Index (all ages) views creativity as specific to different domains. It is divided into six talent fields including verbal, social/leadership, visual/spatial, math/science problem-solving, mechanical/technical, and musical. The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, for adolescents and adults, is an analytical assessment of giftedness based on five components of critical thinking: inference, deduction, interpretation, awareness of assumptions, and evaluation of arguments. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Creativity tests have been found reliable. The scores of an individual tend to remain similar across a variety of tests. However, their predictive validity has been questioned. 14.7 LET US SUM UP (i) Creativity is manifested in the production of a creative work (as for instance, a new work of art or a scientific hypothesis) that is both original and useful. (ii) Crative individuals are identified to fall into different types. (iii) Affects have effect on creatvity. (iv) Creative processes hae been identified. (v) Divergence processes are identified to constitute creatvity (vi) Gildfor and others have developed a number of tests to assess creativity. 14.8 LESSON-END ACTIVITIES (i) How do you evaluate yourself as a creative person? (ii) Identify the time you have been a creative person and examine the process that contributed to creativity. (iii) Identify any problem you are confronted with at the present and attempt creative problem solving method to solve your problem. 14.9 POINTS FOR DISCUSSION (i) (ii) Discuss the many dimensions of creativity. How far the problem solving is practical using the method suggested in this Unit? (iii) Discuss the various tests of creativity. 14.10 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) What is creativity? How creative person is distinguished from a noncreative person? How the process of creativity takes place? Enumerate steps involved in creative problem solving. Discuss the various tests used for assessing creativity. 14.11 REFERENCES Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint. Delhi: Akash Press. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology - The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. Guilford, J.P. (1967) The Nature of Human Intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Guilford, J.P. (1985). The structure-of-intellect model. In B. B.Wolman (Ed.), Handbook of intelligence: Theories, measurements, and applications (pp. 225–266). New York: Wiley. Osborn, A. (1953), Applied Imagination: The principles and procedures of Creative Thinking, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Sternberg, R. J. (1988). The Nature of Creativity. New York: Cambridge University Press. Torrance, E. P. (1962). Guiding Creative Talent. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. P.E. Vernon (ed.). (1970). Creativity. Penguin Books. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com UNIT – IV LESSON 15 MOTIVATION Aims and Objectives Introduction 15.1.1 Definition 15.1.2 A Model of Motivation 15.1.3 Types of Motives Theories of Motivation 15.2.1 Instincts Theories 15.2.2 Drive –Reduction Theories 15.2.3 Arousal Theory 15.2.4 Incentive Theory 15.2.5 Opponent-Process Theory 15.2.6 Cognitive Theories 15.2.6.1 Expectancy-value theory 15.2.6.2 Cognitive Dissonance 15.2.6.3 Attribution theory 15.2.6.4 Expectancy theory 15.2.6.5 Equity Theory 15.2.7 Social Cognitive Theory 15.2.8 Need Theories 15.2.8.1 Maslow’s Hierarchy. 15.2.8.2 ERG Theory 15.2.8.3 Motivation-Hygiene Theory 15.2.8.4 Theory X and Theory Y 15.2.8.5 Acquired Needs Theory Primary Motives 15.3.1 Thirst 15.3.2 Hunger 15.3.3 Sex Drive Secondary Motives 15.4.1 Need for Achievement. 15.4.2 Need for Affiliation. 15.4.3 Need for Power. Let us sum up Lesson-End activities Points for Discussion Check your progress References 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 15.8 15.9 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 15.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES In the previous lesson we presented the nature of creativity, dynamics and processes of creativity, the steps involved in creative problem solving and measurement of creativity. After going through this Unit you will be able to (vi) Understand the nature of motivation (vii) Distinguish different types of motivation from one another (viii) The theories of emotion. 15.1 INTRODUCTION Etymologically, the English word Motivation is derived from the Latin term ‘Motivus’ which means ‘a moving cause’. This suggests the activating properties of the process involved in motivation. Thus, motivation is a driving force that compels one to act towards some goal. It is related to intentions, desires, goals and needs that determine behavior. 15.1.1 Definition Motivation is defined as an internal state or condition (also called as a need, desire, or want) that activates or energizes behavior giving it direction (Kleinginna and Kleinginna, 1981). It contributes to the arousal, direction, and persistence of behavior. Geen (1994) refers to motivation as one that determines the initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of human behavior. Motivation refers to the dynamics of behavior, the way in which actions are initiated, sustained, directed, and terminated Petri (2003). 15.1.2 A Model of Motivation The origin of every motivational activity is from a need or internal deficit. The need gives rise to drive that is an energized state of motivation. Drive, in turn actuates a response or a series of actions that are designed to attain a goal. Reaching the goal satisfies the need and hence it would end the chain of events. For instance, if you were thirst you would go in search of water, and when your thirst is quenched you are content. Similarly, one may be suffering from feelings of inadequacy. He may pursue different activities to compensate for this feeling of inadequacy. Through the compensatory behaviors he may feel adequate and satisfied. The state of satisfaction or content achieved through the motivation pursuit is not a permanent one. The need that originally stirred up the action gets set again which in turn would initiate the entire chain of motivational behaviors. Thus the need leading to behavior continues forever as may be seen in figure 1 presented below. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com NEED DRIVE NEED SATISFACT IO RESPO NSE GOAL Figure 1: The Motivational Cycle 15.1.3 Types of Motives In order to study motivation it is imperative to understand a person’s motives to explain his actions. There are different types of motives namely primary motives, stimulus motives and secondary motives. Primary motives refer to the biological needs that are essential for survival of the organism. Examples of primary motives are thirst, hunger, pain avoidance, and need for sleep, oxygen, elimination of wastes from the body, and regulation of body temperature. These are innate and not learned. In contrast to our primary needs that are biological we have a set of needs that are learned and not innate. These are called secondary motives. Examples of secondary needs include desire for mountaineering, surfing the internet, desire for swimming, ardent desire to become the president of your association, wanting a promotion, and so on. Learned needs also include need for affliction, nurturance, achievement, and power. Stimulus motive refer to our needs for stimulation and information. Examples of these may include curiosity, exploration, and manipulation. These motives also appear to be innate. However, they are not essential for survival. 15.2 THEORIES OF MOTIVATION Motivation being a complex phenomenon has led to the development of a variety of conceptual approaches that attempt to explain what motivation is. Though they each of them emphasis on different aspects and encompass biological, cognitive and social factors to varying degrees all of the approaches seek to explain the single phenomena motivation. A brief account of the basic approaches to motivation is provided here. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 15.2.1 Instincts Theories Instincts are inborn patterns of behavior that are biologically determined. These forces are automatic, involuntary, and unlearned behavior patterns of behavior that are elicited by certain stimuli. Pregnant mother rat building a nest with cotton and straw, Cat arching its back and hissing in the presence of a threat and hamster accepting a mouse that smells like a baby hamster are few examples of what an instinct is. There is a difference among psychologists in their agreement on what are the primary instincts. William McDougall (1908) suggested that there are 18 instincts including pugnacity and gregariousness while there are others who claiming that there are as many as 5,759 instincts. Although the instinctual theory was adequate to explain some aspects of animal behavior it was inadequate to address the complexity of human behavior like jealousy, modesty, altruism and selfishness. Furthermore, instincts do not provide a complete explanation for why a specific pattern of behavior, and not some other, has appeared in a given species. Cross-cultural research showed that not all instincts that had b e e n identified in one culture existed in other cultures. The variety and complexity of human behavior, much of which is clearly learned, are difficult to explain if we assume instincts as the primary motivational force. Yet instinct approaches still play a role in certain theories. Finally, instinctual theories became a circular argument since they are essentially descriptive and not explanatory. Attempt to explain behavior using instinct theories resulted in expansion of the list of human instincts that at one point grew to 10,000. Owing to these problems, the instinctual theories were modified and became need and drive or homeostatic theories 15.2.2 Drive –Reduction Theories The instinct theory was replaced by simple drive-reduction theories of motivation (Hull, 1943). Drive-reduction theories are also known as homeostatic theories. Understanding what drive is would help us understand these theories better. A drive is defined as a motivational tension, or arousal that energizes behavior in order to fulfill some need. There are 2 types of drives: Primary drives and Secondary drives. Primary drives refer to the innate drives that are the result from biological needs. Many basic drives such as hunger, thirst, sleepiness, and sex, arise from biological requirements of the body or of the species as a whole. In contrast, the secondary drives refer to the learned drives that result from prior experience and learning. We try to resolve a primary drive by reducing the need underlying it. For instance, if the weather is very chill, we wear woolen clothing in order to keep warm. Such behavior would help us maintain homeostasis. Homeostasis connotes the maintenance of some optimal level of internal biological functioning. It is the state of equilibrium. Organisms attempt to maintain homeostasis by constantly adjusting themselves to the demands of the environment. For instance, an optimal level exists for body This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com temperature, for chemicals in the blood, for blood pressure, and the like. When the body deviates from these ‘ideal’ levels, automatic reactions begin automatically in order to restore the equilibrium (Duckers, 2005). Certain biological needs like sex, hunger, thirst cause imbalance in the system. This imbalance shakes the homeostasis and causes a psychological state of arousal that is uncomfortable. This state of arousal is called a drive. In order to get back into homeostasis the organism engages in behaviors that are designed to reduce the drive and thereby reduce the need. The process is shown below: Equilibrium Need State (Biological) Drive State (Psychological) Behavior (reduces the need and drive) This theory focuses on the maintenance of the internal physiological environment and the internal influences on homeostasis. But in the case of humans even external influences can cause need states. For example, we can become hungry by just looking at a good pastry even though we have just eaten and are no longer hungry. Hence, an explanation of human behavior purely in terms of drive-reduction may not be sufficient. Consider behaviors like thrill seeking and curiosity where the goal is not to reduce the underlying drive but to increase the overall level of stimulation and activity. The drive-reduction theories that adequately explain how primary drives motivate behavior do not explain behaviors for which the goal is not to reduce a drive, but rather to maintain or even to increase a particular level of excitement or arousal like thrill seeking and curiosity! 15.2.3 Arousal Theory Arousal theories attempt to explain behavior in which the goal is the maintenance of or an increase in excitement (Berlyne, 1967; Brehm & Self, 1989). This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Rather than all organisms being motivated to seek to reduce arousal, they seek to maintain an optimal level of arousal and this optimal level varies from organism to organism. Drive-reduction model states that if our stimulation and activity levels become too high, we try to reduce them. In contrast, the arousal model suggests that if the levels of stimulation and activity are too low, we will try to increase them by seeking stimulation. For example, extroverts who are believed to have a lower lever of cortical arousal engage in activities seeking stimulation that will increase their arousal. Extroverts are more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, have frequent sex, like loud music, eat spicy foods and engage in activities that will increase their arousal. Introverts, on the other hand, are believed to have a higher level of cortical arousal and hence do not seek more stimulation. Arousal theory explains for one of the oldest principles of psychology put forth in 1908 known as the Yerkes-Dodson law. This law states that a particular level of motivational arousal produces optimal performance on a task. Specifically, performance on simple tasks benefits better from higher levels of arousal than performance on more complex tasks (Hebb, 1955). However, when the level of arousal is too high performance on both complex and simple tasks suffers. High levels of arousal prove to be distracting and anxiety- producing which deteriorates performance regardless of the task difficulty. Arousal theory that adequately accounts for internal influences on behavior does not explain the external influences that cause need states. This stands as one of the criticisms on arousal theories. 15.2.4 Incentive Theory Not all behaviors are always motivated by an internal need, such as the desire to reduce drives or to maintain an optimum level of arousal. The incentive theories are also known reinforcement theories. They attempt to explain why behaviors are not always motivated by an internal need. It explains motivation in terms incentives or external stimuli that direct and energize behavior. Thus according to this theory, properties of the external stimuli are considered as important to account for our motivation. Instead of assuming that organisms are pushed to do things this theory assumes that the organisms are pulled towards certain goals. We perform certain behaviors in order to accomplish some goals. The theory deserves credit for explaining why we may succumb to an incentive even though internal cues are lacking. But it is certainly inadequate to provide a complete explanation of motivation since organisms seek to fulfill needs even when incentives are not apparent. Many psychologists believe that the internal drives proposed by drivereduction theory work in tandem with the external incentives of incentive theory. It seems logical to assume that drives and incentives work together in motivating behavior. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 15.2.5 Opponent-Process Theory Motivation behind phenomena like drug addiction and the physiological and emotional reactions that occur as a result of extreme physical danger as in skydiving or bungee jumping are explained by opponent-process theory. According to this theory, stimuli that initially produce increases in arousal later produce an opposite effect, calming the reaction in the nervous system. Similarly, stimuli that initially produce decreases in arousal later produce an increase in arousal. While with each exposure to a stimulus the original response to the stimulus remains fairly stable or perhaps even declines, the opponent process-the reaction to the original response-tends to grow in strength. Consider, for instance, a young medical intern who is about to make her first surgery in her medical career. Her initial reaction is likely to be one of anxiety. But there will also be an opponent process at work: a feeling of euphoria after the surgery is over. Opponent-process theory suggests that each time the medical intern does a surgery the original process resulting in anxiety will not grow stronger and would weaken, and the opponent process resulting in euphoria is likely to increase. Ultimately, then, carrying out surgeries may become enjoyable to individual. This theory explains why people hold strong motivation for behavior that ‘appears’ to have few benefits. It is frequently not the initial reaction but the opponent process that maintains the motivation to carry out such behavior. 15.2.6 Cognitive Theories Cognitive theories of motivation emphasis the role played by our thoughts, expectations, and understanding of the world in energizing and directing our behavior. Cognitive theories of motivation distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is one that causes us to participate in an activity for our own enjoyment and not for any tangible reward that it would get us. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation is one that causes us to do something for a tangible reward. Research on the two types of motivation suggests that we are more apt to persevere, work harder, and produce work of higher quality when we are intrinsically motivated than when we are extrinsically motivated (Lepper, 1983; Deci & Ryan, 1985). Moreover, some psychologists suggest that providing rewards for desirable behavior may cause a decline in the intrinsic motivation and an increase in the extrinsic motivation. 15.2.6.1 Expectancy-value theory recognizes two kinds of cognitions that underlie our behavior. One is the expectation that our behavior will help us reach a particular goal, and the other is our understanding regarding the value of the goal to us (Tolman, 1959).For instance, the degree of motivation in a students to study for a test will be This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com decided by their expectation of how studying will help them get good grades and the value they place of good grades. If both expectation and value are high then the students will be motivated to work diligently. On the other hand, if either of them or both are low then the motivation to work hard will be lower. 15.2.6.2 Cognitive dissonance theory by Leon Festinger (1957) shares some aspects similar to disequilibrium in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. This theory holds that when there is a discrepancy between two beliefs, two actions, or between a belief and an action, we will act to resolve conflict and discrepancies. Thus an appropriate amount of disequilibrium can energize and direct one’s behavior towards resolution of the cognitive dissonance. The behavior adopted will be such that it leads to a change in thought patterns. Such changes in thought patterns are potent to cause more changes in behavior. 15.2.6.3 Attribution theory (Heider, 1958; Weiner, 1974) proposes that every individual tries to explain success or failure of self and others by making certain "attributions". The attributions can be either internal or external. Further it could be something that we have control of or something over which we do not have control. Example of internal factor we may attribute to over which we do not have any control is Ability while the one over which we have control is effort. Similarly, the external factor we may attribute to over which we do not have any control is luck while the one over which we have control is task difficulty. 15.2.6.4 Expectancy theory by Victor Vroom suggests that individuals' expectations about their ability to accomplish something affect their success in accomplishing it. This theory is based on cognition focusing on the thought processes that individuals use. Further it emphasizes on individual's effort and performance, and also the desirability of outcomes associated with high performance. The theory proposes the following equation to explain motivation: Motivation = Perceived Probability of Success (Expectancy) X Connection of Success and Reward (Instrumentality) X Value of Obtaining Goal (Valance, Value) Motivation is seen as product of three factors namely Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valance or Value. A low value in one will result in a low value of motivation. Further, all three must be present in order for motivation to occur. For instance, if an individual doesn't believe he or she can be successful at a task or the individual does not see a connection between his or her activity and success or the individual does not value the results of success, then the chances of him engaging in the required activity is low. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 15.2.6.5 Equity Theory by J.Stacy Adams focuses on individuals' perceptions of how fairly they are treated in comparison to others. Equity is said to exist when people consider their compensation equal to the compensation received by others who perform similar work. To judge equity people compare inputs (like education, experience, effort, and ability) to outputs (like pay, recognition, benefits, and promotion). Inequity is said to exist when the ratio is out of balance. According to Daft (1997), behavior of individuals will work towards reduction of perceived inequity by increasing or reducing effort in addition to host of other changes in behavior. Thus inequality perceived by an individual can energize and motivate his behavior, and hence can be seen as a source of motivation. 15.2.7 Social Cognitive Theory According to social cognition theory reciprocal determination is the primary factor in both learning and motivation. Reciprocal determinism refers to the fact there is a mutual influence placed on each other by the environment, an individual's behavior, and the individual's characteristics (e.g., knowledge, emotions, cognitive development). Self-efficacy (the belief that a particular action is possible and that the individual can accomplish it) and self-regulation (the establishment of goals) are highlighted as important aspects in motivation. The development of a plan to attain those goals, the commitment to implement that plan, the actual implementation of the plan, and subsequent actions of reflection and modification or redirection are the various steps involved in our behavior. 15.2.8 Need Theories The origin of need theories can be traced back to some of the earliest research in the field of human relations. The premise behind need theories is that if managers can understand the needs that motivate people, then he can effectively implement reward systems that can fulfill those needs and reinforce the appropriate behavior. Many theories that come within this framework are briefly explained below. 15.2.8.1 Maslow’s Hierarchy. Abraham Maslow proposed that different motivational needs to be ordered in a hierarchy. The model can be conceptualized as a pyramid. The basic needs are placed at the bottom of the pyramid while the higher –level needs are placed at the top. Maslow believed that the needs at the lower levels had to be satisfied before one could focus on satisfying the needs at higher levels. The most basic needs are the primary drives like need for water, food, sleep, and sex. Only when these basic physiological needs met a person can move up the hierarchy. Safety needs are positioned next in the hierarchy. It consists of needs like need for a safe and secure environment in order to function effectively. The physiological and safety needs compose the lower-order needs. The lower order needs are to be met before a person can consider fulfilling higher order needs. The higher-order needs consist of need for love and belongingness, esteem This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com and self-actualization. Love and belongingness needs consist of the need to obtain and give affection and to be a contributing member of some group or society in general. On fulfilling these needs the person strives for esteem. Esteem relates to the need to develop a sense of self-worth by knowing that others are aware of one’s competence and value. When these four sets of needs are fulfilled, the person is ready to strive for the highest- level need self-actualization. Self-actualization refers to a state of self- fulfillment in which people realize their highest potential. People feel at ease with themselves and satisfied that they are using their talents to the fullest. It provided a sense of satisfaction with the current state of affairs (Jones & Crandall, 1991). Beyond the need for selfactualization is the need for self- transcendence. Self- transcendence refers to connecting to something beyond the ego or to help others find self- fulfillment and realize their potential. Maslow maintained that as one becomes more self-actualized and selftranscendent, one develops wisdom and automatically knows what to do in a wide variety of situations. Perhaps Maslow's ultimate conclusion that the highest levels of selfactualization are transcendent in their nature is one of his most important contributions to the study of human behavior and motivation ( Daniels, 2001). Dearth of research validating the specific ordering of the various stages of Maslow’s theory, and difficulty in measuring self-actualization objectively have been the major drawbacks in this theory. Nevertheless, the theory adequately explains the complexity of human needs, highlighting the fact that people will be unconcerned about higher-order needs until their basic needs are met. 15.2.8.2 ERG Theory by Clayton Alderfer is expanded on Maslow's theory. According to this theory there are three categories of needs namely existence needs, relatedness needs and growth needs. Existence needs are concerned with physical well-being. Relatedness needs are concerned with having satisfactory relationships with others. The growth needs focus on need to develop human potential and the desire for personal growth and increased competence (Daft, 1997). Unlike in Maslow’s theory where one has to essentially proceed from lower-order needs to the higher-order needs, ERG theory holds that movement between the different need levels is not necessarily straight forward in one direction. Failure to meet a higherorder need results in regression to a lower-order need. 15.2.8.3 Motivation-Hygiene Theory by Frederick Herzberg, states that an individual will be moved to action based on the desire to avoid deprivation. This motivation, however, does not provide positive satisfaction because it does not provide a sense of growth. Herzberg found positive job attitudes to be associated with a feeling of psychological growth. Herzberg concluded that people work for two reasons. One reason is to avoid physical deprivation, and the other reason is for achievement since it provides happiness and meaning. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com The first set of factors is called hygiene factors. This is based on one’s desire to avoid deprivation and the resulting physical and emotional discomfort. Examples of hygiene factors include willingness to supervise, positive working conditions, interpersonal relations with coworkers, status, job security, and salary. Presence of these factors does not motivate people, not does it result in job satisfaction. On the contrary absence of these factors will certainly cause dissatisfaction. The second set of factors is called motivators. This is based on the positive satisfaction that is provided by psychological growth. Examples of motivators are opportunity to take up responsibilities, opportunities for achievement and recognition, and possibility for growth or advancement. Presence of these factors will motivate individuals to work further. However, the absence of these factors will neither cause dissatisfaction nor would it demotivate the individual. 15.2.8.4 Theory X and Theory Y by Douglas McGregor has a greatly influence of Maslow’s theory on it. It recognizes that people have needs and that those needs are satisfied at work. Theory X and Theory Y refer to two sets of assumptions about people. Theory X assumed that most people would avoid work because they don't like it and they must be threatened or persuaded to put forth adequate effort. It maintains that people have little ambition and do not want any responsibility. They prefer to be directed by others. People are basically interested in job security. Theory Y assumes that to work is in the very nature of people and that most people are self-directed to achieve objectives that they are committed to. It maintains that people are ambitious and creative. They desire taking up responsibility and derive a sense of satisfaction from doing the work that they do. This theory was applied to management styles where autocratic leaders are said to be adhering to Theory X while democratic leaders are said to adhere to Theory Y. This theory, however, fostered a tendency to view people as members of a group rather than as individuals. Nevertheless, McGregor's theory recognizing these two perspectives and recognizing people as those who can achieve personal objectives through helping organizations achieve their objectives is certainly an important contribution in the field of motivation. 15.2.8.5 Acquired Needs Theory by David McClelland hold that different needs are acquired throughout an individual's lifetime. Basically there are three needs namely need for achievement, affiliation and power. The desire to accomplish something difficult, attain a high standard of success, master complex tasks, and surpass others is called need achievement. The desire to form close personal relationships, avoid conflict, and establish warm friendships connotes need for affiliation. The desire to influence or control others, be responsible for others, and have authority over others characterizes need for power. Early life experiences are found to determine whether people acquire these needs. The reinforcement of behavior received as a child when a child is encouraged to do This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com things independently influences one’s need for achievement during adulthood. Need for affiliation as an adult develops if as a child he was reinforced for warm, human relationships. Need for power will be evident as an adult if as a child he gained satisfaction from controlling others (Daft, 1997). 15.3 PRIMARY MOTIVES Primary motives are those that are biologically rooted. They are innate needs that are essential for survival. Some of the common primary motives thirst, hunger, sleep and need for sex. Few of these are discussed below. 15.3.1 Thirst. As more than 75% of our weight is accounted for by water it is not an easy task to maintain and regulate that amount of liquid in our bodies. We lose a significant amount of water through perspiration and urination resulting in lowering of water level in our body. The deficit of water results in thirst that acts as an important motivational drive. The stimuli that motivate us to drink are largely internal. Three primary internal mechanisms produce thirst. The first mechanism is that since the salt concentration of the cells of the body varies according to the amount of internal fluid lowering of this concentration beyond a certain level triggers the hypothalamus to act, thereby, resulting in the experience of thirst. The second mechanism that results in experience of thirst is a decrease in the total volume of fluid in the circulatory system (Fitzsimons, 1961). This can be seen when a person who has lost significant amount of blood through an injury experiences a powerful sense of thirst. The third mechanism is a rise in body temperature or significant energy expenditure. Perhaps the rise in body temperature that causes sweating would in turn affect the concentration of salt in the body thereby causing thirst. The complexity of the mechanisms of thirst is clearly evident when we find that people deprived of water for 24hours will consume two-thirds of the water they need in the first two and a half minutes. They taper off, and drink more slowly after this initial eager drinking until they ingest enough to replenish nearly the exact amount of the water they lacked. 15.3.2 Hunger. Hunger is the complex mechanism by which an organism gets to know whether they require food or if they should stop eating. It is amazing to note that even people who have had their stomachs removed continued to experience the sensation of hunger. Hence, an empty stomach causing hunger pangs and a full stomach alleviating hunger do not seem to explain the phenomena completely. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Change in the chemical composition of the blood seems to be one mechanism that regulates food intake. Experiments have found that hunger decreases and animals refuse to eat when glucose is injected into their blood, while hunger increases when insulin is introduced (Rodin, 1985). Further, hypothalamus appears to be primarily responsible for food intake. Researches suggest that injury to the hypothalamus causes radical changes in eating behavior, depending upon the site of injury. Though the role played by hypothalamus in regulating food intake is beyond doubt there is no consensus regarding the mechanism by which it operates. Some suggest that hypothalamus affect the organism’s perception of hunger, and some hypothesize that it directly affects the neural connections that control the muscles involved in eating behavior. Another theory suggests that injury to the hypothalamus disturbs the weight-set point which refers to the particular level of weight that the body strives to maintain, and the hypothalamus acts as a thermostat calling for greater or less food intake to make up for the imbalance. 15.3.3 Sex Drive. Many psychologists do not consider sex as a primary motive since it is not essential for survival. However, it must be noted that though sex drive may not be essential for individual survival it is necessary for group survival. The strength of one’s motivation to engage in sexual behavior is referred to as sex drive. Hormones directly affect sexual behavior in animals. A release of estrogen in the bloodstream causes estrus. Only during the time when their fertility cycles are in the stage of estrus do the female mammals (other than humans) show interest in mating. Hormones play an important role in male sexual behavior too. Castration in most males will abolish the sex drive. However, in contrast to the females who are interested in sexual behaviors only in the stage of estrus, the male animal is almost always ready to mate. Sex drive in males gets aroused primarily by the behavior and scent of the receptive females. Thus mating is closely related to female fertility cycles in most species. The link between hormones and sex drives grows increasingly weaker as we ascend the biological scale. For instance, there is virtually no link between female sexual activity and women’s monthly menstrual cycles. Although hormones affect sex drive in humans it does not affect behavior as directly as how it does in animals. Androgen released by the testes in male is responsible for sex drive in them. The supply of androgen increases dramatically after puberty as so does the male sex drive. In women, the sex drive is related to their estrogen levels. In addition to estrogen a small amount of androgen is also produced in women. When the level of this androgen increases women experience a corresponding increase in sex drive (Van Goozen et al., 1995). Role of hormones in sexual behavior among humans is well established. Castration in males causes males to lose their sexual drive and women lose their sexual desire while they are on birth-control pills. However, in humans factors other than hormones also play an important role in determining sexual behavior. For instance, in addition to hormones sexual expressions in humans are influenced by mental, cultural and emotional factors. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Sex drive is for most part non- homeostatic. It is relatively independent of bodily states. Anything anytime can arouse sexual drive in humans. Sexual behavior shows no relationship with deprivation of the need. Though as more time passes by since the drive was last satisfied there may be an increase the desire we find that a recent sexual activity does not prevent sexual desire from occurring again. 15.4 SECONDARY MOTIVES Although hunger and thirst represent two of the most potent drives in our day-today lives, there are set of powerful secondary drives that motivate us. Secondary motives are learned motives and do not have a clear biological basis. Need for achievement, affiliation and power are examples of secondary motives. Need for affiliation and need for power are often termed as social needs since gratification of these needs involve the presence of other individuals or society as a whole. 15.4.1 The Need for Achievement. Need for achievement is perhaps the most prominent of secondary motives. It connotes a stable, learned characteristic in which satisfaction is obtained by striving for and attaining a level of excellence (McClelland, Atkinson, Clark & Lowell, 1953). Those who have a high need for achievement seek out situations in which they can compete against some standard and prove themselves successful. The standard that they compete against can be anything from grades to money to winning a game. Nevertheless, high achievers are not indiscriminate when it comes to picking their challenges. While avoiding situations in which success will come too easily or those in which success is unlikely they tend to choose tasks that are of intermediate difficulty. On the contrary, low achievement oriented individuals who are motivated by a desire to avoid failures seek out tasks that are very easy or very difficult. They may choose easy tasks since they are sure to avoid failure by that, or may choose very difficult tasks for which failure has no negative implications since almost anyone would fail at them. They stay away from tasks of intermediate difficulty, since they may fail where others have been successful (Atkinson & Feather, 1996). The outcomes of a high need for achievement are generally positive, more so in today’s success-oriented society (Heckhausen, Schmalt, & Schneider, 1985; Spence, 1985). Findings of research by Atkinson & Raynor (1974) suggest that 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 grades in classes that are related to their future careers. Moreover high achievement motivation is associated with future economic and occupational success (McClelland, 1985). Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is used more frequently to measure achievement motivation. The amount of achievement imagery in people's stories in response to TAT stimuli would provide a measure of the need for achievement present in the individual. Reuman, Alwin, & Veroff (1984) suggest that other techniques are available for assessing achievement motivation on a societal level. By assessing This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com achievement imagery in children's stories or folk tales one can assess the overall level of achievement motivation in a particular society. Children of parents who set high standards, who are relatively demanding, and who strongly encourage independence seem to have high need for achievement. Such parents are also found to quickly praise their children's success and warmly encourage their children in all areas of endeavor. Even if children fail these parents do not complain but urge their children to find areas in which they will be able to succeed (McClelland, 1985). 15.4.2 The Need for Affiliation. Need for affiliation connotes a concern with establishing and maintaining relationships with other people. People who have high need to affiliate not only desire to maintain or reinstate friendships but also show concern over being rejected by friends. People high on affiliation are particularly sensitive to relationships with others. They desire being with their friends more of the time, and want to be alone less often as compared to those who are lower in affiliation. Gender seems to be, however, more important than affiliation motivation in determining how much time is actually spent with friends. Regardless of their affiliative orientation, female students spent significantly more time with their friends and less time alone than male students did (Wong & Csikszentmihalyi, 1991). 15.4.3 The Need for Power. This connotes a tendency to seek impact, control, or influence over others, and to be seen as a powerful individual, represents an additional type of motivation (Winter, 1973; 1987). Individuals with a strong need for power is more apt to belong to organizations and seek office than those low in the need for power. They also are apt to be in professions in which their power needs may be fulfilled like in business management and public administration. Even as students in college, they are more likely to collect prestigious possessions, such as stereos and sports cars. Significant sex differences exist in the display of need for power. Men with high need for power tend to indulge in behaviors that are somewhat extravagant, flamboyant: they tend to display unusually high levels of aggression, drink heavily, act sexually exploitative, and participate more frequently in competitive sports (Winter, 1973). Women with high need for power, however display it in a more restrained manner that is congruent with traditional societal restraints on women’s behavior. Women who have high need for power are more likely than men to channel their power needs in a socially responsible manner like showing concern for others or through highly nurturant behavior (Winter, 1988). The need for power can be fulfilled in several different ways (Spangler & House, 1991). The way in which the need is manifested would reflect a combination of people's skills, values and the specific situation in which they find themselves. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 15.5 LET US SUM UP (i) Motivation is a driving force that compels one to act towards some goal. (ii) The origin of motivational activity is from an internal deficit. This induces drive that in turn actuates a response to attain a goal, and the goal satisfies the need and hence it would end the chain of events. (iii) Instincts, Drive –Reduction, arousal, incentives, opponent process, cognitive process, need hierarchy, and X-Y factors are raised to account for motivational aspects in different theories. (iv) Motivations could be primary or secondary. (v) Primary motives are those that are biologically rooted. (vi) Secondary motives are derived from social learning. 15.6 LESSON-END ACTIVITIES a. Describe the motivational cycle with reference to you own experience. b. Identify yourself with regard to your position in the hierarchy of needs. c. Enumerate your secondary motives and work out a programme to realizing them. POINTS FOR DISCUSSION (i) (ii) What is the nature of motivation? Distinguish primary motives from secondary ones. Discuss the theories of motivation. 15.7 15.8 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS (i) What is motivation? (ii) State the theories of motivation. Enumerate the primary and secondary drives and how do they relate to self-actualization. REFERENCES 15.9 Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint. Delhi: Akash Press. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology - The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com LESSON 16 EMOTIONS Aims and Objectives Introduction Components of Emotion Classification of Emotions Functions of Emotion Brain and Emotions 16.5.1 Limbic System 16.6 Theories of Emotion 16.6.1 James-Lange Theory 16.6.2 Cannon-Bard Theory 16.6.3 Schachter -Singer Theory 16.7 Let us sum up 16.8 Lesson-End activities 16.9 Points for Discussion 16.10 Check your progress 16.11 References 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES In the last lesson we were concerned with understanding the nature of motivation, distinguishing different types of motivation from one another, and presented the theories of emotion. After going through this Unit you will be able to (i) Understand the nature of emotion. (ii) Appreciate the role of brain in emotion. (iii) Appreciate various theories of emotion. 16.1 INTRODUCTION Etymologically, the English word emotion is derived from its French root ‘emouvoir’ which is derived from the Latin verb ‘emovere’. The French term means ‘excite’ and the Latin word means ‘out- move (e = out; movere = move). Emotion refers to a mental state that arises spontaneously rather than through conscious effort. Physiological changes as well as a feeling often accompany it. The common emotions experienced by people most often include the emotions of joy, sorrow, reverence, hate, and love. Oatley and Jenkins (1996) offer a three-part de nition of emotion. Thus an emotion is usually caused by a person consciously or unconsciously evaluating an event as relevant to a concern (a goal) that is important; the emotion is felt as positive when a concern is advanced and negative when a concern is impeded. The core of an emotion is readiness to act and the prompting of plans, an emotion gives priority for one or a few kinds of action to which it gives a sense of urgency – so it can interrupt, or compete with alternative mental processes or actions. Different types of readiness create different outline relationships This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com with them. An emotion is usually experienced as a distinctive type of mental state, sometimes accompanied or followed by bodily changes, expressions, and actions. 16.2 COMPONENTS OF EMOTION It is well held, as Sigmund Freud once said, that ‘in the wave of emotions intelligence is a straw’. The very essence of literature is the war between emotion and intellect" (Isaac Bashevis Singer). This clearly explains how powerful emotions are in directing behavior. Emotion is characterized by both internal changes and external observable changes. It is characterized by physiological arousal, cognitive elements, and changes in facial expressions, gestures, postures, and subjective feelings. Physiological elements include pounding of heart, sweating, ‘butterflies in the stomach’, changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and so on. This is caused due to the activity of the sympathetic nervous system and the hormone adrenaline. Overt signs of the person’s feelings are another element of emotion. Trembling of hands, face contours, posture suggesting that one is tensed and defensive, and changes in voice are few observable signs of emotions. Expressions of emotions help us to identify the emotion that is being experienced by an individual. Emotional feeling is the private emotional experience that which all of us are familiar with. When we say we are happy, or sad we in fact are referring to this component of emotion. 16.3 CLASSIFICATION OF EMOTIONS Emotions may be classified in to primary and mixed states. Eight emotions have been identified as more basic than others (Plutchik, 2003). These are termed as primary emotions. They are fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger, anticipation, joy, and trust. These emotions give rise to a large number of emotions by differing in intensity. For example, the less intense form of anger would give rise to ‘annoyance’ while the more intense form of anger would result in ‘rage’. These basic emotions combine to produce mixed emotions. Foe instance, fear may combine with anticipation resulting in anxiety. Joy and fear together may result in guilt! Imagine a 5-year-old child who eats stolen jellybeans. He will feel joy since he is having the pleasure of tasting the jellybeans while would also fear as they are stolen. 16.4 FUNCTIONS OF EMOTION Emotions seem to be linked up with many fundamental adaptive behaviors. It stands as cause for many adaptive behaviors like attacking, fleeing, seeking comfort, helping others, and reproducing. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Emotions prepares for action. We either take a flight or decide to fight on seeing a threat. Both of these reactions are primarily caused by emotion. For instance, on seeing an angry dog we may start running or searching for a stick that can scare the dog away. The emotions that we experience following certain behaviors serve as reinforcers that increase or decrease the probability of that behavior occurring again in future. Hence emotions can shape future behavior. Feeling good after charity will increase that behavior which explains why we repeat that behavior. On the other hand, emotions also have negative effects. Emotions like hate, anger, contempt, and disgust can ruin relationships. Fear can disrupt performance. Yet emotions seem to be essential for us as social animals to live in groups, cooperate, and defend one another. 16.5 BRAIN AND EMOTION There are both positive and negative emotions. Though most of us think these two are opposites it is not necessarily the case. It is quite possible for us to experience both the positive and negative emotions at the same time, as the 5 year old who ate the stolen jellybeans. This is possible because the positive and negative emotions are processed by different hemispheres of the brain. Positive emotions are processed largely by the left hemisphere while negative emotions are processed in the right hemisphere. This is the very reason why we can feel sad and happy at the same time (Canli et al., 1998). Picture Courtesy: http://web.lemoyne.edu/~hevern/psy340/lectures/psy340.12.1.emotions.html 16.5.1 Limbic System The limbic system is linked with experiencing emotions. It comprises of the forebrain areas bordering the brainstem. It consists of amygdala, cingulate cortex, hippocampus, fornix, various nuclei (septal, mammillary body), and parts of the thalamus & This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com hypothalamus. Detailed recall of most emotional experience results in increased activity of the limbic system. Amygdala of the brain is involved in production of fear. Bypassing the cortex, the amygdala receives sensory information directly and quickly. This enables it to respond to potential danger even before we realize what is happening to us. Fear response, in such a case, in not under the control of the higher brain centers. Perhaps that explains why in conditions like phobia and disabling anxiety we are not actually aware of the reason why we fear. A damage to amygdala results in numbness of emotions. It also causes one to be ‘blind’ to the emotions of others thus leading to interpersonal problems. The Cingulate Cortex of the limbic system when damaged results in reduced level of tension and anger. Similarly inactivation of Medial Frontal Cortex leads to impaired ability to identify angry expressions though ability to identify expressions of happy emotions remains intact. Insula when damages result in failure to experience disgust or recognize retching sound of others as indicating nausea or disgust. As mentioned earlier, the right brain hemisphere (RH) is more sensitive to emotional stimuli than the left hemisphere (LH). Right amygdala seems to be activated by laughing or crying. Inactivation of the right hemisphere results in difficulty to remember past events, though memory for facts remains intact. 16.6 THEORIES OF EMOTION Many theories have tried to explain what takes place during emotion. They have investigated whether arousal, behavior, cognition, expression, and feelings are interrelated. Each of them offers different explanations for the process of emotions. Some of the prominent views are discussed below: 16.6.1 James-Lange Theory Common sense suggests that we see a snake, feel fear, get aroused and run. In 1880s, William James and Carl Lange proposed a theory that reversed the common sense sequence. They argued that bodily arousal like increased heart rate does not follow a feeling such as fear. Instead, they maintained that emotional feelings follow bodily arousal. Thus, we see snake, feel fear and then become aware of our bodily reactions. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com JAMES-LANGE THEORY STIMULUS (Eg. Snake) PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE AND OVERT BEHAVIOR SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE OF EMOTION According to this theory, we do not experience emotions until we react. As soon as we see a threat the first reaction is activation of visceral bodily changes. Our brain later interprets visceral changes as emotional experience of ‘fear’. In short, our bodily reactions determine the subjective emotions that are experienced by us. 16.6.2 Cannon-Bard Theory Walter Cannon (1932) and Phillip Bard had, In contrast to James-Lange theory, proposed that emotional feelings and bodily reactions occur at the same time. They believed that seeing a snake would immediately activate the thalamus in brain which in turn alerts the cortex and the hypothalamus at the same time. The cortex thus activated produces emotional feelings and behavior, and the hypothalamus triggers the chain of events that arouses the body. Thus the brain activity simultaneously produces bodily arousal, running, and the feeling of fear. CANNON-BARD THEORY STIMULUS APPRAISAL – BRAIN PROCESSING PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE AND OVERT BEHAVIOR SUBJECTIVE EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE 16.6.3 Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory Both James-Lange and Cannon-Bard theory were largely concerned with our physical responses. Stanley Schachter identified that cognitive factors also come into play in experiencing emotion. The theory by Schachter- Singer is referred to as two-stage This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com theory of emotion. It states that for an emotion to occur there must be a physiological arousal and an explanation for the arousal. For instance, if someone sneaks up close behind you in a dark street and shouts ‘ooh!!” your body will be aroused no matter who the person is. You may interpret this arousal as fear if you notice that the person is a stranger. On the contrary, you may interpret the arousal as surprise if you recognize the person to be a friend of yours. STIMULUS PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL EMOTION COGNITIVE APPRAISAL Succinctly, based on the activation of general physiological arousal and the observation of environmental cues we decide on how the arousal has to be labeled. The label we give will depend on our past experience, the situation, and other’s reactions. This theory accounts for subjective interpretation of emotions. 16.7 (i) LET US SUM UP Emotion refers to a mental state that arises spontaneously rather than through conscious effort. Physiological changes as well as a feeling often accompany it. (ii) It is characterized by physiological arousal, cognitive elements, and changes in facial expressions, gestures, postures, and subjective feelings. (iii) Emotions may be classified in to primary and mixed states. (iv) Emotions seem to be linked up with many fundamental adaptive behaviors. (v) There are both positive and negative emotions. (vi) Amygdala of the brain is involved in production of fear. (vii) Many theories have tried to explain what takes place during emotion. (viii) James and Lange held that emotional feelings follow bodily arousal. Canon and Bard held that emotional feelings and bodily reactions occur at the same time. (ix) Schachter and Singer held that there must be a physiological arousal and an explanation for the arousal for emotion to occur. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 16.8 LESSON-END ACTIVITIES (i) Recall from your experience relating to past 24 hours, what were the primary emotions you experienced? Describe the physiological changes that you went through while experiencing such emotions. (ii) How does you experiences of emotion agree or disagree with the basic propositions of various theories of emotion? 16.9 POINTS FOR DISCUSSION Can you apply your understanding of the various aspects of emotion for attempting a programme to control your anger? Draw a practical programme step by step. 16.10 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS What is emotion? What are the functions of brain in emotion? How different theories explain the relationship between emotion and physiological changes? 16.11 REFERENCES Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint. Delhi: Akash Press. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology - The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com UNIT - V LESSON 17 PERSONALITY PERSPECTIVS IN CLASSICAL PSYCHOANALYSIS, INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY. 17.0. 17.1 17.2 17.3 Aims and Objectives Introduction Psychodynamic Perspective Classical Psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud 17.3.1 Personality Structure 17.3.1.1 The Id 17.3.1.2 The Ego 17.3.1.3 The Superego 17.3.2. Dynamics Of Personality 17.3.2.1 Anxiety And Defense Mechanisms 17.3.2.2 Mental Mechanisms 17.3.3. Psychosexual Development 17.3.3.1 Oral Stage 17.3.3.2 Anal Stage 17.3.3.3 Phallic Stage 17.3.3.4 Latency 17.3.3.5 Genital Stage Neo-Freudian Theories 17.4.1 Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler 17.4.2. Analytical Psychology Of Carl J Jung Let Us Sum Up Lesson-End Activities Points For Discussion. Check Your Progress References AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 17.4 17.5 17.6 17.7 17.8 17.9 17.0 In this unit we discussed how Sigmund Freud advances an explanation of the psychodynamics of personality, and how Alfred Adler and Carl J. Jung had further such explanation with their own insights. After going through this unit, you will be able to i) describe the psychodynamic perspective of personality ii) understand the contribution of classical psychoanalysis to understanding personality dynamics and iii) appreciate the development of the psychodynamic perspective contributed by Adler and Jung. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 17.1 INTRODUCTION People differ from one another widely and wildly. No two persons are alike. Personality theories attempt to understand the ways people differ from one another as well as the way people have certain common traits or characteristics. They are also concerned with tracing the sources of such individual differences. They also attempt to predict how an individual may behave in certain defined situation based on certain theoretical assumption. Thus, personality theories try to have a thorough understanding of how and to what extent individuals differ from one another and to what extent individuals are alike and what are the sources of these differences and how far the specific source of the personality differences are stable, that is long enduring or transient. The focus of personality theories is on the fundamental nature as far as it reflects in the differences between individuals as well as the uniqueness of the individuals. Why there are personality differences? In searching and seeking answers to this important question the psychologists have followed different paths. The evolutionary psychologists who have allegiance to Charles Darwin’ theory of evolution try to account for the individual differences in terms of alternative adoptive strategies followed by human individuals belonging to the animal kingdom. A few psychologists are convinced that behavior genetic remains the core of the source of individual differences. The behavior genetic approach has found a major source of the personality differences could be explained by genetic inheritance. Hence they try to analyze personality in terms of the complex interplay of the genetic components and the environmental influences. A few other psychologists have attempted to understand the individual differences in terms of the biological underpinnings of temperament and complex behavior since they view human being as one extending from lower species. A few pioneers in psychology have attempted to explain the personality in terms of psychodynamics. They attribute personality differences to psychodynamic factors such as unconscious mind. Though the merits of the psychoanalytic theorizing, which emphasizes the dynamic concepts, have contributed a great deal in furtherance of psychology in the early 20th centaury their validity and value are currently questioned by the modern Western Psychologists. The social cognitive theories of personality seem to dominate the field today. The psychologists exposing this point of view emphasize the importance of socialization and the effect of cognitive processes to create one's personality and behavior. The eastern thinkers have adduced vast amount of knowledge regarding human nature in general and consciousness in particular. They have relied on introspection and other subjective procedures in drawing their inferences. A few psychologists who are discontented with exclusively following the objective approach for studying personality have now turned to draw inspiration from the ancient Indian knowledge for furthering understanding of personality. 17.2 PSYCHODYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE A w ide group of theories emphasize the overriding influence of instinctive drives and forces, and the importance of developmental experiences in shaping personality. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Psychodynamic perspectives in psychology originated with the work of Sigmund Freud. They emphasize the importance of the unconscious in determining the thinking, willing and feeling of the individuals. Freudian psychoanalysis stresses that internal psychological processes are of primary importance for explaining the nature of the individual. Early childhood experiences have greater impact on one’s personality. Unconscious motivation contributes to various psychological phenomena. Rationality and morality sustain our ego and super ego. Individuals resort to defense mechanism to foster their ego. In the earlier stage of development the psychodynamic theories were exclusively concerned with the influence of unconscious drives and forces. However, recent psychodynamic theory places greater emphasis on conscious experience and its interaction with the unconscious. Further they accept the role that social factors playing a significant role in development. 17.3 CLASSICAL PSYCHOANALYIS OF SIGNMUND FREUD Freudian perspective in psychology is known as classical psychoanalysis. Freud aspired to develop psychology as science and hence required to bring in the concept of determinism for explaining psychological phenomena. He posited that human behavior is determined by the unconscious. He propounded the topographical model of personality. According to Freud the structure of personality includes the conscious, the preconscious and the unconscious. What one is presently aware of constitutes the conscious. Consciousness is riveted by our focus on what is happening at the current immediate moment, ‘here and now’. Awareness of certain facts relating to one’s experience may not be present in the conscious but are available for recall. This is designated as the preconscious. Lastly, there are certain facts relating to experience, especially, emotional experience may not be felt at the present moment or could be recalled voluntarily by an individual. However, such material remains dormant and remains buried in the underneath in the mind. This is known as the unconscious. The unconscious usually consists of the traumatic childhood experiences and tabooed sexual desires. The material hidden in the unconscious could hardly be retrieved by the awakened state of awareness. But, the influence of the unconscious is felt in all aspects of behavior. Freud held that the mind is like an iceberg. Like an iceberg merged in the water to the extent of 90 percent and allowing us to view only of its 10 percent of the mass, majority of our emotional experiences are buried under the unconscious and what we see as behavior out side is only but a small portion of the mental structure. 17.3.1. Personality Structure Besides picturing the scenery of personality Freud had identified and described the three partite structure of the human personality. The three parts of personality structure are labeled the id, the ego and the super-ego. 17.3.1.1 The Id. When born, the personality of the infant remains to be an embodiment of id. Thus id is the original system of personality and in the course of development is This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com differentiated into the ego and the superego. The id is occupied by a mass of blind instincts. There is no logical organization of these instincts and impulses in the id. Thus instincts that contradict one another may simultaneously be present in the id. No sense of time prevails in the id. Impulses already present in the id and also the new impulses repressed and sent to be hidden in the unconscious can remain unaltered for indefinite period in the id. That is how repressed traumatic experiences of childhood tend to persist and persevere in the adulthood and later. Id is essentially amoral in its character. It has no sense of values and cannot discriminate the good from the evil. It adheres to only pleasure principle: it’s only concern is to release tension instantly and relegate the organism to a comfort zone involving constant and low level of energy. Id is not oriented to reality. Id always tries to obtain pleasure and avoid pain and operates only on pleasure principle. The term primary process is used in psychoanalysis to Id’s approach towards wish fulfillment by avoiding pain and gain pleasure. This is an illusory processes and constitutes an hallucinatory form of experience in which desired object is present in the form of memory image of the desired one. Nocturnal dreams represent fulfillment or attempted fulfillment of a wish. The Id processes remain entirely unconscious. The processes are inferred by analyzing the manifestation of the processes in dreams, free associations, and neurotic and psychotic formation. The phenomena mentioned are known as instinct derivatives. Several primitive instincts are associated with the Id. However, sexual and aggressive instincts receive special premium. The problem of the Id as a system is that by itself it is not capable of reducing tension. For instance, a hunger experience by a person cannot be satiated by images of food and the tension can not be relieved by such form of wish fulfillment. If Id is not safeguarded and is left to its own strategies it might annihilate itself. 17.3.1.2 The Ego. The emergence of ego is necessitated by the needs of the individual demand appropriate transactions with the objective reality. For instance, a hungry man should search and seek means to satiate his hunger along with adjusting his memory images of food. Only then his tension due to hunger could be relieved. The ego discriminates the things in the mind from things in the world of reality. The Id could hardly discriminate between imagination and reality as the ego. The ego adheres to reality principles by approaching every thing with invoking higher mental process. It applies logic in its thinking and is rationalistic in its approach. This process is called the secondary process in the psychoanalysis. The ego sticking on to reality principle would examine whether an experience is real or not and whether it has objective existence or a subjective existence. The Id, of course, would only consider an experience only in terms of whether it is a pleasurable or painful one. The paramount task for the ego is to mediate between the instinctual requirements of the individual and the conditions of the surrounding environment. Its main aim is to uphold the life of the individual and ensure progeny are reproduced to sustain the existence of the species. The ego is regarded to be the executive of personality. It controls the gateways to action and selects the features of the environment to which it will respond. It is the ego that determines which instincts to be satisfied, which mean is to be adopted and in what manner. In discharging the very significant executive functions the ego has to integrate the most often conflicting demands of the Id, the Superego, and the external world. This is a stupendous task and places a great strain on the ego. The term ego strength is used in psychoanalysis to refer This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com to the capacity of the ego to successfully cope with the id, superego, and the real world. The ego is a rational, well-ordered aspect of personality since it has to deal with reality effectively. It is the ability of the ego for organizing, for being critical, and for synthesizing that makes a life of the individual as a life tempered with reason despite his fundamental animalistic nature. 17.3.1.3 The Superego. The super ego comprises of the internal representative of the traditional values and ideals of society. The values and ideals are those instructions of dos and donts imparted by the parents as comprehended by the child. The rewards and punishments awarded by the parents leads to such incorporation of principles in the child. The term introjection is used in psychoanalysis to connote this process. Super ego is the last system of the three partite system of personality to be developed. It represents the moral objectives and stands for the ideal rather than for the real. It uncompromisingly strives for perfection rather than operating at pleasure principle. Super ego is developed in response to the rewards and punishment meted out by the child at the hands of the parents. Whatever is regarded improper by parents and lead to punishment is shun in the conscience. Whatever is hailed by the parents and leads to reward are developed as values and ideals for the child. The term introjection is used in psychoanalysis to refer to the mechanism through which this incorporation of the indoctrination of the parents takes place. The conscience adopting the doctrines of the parents would punish an individual when he transgresses them by invoking feelings of guilt. The conscience would reward the individual when he adopts himself to the doctrines of the parent by evoking a sense of pride in himself. Thus, once the super ego emerged self-control gets substituted for parental control. The super ego has several functions to discharge. It has to inhibit the Id impulses, especially the Id’s sexual and aggressive impulses. The two impulses mentioned are the ones usually tabooed in the society. It has to influence the ego to substitute moralistic goals for realistic goals. It has to constantly strive for perfection. The superego is also irrational in its nature, like the id. It tries to exercise control over the instincts. The ego merely tries to postpone instinctual gratification. But, the super ego tries to block it once and for all. The super ego is evolved during the Oedipal stage as well as with the resolution of the Oedipal complex on through adolescence. 17.3.2 Dynamics of Personality An individual’s life is dominated by conflict between Id, ego, and super ego. Individual’s mind is a field for constant battles between the id, ego, and superego. The id always insists instant gratification of its felt needs. The ego has to rise to the occasion and control the Id impulses. The super ego must invoke the guilt feeling to obtain the Id impulses completely. Usually these conflicts are centered on sex and aggression. This is because that the social norms governing the sexual behavior and aggression are so subtle. It is also the case that most often inconsistent messages about what’s appropriate to deal with sexual and aggressive impulses are passed on to the individual by the society. Hence these drives create a lot of confusion. Hence, ordinarily these drives are thwarted more than other basic biological needs. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 17.3.2.1 Anxiety and Defense Mechanisms. Most of the conflicts confronting an individual are usually trivial and are subjected to get resolved within a short span. Yet, a few conflicts can persist for a long time. Such conflicts are the conflicts the individual experiencing the conflict might not be aware of since they are rooted in his unconscious. These conflicts can produce anxiety that that slips to the surface of conscious awareness. The anxiety so experienced may be attributed to the concerns of the ego. The ego in such a condition may be worried about the Id getting out of control and leading to severe negative consequences. The ego may also be concerned that the super ego is getting out of control leading to feelings of guilt about real or thwarted transgression of the moral doctrines. The anxiety arising in these conditions is quite distressing to the individual experiencing the conflict. Under such conditions, individuals may resort to a variety of strategies to get over the unpleasant experience of anxiety. The strategies so attempted may constitute largely unconscious reactions that ward of the anxiety and guilt feelings to certain extant during a span of time. Since they are self-deceptive they do not provide ultimate solution to the problems of haunting anxiety and tormenting guilt feelings. Such strategies are termed defense mechanisms in psychoanalysis. 17.3.2.2 Mental Mechanisms. Several are the strategies of the ego to ward of anxiety and guilt feelings. Repression is an active defense mechanism by which the ego attempts to push away the anxiety arousing impulses or memories into the unconscious. Keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious constitutes this process. This could be explained by the instance of a woman who was sexually abused in childhood develops amnesia for the event. In denial, an individual may just refuse to acknowledge anxiety-arousing conditions of the environment. Such denial may involve either the emotions attendant with the event or the event itself. Denial connotes the motivated negation. Here, ego tries to evade the disagreeable realities by refusing to acknowledge them and arguing against them. Most people who are diagnosed for having diabetic disorder for the first time usually attempt to ward of their anxiety by denying that they have the disorder. They often feel that the diagnosis is erroneous. In displacement or scapegoating and unacceptable dangerous impulse is repressed and there upon shifted to another substitute target with which the individual could show his reaction in a safe manner. A person tormented by the boss at his office might not show any revolt at the office since he cannot do so. But, he may turn to his helpless wife and children and show his reactions I the form of aggression. In projection an individual might resort to attribute the forbidden impulses to others. A stingy person might project his unacceptable character of stinginess to others and call every other person a stingy one. Constructing false but plausible excuses to an unacceptable anxiety provoking experience or event might constitute rationalization. In rationalization one resort to argue a case, which is not acceptable to him at the unconscious, level and builds up an apparent rational excuse. A research scholar failing in an exam may argue that the teachers had not valued his paper in a proper manner and the teacher who valued his script had taken revenge on him since he might have been jealousy of the brilliancy of the scholar. In this mechanism an individual might also invoke sour grapism arguing that what he could not achieve is not worth achieving. In reaction formation an individual might resort to an exaggerated expression of the behavior that stands exactly opposite to what he desires to adopt in his unconscious mind. The police officer who recklessly beat a culprit of a petty offense This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com might be entertaining criminal cravings in his unconscious and the criminal craving impulses repressed might be contributing to his resorting to this mechanism. Some time an individual who could not successfully cope with present challenge might fell anxious and guilty and repress the feelings. Such repressed feeling may be expressed by his reverting to an earlier stage of his development. This state of affairs is called regression. A research scholar who cries hysterically when he is told that he had not passed in a paper might be in this state. In identification an individual might identify himself with some other person who may be a hero or an aggressor to ward of his repressed anxiety. Bolstering self-esteem by forming an imaginary or real alliance with a person or a group might explain the mechanism of identification. In sublimation an individual may accept a goal alternative to the goal he could not achieve, and which provides a socially acceptable outlet of expression and yields partial satisfactions that are free of guilt feelings. Sublimation is regarded the healthiest of all the defense mechanisms used by individuals. An individual given to aggressive impulses turning himself to boxing and the an individual with sex-curiosity diverting his curiosity by becoming a scientist are examples for sublimation. Compensation is another healthy mechanism in which the individual attempts to disguise the presence of a weak or undesirable trait by emphasizing a desirable one. A person with stuttering might turn all his efforts to develop excellence in writing scripts may take up the writing talent to compensate his deficiency in speaking. However, it should be quickly added that over compensation might prove unhealthy in its outcome. An unattractive girl trying to compensate her felt deficiency by trying to become a very interesting speaker must be well with in her limits. Lest she might be called chatterbox and might have to be anxious about people rejecting her in the area in which she attempts compensation. In fantasy or daydreaming an individual tries to invoke imagination and imagine that he achieves his goals and desires. It stands for a subjective reverie that provides some comfort when the individual is far away from his desired goal in reality. Building castles in air is another term used to denote this mechanism. Some time indulging in this mechanism might induce such strong involvement that the individual might resort to action in overt behavior. A young adolescent vendor selling glasswares was day dreaming that he will be able to build up his business and become a great rich man one day. While he had been engrossed in such fantasy he assumed that he had already become and imagined that he might kick his subordinate with his foot. He felt that this fantasy was so real that he indeed kicked with his foot in front and the glass wears in front of him were damaged by his kicking. 17.3.3 Psycho Sexual Development According to Sigmund Freud, the basic foundation for a person’s personality is laid down by the age of 5. In psychoanalysis the term sexual is used as a general term for physical pleasure. Freud had emphasized how young children deal with their immature but powerful sexual urges. In each stage of development children focus their sexual energy in typical manner. The psychosexual developmental stages represent developmental periods with a characteristic sexual focus that leave their mark on adult personality. Each psychosexual stage has its own developmental challenges and the ways these challenges are handled determines personality. Developmental period in each stage is not always smooth and marching forward. Some time fixation might occur during the developmental process. The term fixation connotes a failure to move forward from one This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com stage to another as expected. Fixation can be caused by excessive gratification of needs or by excessive frustration of those needs. 17.3.3.1 Oral Stage. The first stage of psychosexual development is called the oral stage. Oral Stage occurs in the first year of life. In this period the libidinal energy is supposed to be focused on the mouth of the infant. The infant derives pleasure in sucking the breast or any other object put on its mouth. During oral period the infant is almost completely dependent upon his mother. Such feelings of dependency may tend to persist through out one life despite of later ego development. Whenever an individual feels anxious and insecure the feelings of dependency are likely to reoccur in him. Incorporation of food and biting are prototypes of many of the later character traits that develop. Pleasure derived from oral incorporation may be displaced to other modes of incorporation at later stages. Pleasure gained from acquiring knowledge or possession may be symbolically representing the sources of pleasure experience during oral period. Gullibility may denote tendency to swallow almost anything told without applying one’s mind and the tendency on the part of an individual may be due to his fixation at the oral stage. Biting or oral aggression may be displaced in the form of sarcasm and argumentativeness. Through displacements and sublimations of various kinds the prototypic models of oral functioning may provide the basis for the development of a vast network of interests, attitudes, and character traits. 17.3.3.2 Anal Stage. Anal stage occurs in the second and third years of life. During this stage the libidinal pleasure is derived from the process of elimination. It is the stage that begins with toilet training. The toilet training provides the first decisive experience with the external regulation of an instinctual impulse. The child has to learn to postpone pleasure that comes from the release of their anal tensions. The way the toilet training is imparted by the mother, as well as her feelings concerning defecation, may have farreaching effects upon the formation of specific traits and values in the growing individual. For instance, when the mother is very strict and repressive in her methods adopted for toilet training, the child may hold back his feces and become constipated. If this mode generalizes on to other ways of behaving, the child will develop a retentive character: obstinate and stingy. If repressive measures strain the child it may vent rage by expelling their feces at the most inappropriate time. This is the prototype of All kinds of expulsive traits including cruelty, destructiveness, temper tantrums and messy disorderliness may have their sources with the prototype just cited. If the mother encourages her child to have a bowel movement by pleasing and rewarding the child with lavish praises when they do, the child may develop the notion that the whole activity of producing feces is extremely important. This prototype may be the basis for creativity and productivity at later stages. 17.3.3.3 Phallic Stage. The third psychosexual developmental period is the Phallic Stage. This occurs during 4-5 years of age. It is held that at this stage of development the source of libidinal pleasure resides in the phallic. It is common among the age group of this period to twist and turn the genital organ for pleasure. During this period sexual and aggressive feelings associated with the functioning of the genital organs come into focus. The pleasures of masturbation and the fantasy life of the child, which accompany autoerotic activity is said to provide the stage for the appearance of the Oedipus complex. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Oedipus complex is named after the Greek legendary character Oedipus who unknowingly killed his father in a battle and married his mother. The emotional complex involving the conflict between love for the mother and hatred for the father is denoted by Oedipus Complexes. It embodies the sexual catharsis for the parent of he opposite sex and a hostile catharsis for the parent of the same sex. The boy wants to possess his mother and remove his father and the girl wants to possess her father and remove her mother. The female counter part of Oedipus complex is called Electra complex. For both men and women, the emergence, development and resolution of the OC are regarded as the chief event of the phallic period. The resolution of the period leaves host residuals in the personality. For instance, attitudes towards the opposite sex and towards people of authority are largely conditioned by the OC. The phallic stage stands as a major milestone in the gender identity among individuals. Ordinarily the children resolve their conflicts of the phallic period by repressing their sexual impulses and moving from a sexual attachment to the opposite- sex parent to identification with the same sex-parent. Boys tend to take the traits of their fathers and girls, the traits of their mothers. At the conclusion of the phallic stage around the age of 7 the psychosexual development enters the latency period. During this period the sexuality remains dormant for 6 years. The sexual awakening begins at adolescence leading to a life long genital stage. 17.3.3.4 Latency. At about the age of 5, as a result of the repression of sexual conflicts the child enters a latency period, during which impulses tend to be held in a state of repression. During latency period, the child develops ego functions, such as reading, arithmetic, and social skills. The dynamic changes of adolescence reactivate the pregenital impulses and if they are successfully displaced and sublimated by the ego, the person passes into the final stage of maturity, the genital stage. 17.3.3.5 Genital Stage. The cathexes of the pregenital stages are narcissistic in character. The individual obtains gratification from the stimulation and manipulation of their own body. At these stages other people are cathected only because of the fact that they help to provide additional forms of body pleasure to the child. Some of the self- love becomes channeled into genuine object choices during adolescence. The adolescence begins with the tendency to love others for altruistic motives. Adolescent does not love simply for selfish or narcissistic reasons. Sexual attraction, socialization, group activities, vocational planning, and preparation for marrying and rising a family begin to manifest themselves during adolescence period. These help to ultimately transform the adolescent from a pleasure-seeking narcissistic infant to a reality-oriented somewhat altruistic socialized adult. The pregenital impulses are not entirely displaced by genital ones the cathexes of the oral, anal, and phallic stages become fussed with genital impulses. The path of development does not have sharp breaks or abrupt transitions from one stage to another. The final organization of personality of an individual represents contributions from all the four stages of psychosexual development. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 17.4 NEO-FREUDIAN THEORIES Psychologists who concurred with Sigmund Freud and contributed to development of Freudian Psychoanalysis had differed from the approach of Freud in different aspects of explaining the nature of human being in different ways. Those psychologists are collectively known as Neo Freudian Psychologists. Prominent among the neo Freudians are Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, Erickson, Karen Horney, Erich Fromm, Harry Stack Sullivan, Anna Freud, and D.W.Winnicott. 17.4.1 Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler Alfred Adler’s psychological perspective is termed individual psychology. Adler emphasizes that an individual’s thinking, feeling, emotion, and behavior can only be understood as subordinated to the individual's style of life, or consistent pattern of dealing with life. The personality remains to be one’s style of life. It is not that an individual is internally divided or his mind remains the battleground of conflicting forces. Each aspect of the personality points in the same direction. Hence personality is a holistic phenomenon. Adler emphasizes that an individual’s thinking, feeling, emotion, and behavior can only be understood as subordinated to the individual's style of life, or consistent pattern of dealing with life. Adler holds that every one is born into the world with a sense of inferiority. An individual starts his course of life as a weak and helpless child and constantly strives to overcome these deficiencies by becoming superior to those around us. This process of struggling is designated as struggle a striving for superiority. Striving for superiority remains the driving force behind all human thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Individuals strive to be accomplished writers, powerful business people, or influential politicians because of their feelings of inferiority and a strong need to over come this negative part of them. Some time the excessive feeling of inferiority can bring the opposite effect as well. When this feeling of inferiority becomes overwhelming and without being accompanied by the needed successes, an individual could develop an inferiority complex. Inferiority complex as a belief leaves in an individual feeling incredibly less important and deserving than others, helpless, hopeless, and unmotivated to strive for the superiority that would make us complete. The parenting of children is a significant factor influencing the development of the child. Improper or inefficient child rearing has long-term effects on the child development. Two of the parental styles identified to exerting great effect on development of the child connotes papering and neglect. Pampering, a parent overprotecting a child, giving him too much attention, and sheltering him from the This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com negative realities of life might lead a child to grow ill equipped to deal with these realities, developing doubt about his own abilities or decision making skills, and to constantly seeking out others to replace the safety he once enjoyed as a child. A neglected child not protected at all from the world and forced to face life's struggles alone may grow up to fear the world, have a strong sense of mistrust for others and she may have a difficult time forming intimate relationships. Properly balanced parental style may protect children form the evils of the world but not shelter them from it. Such a style would envisage parents to allowing the child to hear or see the negative aspects of the world while still feeling the safety of parental influence. Parent who follows the proper parental style may not immediately rush to the school authorities if his child is getting bullied; rather he would teach his child how to respond or take care of oneself at school. The order in which an individual is born to a family inherently affects his or her personality. The first-born children who later have younger siblings may have the worst effect on their personality. They are given excessive attention and pampering by their parents until when the little sibling is born. They find every thing is changed suddenly and they are no longer the center of attention and fall into the shadows. Such children are left feeling inferior, questioning their importance in the family, and trying desperately to gain back the attention they suddenly lost. The theory of birth order theory suggests that first-born children often have the greatest number of problems, as they get older. Middle born children may have their personality inspired by their position of birth in the family. They are not pampered as their older sibling was, but are still afforded the attention of the parents. As a middle child, an individual may have the luxury of trying to dethrone the oldest child and become more superior while at the same time knowing that he or she holds the same power over their younger siblings. Thus, middle children develop and have a high need for superiority and are often able to seek it out such as through healthy competition. Children born as the youngest children, like the first born, may be more likely to experience personality problems later in life. This is because the youngest born child who grows up knowing that he has the least amount of power in the whole family. The youngest born may see his older siblings as having more freedom and more superiority. The youngest born is also gets pampered and protected more than any other child did. Such experiences could leave the youngest born individual with a sense that he cannot take on the world alone and that will always be inferior to others. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 17.4.2 Analytical Psychology of Carl J Jung The psychological perspectives of Carl Jung are termed analytical psychology. Jung disagreed with the Freudian formulation of the construct of unconscious. He was conceived that there were fears, behaviors, and thoughts that children and adults exhibit that are remarkably similar across time and culture and similarity witnessed was more than coincidence. He propounded the concept of collective unconscious to account for the witnessed similarity across time and culture. Jung stresses that it the collective unconscious that influences the personality. It is generally agreed among the critics that Jung has pieced together an important, and previously missing, explanation of these personality aspects that we all share. The collective unconscious is made up of archetypes which are primordial images inherited from our ancestors. The immediate attachment infants have for their mother, the inevitable fear of the dark seen in young children, and how images such as the sun, moon, wise old man, angels, and evil all seem to be predominate themes throughout history lend credence to the existence of collective unconscious. Infants are drawn to their mother because of the unconscious image of mother that is alive in all human beings and every child fears the dark because of the unconscious image of darkness. Of the archetypes described by Jung a few including the animus/anima, the shadow, and the self have more application in personality theory. The masculine side of the female is terms animus and the feminine side of the male is called the anima. Unlike Freud who believed that individuals are all born bisexual and develop normal sexual attraction through our psychosexual development, Jung remained convinced that every one has an unconscious opposite gender hidden within him or herself and the role of this archetype is to guide individual toward the perfect mate. In other words, people project our animus/anima onto others as they project theirs on to us: when a match is made, people have found a suitable partner. The shadow is basically the unconscious negative or dark side of one’s personality. The shadow, like all other archetypes, is passed down through history and given different names depending on time and culture. The self-archetype is the unifying part of all the people that finds balance in the lives of the people. Working with the ego which is partly in our personal unconscious, may help manage the other archetypes and helps one feel complete. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 17.5 LET US SUM UP i) Personality theories attempt to understand the ways people differ from one another. Psychodynamic perspectives of Sigmund Freud emphasized the importance of the unconscious in determining the thinking, willing and feeling of the individuals. ii) Freudian posited that human behavior is determined by the unconscious. iii) The three parts of personality structure are labeled the id, the ego and the super-ego. iv) Id, ego and super ego are constantly conflicting giving rise to anxiety. v) To ward of anxiety defense mechanisms are resorted. vi) Psychosexual developmental stages represent developmental periods with leave their mark on adult personality. vii) Neo-Freudians agree with Freud in sharing the psychic determinism but disagree with him on specific aspects of explaining personality. viii) Adler emphasizes life style and the feelings of inferiority and craving for superiority. ix) Jung emphasizes archetypes as contributing to personality of the individuals. 17.6 LESSON-END ACTIVITIES A few activities based on this lesson for your perusal and action. (i) Describe the dominant features in your super-ego (ii) Trace the individuals who had impact on your super-ego and out line their role in development of your super ego. (iii) Identify the defense mechanisms you often resort to in service of your ego. (iv) Introspect and report your feelings of inferiority. Under what conditions you experience the feelings of inadequacy or inferiority. How do you propose to compensate for your inferiority feelings? 17.7 (i) (ii) 17.8 (i) (ii) (iii) POINTS FOR DISCUSSION Evaluate the classical psychoanalytic perspective of personality. Critically analyze the perspectives Adler and Jung CHECK YOUR PROGRESS What is the explanation provided by Freud for personality? How do Adler account for the development of personality? How does the unconscious of Jungian perspective differ from that of Freud. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 17.9 REFERENCES Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint. Delhi: Akash Press. Friedman, H.S. and Schustack, M.W. (2004). Personality – Classic Theories and Modern Research. (2nd Edition). Delhi: Pearson Education. Hjelle, L.A. and Ziegler, D.J. (1992). Personality Theories – Basic assumptions, research, and applications. (Third Edition). Singapore: McGraw-Hill International Edition. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology - The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com LESSON 18 NEO-FREUDIAN PERSPECTIVS OF PERSONALITY 18.0 18.1 18.2 Aims And Objectives Introduction Erik Erikson 18.2.1 Stages of Psychosocial Development 18.2.1.1 Trust Verses Mistrust. 18.2.1.2 Autonomy Vs. Shame And Doubt.. 18.2.1.3 Initiative Vs. Guilt. 18.2.1.4 Industry Vs. Inferiority. 18.2.1.5 Identity Vs. Role Confusion. 18.2.1.6 Intimacy Vs. Isolation.. 18.2.1.7 Generativity Vs. Stagnation. 18.2.1.8 Ego Integrity Vs. Despair.. 18.3 Karen Horney 18.3.1 Neurotic Relationships 18.4 Harry Stack-Sullivan 18.4.1. Personifications 18.4.2 Developmental Stages 18.5 Erich Fromm. 18.5.1 Families 18.5.2 The Social Unconscious Orientations 18.6 Let Us Sum Up 18.7 Lesson End Activities 18.8 Points For Discussion 18.9 Check Your Progress 18.10 References 18.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES In Lesson 17 we presented the psychodynamic theories of Freud, Adler and Jung. After going through this unit you will be able to (i) identify the perspectives of Neo-Freudians that distinguish them from Freud. (ii) appreciate desexualized developmental stages of personality development (iii) appreciate the developmental crisis arising at various stages of personality development (iv) trace the development of neurotic personality to patterns of interpersonal relationship (v) understand an eclectic view of personality development through personification (vi) appreciate the impact of biological and social determinism on development of personality orientations This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 18.1 INTRODUCTION In the Lesson 17 we focused on psychodynamic perspective of personality and discussed the contribution of Freud, Adler and Jung. In this Lesson we are going to present the contribution of a few psychologists who belong to the school of thought called Neo-Freudians. The Neo-Freudians were those followers of Sigmund Freud who accepted the basic tenets of his theory of but altered it in one way or the other. For instance, Erikson did not subscribe to the sexual ingredient of the development emphasized by Freud, but, developed his developmental theory correlating the psychosexual developmenta; stages described by Freud. 18.2 ERIK ERIKSON Erikson believed that the ego Freud described was far more than just a mediator between the superego and the id. He saw the ego as a positive driving force in human development and personality. As such, he believed the ego's main job was to establish and maintain a sense of identity. A person with a strong sense of identity is one who knows where he is in life, has accepted this positions and has workable goals for change and growth. He has a sense of uniqueness while also having a sense of belonging and wholeness. Those who have weaker egos, encounter trying times, or who have poorly developed egos get trapped in what is termed an identity crisis. According to Erikson, an identity crisis is a time in a person's life when they lack direction, feel unproductive, and do not feel a strong sense of identity. He believed that we all have identity crises at one time or another in our lives and that these crises do not necessarily represent a negative but can be a driving force toward positive resolution. 18.2.1 Stages of Psychosocial Development Erikson, along with Freud and many other psychologists maintained that personality develops in a predetermined order. He shifted the focus from sexual development to how children socialize and how this affects their sense of self. He views personality as a phenomena developing throughout the lifetime of an individual and looked specifically at identity crises at the focal point for each stage of human development. According to Erikson, the psychosocial development of individuals proceeds through eight distinct stages. Each stage is associated with two possible outcomes. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Successful completion of each stage results in a healthy personality and successful interactions with others and failure to successfully complete a stage can result in a reduced ability to complete further stages and therefore a more unhealthy personality and sense of self. The crises attached with the different stages, however, can be resolved successfully at a later time. 18.2.1.1. Trust Verses Mistrust. Since birth to one year, a child begins to learn the ability to trust others based upon the consistency of his or her caregiver(s). If trust develops successfully in the child, he or she may gain confidence and security in the world around him to such an extent that enables him or her to feel secure even when threatened. Unsuccessful completion of the first stage may result in an inability to trust. Under such condition the individual may develop a sense of fear about the inconsistent world. This may incite in the individual anxiety, heightened insecurities, and an over feeling of mistrust in the world around him or her. 18.2.1.2 Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt. Between the ages of one and three, a child begins to assert his or her independence, by walking away from this or her mother, picking which toy to play with, and making choices about what he or she likes to wear, to eat, etc. If a child in this stage is encouraged and supported in his or her increased independence, he or she becomes more confident and secure in his or her own ability to survive in the world. If a child is criticized, overly controlled, or not given the opportunity to assert him self or her self, the child begins to feel inadequate in his or her ability to survive, and may then become overly dependent upon others, lack self-esteem, and feel a sense of shame or doubt in their his or her own abilities. 18.2.1.3. Initiative vs. Guilt. Around age three and continuing to age six, a child asserts himself or herself more frequently. The child begins to plan activities, makes up games, and initiates activities with others. If given this opportunity, a child develops a sense of initiative, and feel secure in his or her ability to lead others and make decisions. On the contrary, if this tendency is squelched, either through criticism or control, the child develops a sense of guilt. He or she may feel like a nuisance to others and will therefore remain a follower, lacking in self- initiative. 18.2.1.4. Industry vs. Inferiority. From age six years to puberty, a child begins to develop a sense of pride in their accomplishments. The child initiates projects, sees them through to completion, and feels good about what they have achieved. During this period, teachers play an increased role in the development of the child. If a child is encouraged and reinforced for the initiative, he or she begins to feel industrious and feels confident in his or her ability to achieve goals. If the initiative is not encouraged, if it is restricted by This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com parents or teacher, then the child begins to feel inferior, doubting his own abilities and therefore may not reach his or her potential. 18.2.1.5. Identity vs. Role Confusion. The transition from childhood to adulthood assumes significance during adolescence stage. A child growing into adolescent becomes more independent, and begins to look at the future in terms of career, relationships, families, housing, etc. During this period, the adolescent explores possibilities and begins to form his or her own identity based upon the outcome of his or her explorations. This sense of who one is can be hindered, which results in a sense of confusion about himself or herself and his or her role in the world. This condition of is attributed to identity crisis experienced in adolescence. 18.2.1.6. Intimacy vs. Isolation. This dilemma occurs in Young adulthood. The young adult begins to share himself or herself more intimately with others. He or she explores relationships leading toward longer term commitments with someone other than a family member. Successful completion of this crisis can lead to comfortable relationships and a sense of commitment, safety, and care within a relationship. Avoiding intimacy, fearing commitment and relationships can lead to isolation, loneliness, and sometimes depression in the individual who is given to intimacy. 18.2.1.7. Generativity vs. Stagnation. This crisis is common during the middle adulthood when one establishes his or her careers, settles down within a relationship, begins own families and develops a sense of being a part of the bigger picture. At this stage an individual returns the favor received from society by raising our children, being productive at work, and becoming involved in community activities and organizations. When an individual is not successful in resolving the crisis at this stage he or she we becomes stagnant and feel unproductive. 18.2.1.8. Ego Integrity vs. Despair. The last of the crisis occurs in old age. As one grows older and becomes a senior citizen, one would tend to slow down our productivity, and explore life as a retired person. It is during this time that an individual contemplates his or her accomplishments and is able to develop integrity if he sees himself or herself as leading a successful life. If one sees his or her life as unproductive, feels guilt about our pasts, or feels that he or she we did not accomplish his or her life goals, he or she gets dissatisfied with life and develops despair, often leading to depression and hopelessness. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 18.3 KAREN HORNEY Horney disagreed with Freud's belief that males and females were born with inherent differences in their personality. She tried to account for personality differences among male and female in terms of societal and cultural elements rather than citing biological differences. Men and women are equal outside of the cultural restrictions often placed on being female. The views expressed by Horney were used to help promote gender equality. She focused her study on neurotic personality. According to her, neurosis may be defined as a maladaptive and counterproductive way of dealing with relationships. Neurotic people are unhappy and desperately seek out relationships in order to feel good abut themselves. Neurotic’s ways of securing these relationships include projections of their own insecurity and neediness, which eventually drives others away. Individuals who seem to successfully irritate or frighten people away with their clinginess, significant lack of self esteem, and even anger and threatening behavior have adapted this personality style through a childhood filled with anxiety. Though this way of dealing with others may have been beneficial in youth, in adult hood it will not serve their needs. 18.3.1 Neurotic relationships Three typical ways of dealing with the world that are formed by an upbringing in a neurotic family could be identified. They include Moving Toward People, Moving Against People, and Moving Away From People. Individuals who adopt the style moving toward people have a typical orientation. Children who feel a great deal of anxiety and helplessness move toward people in order to seek help and acceptance. They are striving to feel worthy and believe that the only way to gain this is through the acceptance of others. They have an intense need to be liked, involved, important, and appreciated to a great extent that they will often fall in love quickly or feel an artificial but very strong attachment to people they may not know well. Their attempts to make that person love them creates a clinginess and neediness that more often results in the other person leaving the relationship. Individuals adopting the style of moving against people have a distinct pattern in forming relationships. They try to force your power onto others in hopes of feeling good about them selves. Those with this personality style would result in the making of an individual a bossy, demanding, selfish, and even cruel. These people project their own hostilities onto others and therefore use this as a justification to 'get them before they get me.' Here again, relationships appear doomed from the origin. Another pattern of developing relationships orients the individual towards moving away This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com from people. One of the possible consequence of a neurotic household is a personality style filled with asocial behavior and an almost indifference to others. This pattern of forming or avoid forming of relationships is governed by the dictum,” If I don’t get involved with others, they can not hurt me!’ While it may serve some preventive function it may also keep one away from other positive aspects of relationships possible. Such a pattern of functioning would leave the individuals alone and empty. 18.4 HARRY STACK-SULLIVAN Sullivan trained in psychoanalysis drifted from the specific psychoanalytic beliefs while retaining much of the core concepts of Freud. He placed a lot of focus on both the social aspects of personality and cognitive representations. He gave up the orientation towards psychosexual development and moved toward a more eclectic approach to understand personality. To Freud, anxiety was an important aspect in his theory since it represented internal conflict between the id and the superego. To Sullivan, however, anxiety seems to exist only as a consequence of social interactions. In describing techniques, much like defense mechanisms that provide tools for people to use in order to reduce social anxiety, he pitched upon Selective Inattention as a significant mechanism. Mothers show their anxiety about child rearing to their children through various means and the child, having no way to deal with this, feels the anxiety himself or her self. The child sooner learns selective inattention, and the child begins to ignore or reject the anxiety or any interaction that could produce these uncomfortable feelings. Similarly, adult individuals use the technique of selective inattention to focus the minds away from stressful situations. 18.4.1 Personifications Through social interactions and our selective attention or inattention, one develops personifications of others and ourselves. As mental images personifications allow people to better understand themselves and the world. One could see himself or herself in three basic ways. One may see himself as the bad-me, the good-me and the notme. The bad me represent those aspects of the self that are considered negative. They are therefore hidden from others and possibly even the self. The anxiety one feels is often a result of recognition of the bad part of him self or her self such as when one recalls an embarrassing moment or experience guilt from a past action. The good me is everything one likes about him self. It represents the part of one self he or she shares with others. One is often choosing to focus o good me since it is least producing anxiety. The final part of the individual called the not-me, represents all those things that are so anxiety This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com provoking that one can not even consider them a part of him self or her self. Focusing on not- me definitely creates anxiety that one wishes to avoid in lifetime. The not- me is kept out of awareness by repression. Such matters are pushed deep into the unconscious. 18.4.2 Developmental Stages Like Freud, Sullivan also emphasizes that the childhood experiences determine the adult personality to a large extent. Throughout our childhood, the mother plays the most significant role through out the childhood. Unlike Freud, Sullivan believes that personality can develop past adolescence and even well into adulthood. Sullivan has propounded his developmental theory relating to the epochs of personality development. Every individual passes through these stages in a particular order. But, the timing of such developmental periods and process are dictated by one’s social environment. The epoch theory mostly revolves around the conflicts of adolescence. According to this theory three stages are devoted to adolescent. Much of the problems of adulthood, believed Sullivan, arise from the turmoil of our adolescence. The epoch theory conceives seven stages of development including infancy, childhood, juvenile, preadolescence, early adolescence, late adolescence, and adulthood. The infancy period occurs from birth to one year. During this period the child begins the process of developing. No special significance is attached to this period compared to the other stages of development as did by Freud. Childhood is spread from the end of the first year to five years. The development of speech and improved communication is the significant tasks happening at this stage of development. Juvenile period occurs during six to eight years. During this period the main focus for a juvenile is the need for playmates and the beginning of healthy socialization. Preadolescence stage occurs from 9 to 12 years. During this period the child's ability to form a close relationship with a peer is under the major focus. Because, the relationship formed in this stage of development will later assist the child in feeling worthy and likable and without this ability, forming the intimate relationships in late adolescence and adulthood will be difficult. The early adolescent stage occurs from 13 to 17 years. During this period the onset of puberty changes the need for friendship to a need for sexual expression. Self worth will often become synonymous with sexual attractiveness and acceptance by opposite sex peers in this period. Late adolescent period is spread from 18 to 22 or 23. During this period the need for friendship and need for sexual expression get combined and a long term relationship becomes the primary focus. Conflicts between parental control and selfexpression are commonplace in this period. The overuse of selective inattention in previous stages can result in a skewed perception of the self and the world during late adolescent period. Adulthood begins at the age of 23 and extends later. During adulthood This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com the struggles experienced by the individual include financial security, career, and family. If the individual has passed through the previous stages, especially the adolescent stages successfully, he or she could easily establish adult relationships and much needed socialization. When the earlier development has not been smooth for the individual, he or she may have to encounter interpersonal conflicts that result in anxiety. 18.5 ERICH FROMM Fromm's theory is a rather unique blend of Freud and Marx. Freud. He identified two deterministic systems to account for human character: the biological determinism and the societal determinism. He added to this mix the idea of personal freedom to admit that people can transcend the determinisms that Freud and Marx attribute to them. Fromm regards individual freedom the central characteristic of human nature. A simplistic pure biological determinism is applicable to animal life and the purely societal determinism is applicable to the type of traditional society of the Middle Ages. Historically speaking, this simple, if hard, life began to get shaken up with the Renaissance from which time onward people started to see humanity as the center of the universe, instead of God. Over the past half a centaury the idea of the individual, with individual thoughts, feelings, moral conscience, freedom, and responsibility, came into being. But the individuality has come to be associated with isolation, alienation, and bewilderment. Individual freedom is a difficult thing to have, and when one can he or she tends to flee from it. Three ways in which people escape from freedom could be identified. In authoritarianism, people seek to avoid freedom by fusing themselves with others, by becoming a part of an authoritarian system like the society of the Middle Ages. Alternatively they might submit to the power of others, becoming passive and compliant. In another alternative they might become an authority themselves and such people tend to apply structure to others. Either way, they escape their separate identity. People may escape freedom through destructiveness. Authoritarians respond to a painful existence by eliminating themselves, in a figurative sense. They follow the dictum, ‘ if there is no me then how anything could hurt me!’ Others attempt to destroy the world following the dictum, ‘If I destroy the world, how can it hurt me? ’ Such escape from freedom may accounts for much of the indiscriminate nastiness of life including brutality, vandalism, humiliation, vandalism, crime, and terrorism. If a person's desire to destroy is blocked by circumstances, he or she may redirect it inward. Suicide may be one such destructive act. Many illnesses like drug addiction, alcoholism, even the joys of passive entertainment also represent such destructive activities under the condition just referred to. People also escape from freedom through automaton conformity. When choosing to hide they hide in mass culture. If one looks like, talks like, thinks like, feels like... everyone else in his society, then he would disappear into the crowd, and he does not need to acknowledge his or her individual freedom or take responsibility. This represents the horizontal counterpart to authoritarianism. The automaton conformist experiences a split between his genuine feelings and the colors he shows the world. Man is born as a freak of nature, being within nature and yet transcending it and he has to find principles of action and decision making which replace the principles of instincts. Man has to have a frame of This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com orientation that permits him to organize a consistent picture of the world as a condition for consistent actions. Man has to fight not only against the dangers of dying, starving, and being hurt, but also against becoming insane. Man, thus has to protect himself not only against the danger of losing his life but also against the danger of losing his mind 18.5.1 Families Choice of the ways of escaping from freedom depends upon the kind of family one had grown up with. In symbiotic families of the kind of traditional middle age ones some members of the family are "swallowed up" by other members, so that they do not fully develop personalities of their own. In withdrawing families are notable for their cool indifference. These families are very demanding and set high well defined standards to achieve. Punishment is inflicted claiming to be done for the victim’s own good and guilt and withdrawal of affection may be used as punishment to enforce family norms. A good, healthy, productive family is a family where parents take the responsibility to teach their children reason in an atmosphere of love and no such families might encourage children to learn to acknowledge. However, no such family exists today in the modern world. 18.5.2 The Social Unconscious Orientations Social unconscious could be best understood by examining the economic systems. Five personality types or orientations could be identified in economic terms in this regard. People adhering to the receptive orientation expect to get what they need and if they don't get it immediately, they might wait for it. They believe that all goods and satisfactions come from outside themselves and such people are most common among peasant populations. It is also found in cultures that have particularly abundant natural resources where one need not work hard for one's sustenance. It is also found at the very bottom of any society as is the case of Slaves, serfs, and welfare families, migrant workers. All these people are at the mercy of others. This orientation is associated with symbiotic families, especially where children are "swallowed" by parents, and with the masochistic (passive) form of authoritarianism. In its extreme form, it can be characterized by adjectives such as submissive and wishful and in a more moderate form, adjectives such as accepting and optimistic are more descriptive of these people. People with the exploitative orientation expect to have to take what they need. Things are perceived to have increased value to the extent that they are taken from others and wealth is preferably stolen, ideas plagiarized, love achieved by coercion among these people. The exploitative orientation is associated with the "swallowing" side of the symbiotic family, and with the masochistic style of authoritarianism. In extremes, they This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com are aggressive, conceited, and seducing. When mixed with healthier qualities, they are assertive, proud, captivating. People with the hoarding orientation expect to keep and they view the world as possessions and potential possessions. They consider even loved ones as things to possess, to keep, or to buy. Hoarding is associated with the cold form of withdrawing family, and with destructiveness. In its pure form, they are stubborn, stingy, and unimaginative, and in its a milder version of hoarding, they might be steadfast, economical, and practical. People with the marketing orientation expect to sell. They consider success in terms of how well one can sell himself or herself, package oneself, advertise oneself. They regard every thing with reference to themselves. Every thing stands for their advertisement and they insist that every thing should be right. They treat even love as a transaction and marriage as a contract. In extreme, the people with marketing orientation are opportunistic, childish, tactless and in less extreme, and they are purposeful, youthful, and social People with the productive orientation have a healthy personality and are without a mask. The productive oriented person doe not reject his or her biological and social nature, but nevertheless does not shirk away from freedom and responsibility. Such a person hails from a family that loves without overwhelming the individual that prefers reason to rules, and freedom to conformity. According to Fromm, no society seems to exist that definitely gives rise to the productive type. People adopting the first four orientations seem to be living in the having mode focusing on consuming, obtaining, possessing and are driven by our possessions while those with the productive orientation seem to be living in the being mode focusing on own actions, experiencing life, relating to people, and being themselves. 18.6 LET US SUM UP In This Unit we have briefly dealt with the Neo-Freudian Perspectives of Personality. i) ii) iii) the Neo-Freudian theories de-emphasize the undue emphasis on the sexual nature of the unconscious motives Social fabric provides the site for personality development Erickson emphasizes that the ego's main job is to establish and maintain a sense of identity. The social nature of the structure society gives rise to identity crisis. Anna Freud tried to account for personality differences in terms of societal and cultural elements rather than citing biological differences. Three typical ways of dealing with the world that are formed by an upbringing in a neurotic family could be identified. iv) This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com v) vi) vii) To Sullivan, anxiety seems to exist only as a consequence of social interactions. Through social interactions and our selective attention or inattention, one develops personifications of others and ourselves. Fromm has made a judicial blending of the biological determinism and the societal determinism and added to this mix the idea of personal freedom to explain the personality dynamism of the individuals. The Neo-Freudian perspectives enlarge the understanding of human personality by sketching the picture of human personality on an extended canvas. LESSON END ACTVITIES 18.7 (i) Identify the nature of adolescent crisis experienced by you and your peers. Evaluate the out come of such crisis experienced by you on yourself. (ii) What is your typical orientation you adopt in dealing with people in terms of stratifies identified by Anna Freud. Evaluate your orientation to its relevance to neurotic pattern. (iii) Do you use selective inattention? What is your patronization? (iv) What is your dominant orientation in terms of orientations identified by Fromm? Elaborate the characteristics of your orientation to justify your identification. (v) Draw a plan of action for you to ensure that you do not escape freedom. 18.8 POINTS FOR DISCUSSION (i) Critically evaluate the contribution of Neo Freudian perspectives with reference to understanding the personality of individuals. (ii) Debate: “The Personality is developed by the Individual Vs Personality is imposed by the Society.” 18.9 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS What distinguishes the Neo-Freudians from Freudians? How Erickson provides an account of individual development? How does Anna Freud explain the neurotic personality? How do we develop personality according to Sullivan’s view? How does Fromm conceive personal freedom? (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 18.10 REFERENCES Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint. Delhi: Akash Press. Friedman, H.S. and Schustack, M.W. (2004). Personality – Classic Theories and Modern Research. (2nd Edition). Delhi: Pearson Education. Hjelle, L.A. and Ziegler, D.J. (1992). Personality Theories – Basic assumptions, research, and applications. (Third Edition). Singapore: McGraw-Hill International Edition. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology - The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com LESSON 19 BEHAVIOURAL, BEHAVIOURAL COGNITIVE, AND HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVES 19.0 19.1 19.2 Aims And Objectives Introduction The Behavioral Perspective 19.2.1. Shaping 19.2.2. Freedom And Dignity 19.3 Social Cognitive Perspective 19.3.1 Bandura’s Observational Learning 19.3.2 Observational Learning, Or Modeling 19.3.3 Self- Regulation 19.4 Humanistic Perspective 19.4.1 Maslow’s Theory Of Need Hierarchy 19.4.1.1 Self- Actualization 19.4.1.2. Self Actualizes 19.4.1.3 Metaneeds and Metapathologies 19.5 Carl Rogers 19.5.1 Incongruity 19.5.2 Defenses 19.5.3 Denial 19.5.4 The Fully-Functioning Person 19.5.5 Experiential Freedom, 19.5.6 Creativity 19.5.7 Therapy 19.6 Let Us Sum Up 19.7 Check Your Progress 19.8 Lesson End Activities 19.9 Points For Discussion 19.10 References 19.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES In the lesson 17 we have presented the Neo Freudian Perspectives of personality. After going through this lesson, you will be able to i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi) describe personality in terms of behavioral perspective adopt a learning frame work to explain personality describe social cognitive approach to personality describe the humanistic perspective of personality present Abraham Maslow’s conception of personality present Carl Rogers’ contribution to understanding personality 2 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 19.1 INTRODUCTION Strictly speaking no behaviorist subscribes to any theory of personality since they do not recognize any thing special to explain the phenomena called by others as personality. For them personality is just but an instance amenable for explanation by learning principles. Personality is another form of change of behavior, of course, relatively long enduring pattern of behavior of the individual shaped by reinforcement. However, learning principles advocated in behaviorist perspective do shed some new light to account for the development of personality in the individual. The social cognitive theorists consider that personality is determined by an interaction among the environment, behavior, and the person’s psychological processes. 19.2 THE BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVE The behavioral perspective about human nature focuses on identifying universal laws governing human and animal behavior rather than the uniqueness and individual differences. They do not give any special status to personality as long enduring characteristic of an individual. Hence they did not formulate any theory exclusively concerned with what other psychologists call the phenomena of personality. Instead, they regard such phenomena as one of cases of learning phenomena. Thus considered what is called personality is nothing by an out come of learning similar to learning the path way to reach food in a maze by a rat or a child learning to crawl, to speak or to write. The seminal perspective of the behaviorists that environment conditions behavior in general does has application to explain personality as one of the outcomes of learning. In this manner the behavioral perspective account for personality differences invoking factors present out side the person, Viz, the environment. This in contrast to the attempts of the psychodynamic perspective that personality is accountable in terms of factors residing inside the person, Viz, the unconscious. The origin of behavioral perspective may be attributed to the systematic work of B.F.Skinner. Behaviorists explain personality in terms of learning. Skinner never meant his principles of operant conditioning to be a theory of personality. Personality is regarded by this perspective as a collection of response tendencies that are tied to various stimulus situations. The behavioral perspective views personality as simply a person's distinct behavior pattern that emerged in specific situations. The behaviorists reject the traits as constituent of personality. Common observation would show that individuals behave in very different manner from situation to situation and this fact contradicts assuming that a person has a single pattern of consistent behavior labeled personality. To B. F. Skinner, the entire behavior system is based on operant conditioning. The organism is in the process of “operating” on the environment. That is an organism is left to indulge in any behavior in the environment. During this processes of operating the organism’s behavioral acts may meet with certain stimuli that impart a tendency in the organism to repeatedly indulge in the selected behavioral act. This special stimulus is 3 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com termed reinforcing stimulus, or simply a reinforcer since it has the effect of increasing the operant, the behavior indulged in at the time of receiving the special stimuli. That is, the behavior occurring just before the reinforcer gets consolidated in the behavior repertoire. The principle of operant conditioning holds that the behavior is followed by a consequence, and the nature of the consequence modifies the organisms tendency to repeat the behavior in the future. In this manner rewards and punishments reinforce the behavioral pattern of the individuals. Personality is one such behavioral pattern witnessed among individuals. 19.2.1. Shaping. Acquiring more complex sorts of behaviors is accounted by Skinner in terms of shaping, or “the method of successive approximations.” Shaping involves first reinforcing a behavior only vaguely similar to the target behavior and once that is established, gradually resetting the behavior to be reinforced in such a manner that in each step the out come of learning approximate the target behavior desired to reach. The feats of animals and human artists performing marvelous acts in circus stand evidence to this principle. Skinner had demonstrated that animals could be successfully taught to do some quite extraordinary things. The application of principles of shaping or successful approximation to explaining what we regard as personality could be instantly appreciated. 19.2.2. Freedom and Dignity. Skinner rejects giving any special consideration to characters like freedom and dignity and dubs them, as mentalist constructs having no special claim for explanation. . A person recognized as a good person in society behaves in ways recognized as good by the society and this could be explained by the reinforcement principles of learning rather than assuming formation of a good personality. Similarly a so-called bad person behaves in a so-called bad manner because of the type of behavior reinforced in him. It simply means, “The good does good because the good has been rewarded; the bad does bad because the bad has been rewarded.” Skinner criticizes such constructs as defense mechanisms, the unconscious, archetypes, fictional finalisms, coping strategies, self-actualization, consciousness, even things like hunger and thirst as mental constructs which has no use in a scientific psychology. He asserts that the assumption of other psychologists that ‘ the little man’ is present in every person and it is he who used to explain our behavior, ideas like soul, mind, ego, will, self, and personality. The term homunculus in Latin means ‘the little man’, and as used here the inner subjective elements assumed in psychodynamics. Skinner believes that assuming a human being as homunculus is unwarranted and recommends that psychologists concentrate on observable, that is, the environment and our behavior in it. 19.3 SOCIAL COGNITIVE PRSPECTIVE The social cognitive perspective emphasizes the cognitive element contributing to personality. This perspective tries to understand personality in terms of interaction between individual’s inherent tendencies, the environment and the cognitive factors to account for personality. 4 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 19.3.1 Bandura’s Observational Learning Bandura is regarded the Father of cognitive movement. The attempt of the behaviorist perspective to accounting for human behavior entirely by the environment seemed to be simplistic to Bandura and he found such perspective did not augment his observation of aggression in adolescents. Initially he suggested that environment and behavior mutually influence one another and called this relationship as reciprocal determinism. Later he developed the view that personality is determined by an interaction among three things, that is, the environment, behavior, and the person’s psychological processes. T h e psychological processes consist of ability to entertain images in the mind, and language. Using imagery and language make observational learning or modeling and self- regulation possible. 19.3.2 Observational learning, or modeling Bandura conducted the bobo doll studies involving aggression directed toward a bobo doll bearing a clown named Bobo. In the study a young woman indulged in essentially beating up a bobo doll. A bobo doll is an inflatable, egg-shape balloon creature with a weight in the bottom that makes it bob back up when it is knocked down. The woman punched the clown, shouting “sockeroo!”, kicked it, sat on it, hit with a little hammer, and so on, shouting various aggressive phrases. The aggressive scene was filmed. When the film was exhibited to groups of kindergartners and they liked it a lot. When they were let out to play in the play room after seeing the film, a lot of little kids instantly started beating the bobo doll, punched it and shouted “sockeroo,” kicked it, sat on it, hit it with the little hammers, and so on. Thus they were observed to imitate the young lady in the film. The children have been found to have changed their behavior without first being rewarded for approximations to that behavior. Such behavior, which had not been receiving any reinforcement, is not amenable for explanation in learning theory adopted by the behaviorists. Bandura termed this learning observational learning or modeling. Based on consistent findings observed in a number of experiments in which variations were made with reference to the original, Bandura established that the modeling process involves predictable steps. These steps involve attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation. 19.3.3 Self-regulation Self-regulation refers to controlling our own behavior and is regarded the other “workhorse” of human personality. Bandura suggests that self-regulation involves three steps including self-observation, judgment and self- response. In self-observation one looks at his or her own self and exercises control over it. In judgment, one compares what one sees with a standard and could compete either with oneself or with others. If one had done well in comparison with your standard, he or she may reward himself or herself with self- responses. If one did poorly, he or she may punish himself or herself with self- 5 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com responses. These self-responses can range from the most obvious to the more covert ones. Self-regulation is associated with self-concept or self-esteem. If, over the years, one finds himself or herself meeting his or her standards and life loaded with self-praise and self-reward, he or she will have a pleasant self-concept or high self-esteem. On the contrary, if one, finds himself or herself forever failing to meet his or her standards and punishing himself or herself, he or she will have a poor self-concept or low self-esteem. When excessive self-punishment occurs it may lead to compensation and/or inactivity and/or escape. Under such conditions the individual may develop a superiority complex such as delusions of grandeur, apathy, boredom, depression, turn to drugs and alcohol, television fantasies or even suicide. By ensuring that one has an accurate picture of himself or herself, and that the standards set are too high, and use self-rewards rather than punishments by celebrating victories and not dwelling on failures poor self-concepts could be corrected. Bandura’s recommendations to those who suffer from poor selfconcepts come straight from the three steps of self-regulation: 19.4 HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVE The humanistic perspective arose as a reaction to the psychoanalysis that discredited individuals’ potentialities. This school of thought emphasizes that human being is capable of rising to higher levels of functioning including selfactualization. Humanistic perspective emerged in the 1950’s thanks to work of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. This perspective emphasizes that a person has within him or her self the vast resources for altering his or her self-concept, attitudes, and self-directed behavior. The unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and their potential for growth are stressed by this approach. It is asserted that individual can rise above his primitive animal heritage and control biological urges. An individual is primarily and largely a conscious individual who is not dominated by unconscious irrational needs and conflicts. 19.4.1 Malow’s Theory of Need Hierarchy Taking the clue from the observation that monkeys show a definite priority for satisfaction of their needs, Maslow conceived the hierarchy of needs involving five broader layers staked on one after the other. These layers include, the physiological needs, the needs for safety and security, the needs for love and belonging, the needs for esteem, and the need to actualize the self, in that order, as may be seen in figure below. 6 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Picture courtesy: http://www.businessballs.com/maslow.htm The physiological needs include the needs to have for oxygen, water, protein, salt, sugar, calcium, and other minerals and vitamins, homeostasis, activity, rest, sleep, elimination of wastes, avoid pain and sex. Deprivation of such needs may drive the human being or the animal to go in pursuit of things that might satiate the needs. When the physiological needs are largely taken care of, the safety and security needs in the second layer of needs comes into play. Under such condition an individual will become increasingly interested in finding safe circumstances, stability, protection and develop a need for structure, for order, some limits. When physiological needs and safety needs are, by and large, taken care of, the love and belonging needs in the third layer starts to show up. One may begin to feel the need for friends, a sweetheart, children, affectionate relationships in general, even a sense of community. When the love and belonging needs are met one move towards the esteem needs. The esteem needs may be either lower or higher. The lower one is the need for the respect of others, the need for status, fame, glory, recognition, attention, reputation, appreciation, dignity, even dominance and the higher form involves the need for selfrespect, including such feelings as confidence, competence, achievement, mastery, independence, and freedom. The preceding four levels of needs are called deficit needs, or D-needs. If one doesn’t have enough of something and has a deficit he feels the need. But if one get all he or she needs, he or she feels nothing at all. Such need satisfaction cease to be motivating. 7 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com He also talks about these levels in terms of homeostasis. When body, lacks a certain substance, it develops a hunger for it and when it gets enough of it, then the hunger stops. Thus the homeostatic principle could be extended to such needs as safety, belonging, and esteem that we don’t ordinarily think of in these terms. All these needs are essentially survival needs. Even love and esteem are needed for the maintenance of health and we all have these needs built in to us genetically, like instincts. They are hence called instinctoid, instinct- like needs. 19.4.1.1 Self-actualization The last level of needs in the need hierarch is called growth motivation. The needs in the last layer stand in contrast to D-motivation and hence are essentially called Bneeds. The B- needs and D -needs are also termed being needs and becoming needs respectively. These are the needs that do not involve balance or homeostasis. Once engaged, they continue to be felt and they are likely to become stronger as one starts feeling them. These needs involve the continuous desire to fulfill potentials and to “be all that one can be.” They are the needs for self-actualization. 19.4.1.2 Self Actualizes Maslow has identified the personality of self actualizes using biographical analysis. He analyzed the biographies of a group of selected individuals who represented self-actualization in their life. The group of individuals selected for the analysis include Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jane Adams, William James, Albert Schweitzer, Benedict Spinoza, and Alduous Huxley, and 12 unnamed people who were alive at the time. The self-actualizers were reality-centered, in that they usually differentiated between what is fake and dishonest from what is real and genuine. T h e y were problem-centered, in that they treated life’s difficulties as problems demanding solutions, not as personal troubles to be railed at or surrendered to. They had a different perception of means and ends. They felt that the ends don’t necessarily justify the means, that the means could be ends themselves, and that the journey was often more important than the ends. The self-actualizers also had a different way of relating to others in that they enjoyed solitude, and were comfortable being alone. They enjoyed deeper personal relations with a few close friends and family members, rather than more shallow relationships with many. They enjoyed autonomy, a relative independence from physical and social needs, and they resisted enculturation, in that they were not susceptible to social pressure to be "well adjusted" or to "fit in." They were nonconformists in the best sense of the term. They had an unhostile sense of humor, preferring to joke at their own expense, or at the human condition, and never directing their humor at others. They showed an acceptance of self and others, by which he meant that these people would be more likely to take any one as he or she is than try to change him or her into what they thought he or she should be. They applied the same acceptance to their attitudes towards themselves as well. They were often strongly motivated to change negative qualities in themselves that could be changed, and if some quality of theirs wasn’t harmful, they let it 8 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com be, even enjoying it as a personal quirk. They were given to spontaneity and simplicity.. They preferred being themselves rather than being pretentious or artificial, But, for all their nonconformity they seem to be committed, they tended to be conventional on the surface rather be dramatic. They had a sense of humility and respect towards others. They democratic values in that they were open to ethnic and individual variety, even treasuring it. They had a quality called Gemeinschaftsgefühl, human kinship that connotes social interest, compassion, humanity. This was accompanied by a strong ethics, which was spiritual but seldom conventionally religious in nature. They had a certain freshness of appreciation, an ability to see things, even ordinary things, with wonder and also ability t o b e creative, inventive, and original. Finally, they tended to have more peak experiences than the average person. Such peak experience involves an experience in which one transcends himself or herself and feels being very tiny, or very large, to some extent one with life or nature or God. Peak experience installs in a person a feeling of being a part of the infinite and the eternal. The peak experiences tend to leave their mark on a person, change them for the better, and many actively seek them out. The peak experiences are also called mystical experiences. They are an important part of many religious and philosophical traditions. Self-actualizers were not perfect human beings. They often suffered considerable anxiety and guilt, but, which were realistic rather than misplaced or neurotic ones. Some of them were absentminded and overly kind and some of them had unexpected moments of ruthlessness, surgical coldness, and loss of humor. Two other points he makes about these self-actualizers: Their values were "natural" and seemed to flow effortlessly from their personalities. And they appeared to transcend many of the dichotomies others accept as being undeniable, such as the differences between the spiritual and the physical, the selfish and the unselfish, and the masculine and the feminine. 19.4.1.3 Metaneeds and metapathologies The special, driving needs (B-needs,) of the self-actualizers distinguishes them from others. The B-needs needed for the self-actualizers in their lives in order to be happy include truth, goodness, beauty, goodness, beauty, unity/wholeness/transcendence of opposites, aliveness, uniqueness, perfection and necessity, completion, justice and order, simplicity, richness, effortlessness, playfulness, self-sufficiency and meaningfulness. When a self-actualizer doesn’t get these needs fulfilled, they respond with metapathologies. That is when forced to live without these values, the selfactualizers develop depression, despair, disgust, alienation, and a degree of cynicism. 19.5 CARL ROGERS Rogers based his personality theory on years of clinical experience. However, Rogers views people as basically good or healthy. Mental health is to be regarded as the normal progression of life, and mental illness, criminality, and other human problems, as distortions of that natural tendency. 9 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Rogers has built his theory anchored around a single “force of life” he calls the actualizing tendency. Self actualizing tendency may be defined as the built- in motivation present in every life- form to develop its potentials to the fullest extent possible and goes beyond mere survival: All creatures strive to make the very best of their existence and when they fail to do so, it is not for a lack of desire. All the motives found in human being could be derived from the need just cited. Human being is a social creature by nature. But rather than remaining close to other aspects of our nature, man had moved toward creating and living in a culture and ultimately the culture becomes a force that direct and organize his life. In the long run, a culture seems to interfere one’s actualization and even annihilates it. Culture is not intrinsically evil and aspects of culture that were developed a purpose some time persist longer even when they were outmoded and have become unsuitable to another point of time. Our elaborate societies, complex cultures, incredible technologies, for all that they have helped us to survive and prosper, may at the same time serve to harm us, and possibly even destroy us. Organisms know what is good for them. Since evolution has endowed them with the senses, the tastes, the discriminations they need. This is called organismic valuing. Thus every one distinctly values certain things like love, affection, attention, and nurturance. This is recognized and termed positive regard. One achieves this positive self-regard by experiencing the positive regard others showed him or her over years of growing up. Without this self-regard, one feels small and helpless, and again he or she fails to become all that one can be. Somewhere in the course of evolution people had created an environment for themselves that is significantly different from the one in which they evolved. In the new environment so created certain aspects are come into existence that does not serve actualization in different periods. For instance, such things as refined sugar, flour, butter, chocolate, and so on, unknown to our ancestors have organismic valuing. But, they do not serve our actualization well Getting positive regard contingent on certain conditions is termed conditional positive regard. Every one essentially needs positive regard. Hence the conditions imposed become very powerful. One bends himself or herself into a shape determined, not by his organismic valuing or his actualizing tendency, but by a society that may or may not truly have his best interests at heart. Due to this sort of growing up a “good little boy or girl” may not be a healthy or happy boy or girl! In the long run this “conditioning” leads one to have conditional positive selfregard as well. One begins to like himself or herself only if he or she meet up with the standards others have applied to him or her, rather than if he or she is truly actualizing his or her potentials. Since these standards were created without keeping each individual in mind, more often than not one finds himself or herself unable to meet them, and therefore unable to maintain any sense of self-esteem. 10 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 19.5.1 Incongruity The development of real self and ideal self is well traced by Rogers and is depicted in the flow chart given below. Flow Chart explaining the processes involved in creation of neurosis as a form of incongruity between real and ideal self. (© Copyright 2006, C. George Boeree) The aspect of our being that is founded in the actualizing tendency, follows organismic valuing, needs and receives positive regard and self-regard is termed the real self. It connotes to evolving a ‘pure unpolluted self’ when the processes are not unduly polluted by forces that contaminate the pure self. An individual develops a ‘real self ’ instead of ‘the ideal self ’ to the extent that the society in which he or she lives is thwarting the actualizing tendency, and he or she is forced to live with conditions of worth that are out of step with organismic valuing, and receives only conditional positive regard and self- regard. This gap between the real self and the ideal self, the “what I am” and the “ what I should” is termed incongruity. The greater the gap, the more incongruity, and the more incongruity, the more suffering neurosis. 19.5.2 Defenses When one is in a situation where there is an incongruity between hie or her image of himself or herself and his or her immediate experience of himself or herself (i.e. between the ideal and the real self), he or she is in a threatening situation. For instance, if a student believes due to social pressure that he is unworthy if he does not pass an examination, and he or she is not having the aptitude for appearing for such 11 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com examinations, then situations such as examinations will bring that incongruity to light and tests will be very threatening situation to that student. Such threatening situation induces anxiety. Anxiety is a signal for on coming danger and catastrophe. One would like to flee away from such situation. When physically one could not do running away from the situation he or she may flee away in mind in a psychological way, using defenses. Rogers considers everything from a perceptual point-of-view, so that even memories and impulses are thought of as perceptions. He has emphasized only tow defenses including denial and perceptual distortion. 19.5.3 Denial means blocking out the threatening situation altogether. For instance a student afraid of examination might avoid classes meant for preparing students from examination point of view and seeing the examination announcement in the notice board and never discuss the results of the examination results. Denial includes repression. If one may avoid a threatening situation by keeping a memory or an impulse out of awareness or by refusing to perceive it he may avoid anxiety. Perceptual distortion is similar to rationalization and is a matter of reinterpreting the situation so that it appears less threatening. It is very similar to Freud's rationalization. A student that is threatened by exams blames the teachers for not preparing him well, for setting the paper very difficult and being stringent in giving marks and entertaining hostility against him. For the poor neurotic (and, in fact, most of us), every time he or she uses a defense, they put a greater distance between the real and the ideal. Neurotics become ever more incongruous, and find themselves in more and more threatening situations, develop greater and greater levels of anxiety, and use more and more defenses. It sets a vicious cycle that the person eventually is unable to get out of, at least on his or her own. This provides a partial explanation for psychosis. Psychosis occurs when one’s defense are overwhelmed, and their sense of self becomes "shattered" into little disconnected pieces. 19.5.4 The fully-functioning person The healthy person is fully functioning and involves openness to experience, existential living, organismic trusting, experiential freedom, and creativity. Openness to experience is the opposite of defensiveness. It is the accurate perception of one's experiences in the world, including one's feelings and also means being able to accept reality, again including one's feelings. Feelings are such an important part of openness because they convey organismic valuing and if one cannot be open to his or her feelings, he or she cannot be open to actualization. The difficulty, of course, lies in distinguishing real feelings from the anxieties brought on by conditions of worth. Existential living emphasizes living in the here-and- now. As a part of getting in touch with reality one should not live in the past or the future. Since, the one is gone, and the other isn't anything at all, at the present. The present is the only reality we have. It doesn't mean one shouldn't remember and learn from our past or we shouldn't plan or even daydream 12 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com about the future. One may just recognize these things for what they are as memories and dreams, which one is experiencing here in the present. Organismic trusting involves that one should allow himself or herself to be guided by the organismic valuing process. One should trust himself or herself, and do what one feels right, and what comes natural to him or her. Organismic trusting assumes one is in contact with the actualizing tendency. 19.5.5 Experiential freedom It stresses that it is irrelevant whether or not people really had free will. One must feel very much as if he or she has the freedom. It does not mean that every one is free to do whatever he or she wants. A deterministic universe surrounds every one. Even so one should stretch the arms and try to flutter, even though he or she can not fly like a Superman., so that, flap my arms as much as I like, I will not fly like Superman. It means that one must feel free when choices are available to us. The fully functioning person acknowledges that feeling of freedom, and takes responsibility for his choices. 19.5.6 Creativity It emphasizes that if feels free and responsible, he or she will act accordingly, and participate in the world. A fully functioning person is in touch with actualization and hence would will feel obliged by their nature to contribute to the actualization of others, even life itself. The manifestation of this creativity may be through creativity in the arts or sciences, through social concern and parental love, or simply by doing one's best at one's job. 19.5.7 Therapy Originally called non-directive counseling/therapy and later named or client centered counseling/therapy, the Rogerian counseling/therapy employs a unique technique known as reflection. Reflection involves mirroring of emotional communication of the client in the course of counseling. Reflection would impress the client that the counselor/therapist is indeed listening and cares enough to understand him or her. It also has been found to facilitate the client to deeply retrospect over his or her dilemmas and problems and have an insight into them. 19.6 LET US SUM UP In this Unit we have made the following points i) ii) iii) Behaviorists regard personality as one of the cases of learning phenomena Personality is an out come of operant conditioning Personality is conditioned by the environment 13 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com iv) v) vi) vii) viii) ix) x) xi) xii) 19.7 Bandura suggests that personality is determined by an interaction among the environment, behavior, and the person’s psychological processes Bandura studied observational learning and applied it to personality. Bandura emphasizes self- regulation. Maslow has described hierarchy of needs with self actualization at its top Maslow has described the characteristics of selfactualising personality Maslow has explained dynamics of self-actualization in terms of needs. Rogers identified selfactualizing tendency contributing to growth Rogers emphasizes unconditional positive regard and incongruity Rogers have described the personality of fully functioning persons LESSON END ACTIVITIES i) ii) iii) iv) v) Enumerate the factors that reinforce your personality characteristics. Trace the sources of aggression in you with the aid of the findings of Bandura’s observational learning experiments. Count the characteristics you share with self-actualizers described by Maslow. To what extent you are fully functioning? How are you going to achieve still higher level of fully functioning? Debate: Human Personality is determined by Environmental Conditioning Vs Human Personality is a resultant of unfoldment of potentialities. 19.8 POINTS FOR DISCUSSION (i) Is human dignity is an illusion? Discuss this issue with reference to B.F.Skinner’s conception of behavior. (ii) Explain the impact of observational learning on one’s personality. (iii)Critically evaluate the contributions of humanistic psychologists for furthering our understanding of human personality. 19.9 i) ii) iii) iv) CHECK YOUR PROGRESS How does operant conditioning accounts for long enduring characteristics called personality? How observational learning has an impact on personality? How self-actualization is possible? How fully functioning is possible? 14 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 19.10 REFERENCES Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint. Delhi: Akash Press. Friedman, H.S. and Schustack, M.W. (2004). Personality – Classic Theories and Modern Research. (2nd Edition). Delhi: Pearson Education. Hjelle, L.A. and Ziegler, D.J. (1992). Personality Theories – Basic assumptions, research, and applications. (Third Edition). Singapore: McGraw-Hill International Edition. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology - The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. 15 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com LESSON 20 TEMPERAMENTAL THEORIES OF PERSONALITY 20.0 20.1 20.2 Aims And Objectives Introduction Gordon Allport 20.2.1 The Proprium 20.2.2 Traits Or Dispositions 20.2.3 Psychological Maturity 20.2.4 Functional Autonomy 20.3 Ancient Theories Of Temperament 20.3.1 The Four Humours 20.3.2 Influence Of Ancient On Contemporary Models 20.4 Hierarchy Of Traits And Super-Factors 20.4.1 Eysenck Personality Theory 20.4.1.1 Extraversion 20.4.1.2 Neuroticism 20.4.1.3 Psychoticism 20.5 Cattell’s Sixteen Personality Factors. 20.6 The Five-Factor Theory 20.6.1 Three Factors Model & Five Factor Model 20.7 Let Us Sum Up 20.8 Lesson End Activities 20.9 Points for Discussion 20.10 Check Your Progress 20.11 References 20.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES In Lesson19 we presented behavioral, cognitive, and humanistic theories of personality. After going through this Unit you will be able to i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi) appreciate trait approach to personality exemplified by Gordon Allport understand various aspects of self as understood by Allport comprehend the dynamics of functional autonomy appreciate the type approach to personality exemplified by Hans J.Eysenck analyse the factors constituting personality in terms of factors by R.B.Cattell value the five factors of personality met with the consensus among psychologists INTRODUCTION 20.1 Nature, character, disposition, personality are all regarded as synonymous with Temperament. Thinkers have made attempts to understand the individual differences 16 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com observed among individuals in temperament since ancient time. Gordon Allport had attempted the first scientific conceptualization of personality in terms of well-defined traits. Hans J.Eysenck had attempted a sophisticated system of structure of personality in terms of factors identified him and also had suggested neurobiological explanation to individual differences in extroversion, neuroticism and psychoticism. Raymond B. Cattell has done extensive empirical studied to identify the factors accounting for individual differences in personality. Based on the findings of his studies he has identified 16 Personality Factors, which are accessible for questionnaire approach. Consensus has been reached among the psychologists regarding the minimum number of factors f o r accounting for individual differences in personality. The Five Factors of personality have been ultimately identified and described. The Five Factor Model of personality seems to be promising to succinctly account for the personality differences among the individuals. 20.2 GORDON ALLPORT Allport distinguished between the conditions that motivate human beings called Opportunistic functioning and propriate functioning. Opportunistic functioning is the tendency that motivates human beings to satisfy biological survival needs, which. This can be characterized as reactive, past-oriented, and, of course, biological. Propriate functioning is a tendency that motivates human beings functioning in a manner expressive of the self. Propriate functioning can be characterized as proactive, future-oriented, and psychological. Propriate functioning rather than opportunistic functioning motivates most people. The word propriate used as an adjective in propriate functioning is derived from the term proprium, which means the self . To get an intuitive feel for what propriate functioning means, think of the last time When an individual wants to do something or become something because he or she really felt that doing or becoming that something would be expressive of the things about himself or herself that he or she believes to be most important he is said to be in the mode of propriate functioning. Doing things in keeping with what the individual really is denotes propriate functioning. 20.2.1 The proprium The self, that is proprium is defined in terms of phenomenology and in terms of its functionally. Phenomenological self is the self that is experienced as himself or herself by an individual. Self is composed of the aspects of your experiencing that one views as most essential (as opposed to incidental or accidental), warm (or “precious,” as opposed to emotionally cool), and central (as opposed to peripheral) to himself or herself. The self develops in a systematic developmental sequence. The self has seven functions associated with its various developmental stages. The functions of self include sense of body, selfidentity, self-esteem, self-extension, self-image, rational coping and propriate striving 17 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Sense of body and Self- identity develop in the first two years of life. Every one has a body and feel its closeness, its warmth. Body sense has its own boundaries that pain and injury, touch and movement, make us aware of. If any thing like saliva or waste products is eliminated from the body, the thing eliminated is regarded as foreign to the body-self and rejected with contempt. Self- identity also at the point of time when we recognize ourselves as continuing, as having a past, present, and future. We see ourselves as individual entities, separate and different from others have names. We are confident that we will remain the same person when till death. We take this sense of continuity in body sense granted. you wake up tomorrow? Of course -- we take that continuity for granted. Self-esteem develops between two and four years old when we recognize that we have value, to others and to ourselves. This is tied to a continuing development of our competencies. Self-extension occurs between four and six. At this stage certain things, people, and events around us also come to be thought of as central and warm, essential to my existence. The sense of “My” is very close to the sense of “me!” Some define themselves in terms of their parents, spouse, or children, their clan, gang, community, college, or nation. Some find their identity in professions, say ‘I am a scholar’, ‘I am a lawyer’, etc. Some find identity in a place, as is explicit with Malaylees who adopts the name of his native place for identity. It this sense of extension that leads to development of empathy with children by parent, attachment to ideas one’ owns, patriotism, etc. Self- image also develops between four and six. The self as developed at this stage is called the “looking- glass self,” since at this stage the child identifies ‘the me’ as ‘others see me’. This is the manner how ‘my out look ’, ‘my social esteem or status’, including ‘my sexual identity’ are formed. Rational coping is learned predominantly from six till twelve years of age. In this phase the child begins to develop his or her abilities to deal with life’s problems rationally and effectively. Self or propriate striving doesn’t usually begin till the child is twelve years old. This installs such aspects of ‘my self ‘ as goals, ideal, plans, vocations, callings, a sense of direction, and a sense of purpose. The epitome of propriate striving is the ability to say that ‘I am the proprietor of my life’, that is recognizing that ‘ I am the owner and operator’. 20.2.2 Traits or dispositions When the self or the proprium is developing in this sequence, personal traits, or personal dispositions also develop in an individual at the same time. Allport uses the term traits to denote unique, individual characteristics within a person, rather than traits as perceived by someone looking at another person or measured by personality tests. 18 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Allport defines personal disposition as a generalized neuropsychic structure, peculiar to the individual, with the capacity to render many stimuli functionally equivalent, and to initiate and guide consistent (equivalent) forms of adaptive and stylistic behavior. A personal disposition produces equivalences in function and meaning between various perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and actions that are not necessarily equivalent in the natural world, or in someone else’s mind. A person with the personal disposition may be given to entertain stereotypes and deal with an individual as if he bears all the qualities attached with the category of persons due to entertaining stereotype. Dispositions are concrete, easily recognized, consistencies in our behaviors. Traits are essentially unique to each individual. Hence ideographic methods focusing on studying one person at a time, such as interviews, observation, analysis of letters or diaries, and so on seem to be most suited for understanding personal disposition of individuals. Within any particular culture, there are common traits or dispositions, ones that are a part of that culture, that everyone in that culture recognizes and names. In Indian culture, people given to philanthropy and altruistic behavior or helping is commonly differentiated from those who are given to hoarding and egoistic behavior. Some traits are more closely tied to the proprium or one’s self, than others. Central traits are the building blocks of personality. When one describes someone, he or she is likely to use adjectives to refer to the central traits, such as smart, dumb, wild, shy, sneaky, dopey, and grumpy. It is likely that most people have somewhere between five and ten of these. Secondary traits are the ones that aren’t quite so obvious, or so general, or so consistent. Preferences, attitudes, situational traits all seem to be secondary traits. For example, “he gets angry when you try to tickle him,” “she has some very unusual sexual preferences,” and “you can’t take him to restaurants.” Cardinal traits are the traits that some people have which practically define their life. Central traits distinguish an individual investing all his energy for a particular cause or spirit. For instance, one may spends all his or her life seeking fame, or fortune, or wealth or sex. Historical characters reflect such cardinal traits. Often we use specific historical people to name these cardinal traits. Ambition distinguishes Alexander the G r e a t , s e lf-esteem distinguishes King Purushothaman, Cunning manipulation distinguishes Chanakya, tolerance distinguishes Akbar the Great, and compassion distinguishes Gaudama Buddha. Only a relatively small number of individuals develop a cardinal trait. But, when an individual develops such cardinal traits they tend do so late in life. 20.2.3 Psychological maturity Psychological maturity is contingent on a well-developed proprium or the self, and a rich, adaptive set of dispositions. As used here, the term psychological maturity is used to denote mental health. Psychological maturity is characterized by seven characteristics. Specific enduring extension of self, like involvement, contributes to psychological maturity. Dependable techniques for warm relating to others, such as trust, 19 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com empathy, genuineness, add to ones maturity. Emotional security is an essential ingredient of maturity of an individual. Habits of realistic perception influence the maturity. Psychological maturity also requires problem centeredness and the development of problem solving skills. Self-objectification in terms of insight into one’s own behavior, the ability to laugh at one self, etc, promote psychological maturity. Finally, a unifying philosophy of life, including a particular value orientation, differentiated religious sentiment, and a personalized conscience is of paramount importance to psychological maturity. 20.2.4 Functional autonomy Functional autonomy is condition of personality where in one lives in the present, and his or her motives today are independent or autonomous, of their origins thus there is no necessity to probe into the past of the individual to trace his motivational history to understand an individual. It is immaterial whether one chose to be dancer or a singer, or why a person develops a taste for cheese, and it would suffice to accept the fact that the person is what he is now. Allport distinguishes Perseverative functional autonomy and Propriate functional autonomy from one another. The perseverative functional autonomy refers essentially to habits, behaviors that no longer serve their original purpose, but still continue to function in an individual. One might initially turn to alcohol for one reason or the other. But, once started the drinking habit persists even after the so-called reason attributed to the initiation of the habit has become obsolete. Propriate or self- functional autonomy seems to be a little more self-directed than habits, such as values. Allport and his colleagues have developed a test of values titled A Study of Values (Allport-Vernon-Lindzey,1960) that provides assessment of individuals given to different values. The test measures six values including the theoretical value exemplified by a scientist valuing truth, the economic value demonstrated by business man valuing material gain, the aesthetic value illustrated by an artist valuing beauty, the social value depicted by a nurse valuing nurturing people, the political value showed by a politician valuing power, and religious value exposed by a saint valuing devotion. Every one has several of these values at more moderate levels, also that one may value one or two of these quite negatively. 20.3 ANCIENT THEORIES OF TEMPERAMENT Temperament is considered as the aspect of personality that is genetically based, inborn, there from or even prior to, birth. It does not mean that personality theories of temperament deny the existence of aspects that are not having genetic origin. They only selectively focus their attention exclusively on nature and confine themselves to the aspects of the genetic nature rather than attending to other aspects, we call, the nurture. 20 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 20.3.1 The four humours Galen (AD 130–200), a Greek physician, formulated the temperament in terms of humors. He identified the temperament falling into four types. They include melancholic (tending towards low mood), choleric (tending toward anger), phlegmatic (tending towards stolid calmness) and sanguine (tending towards optimism and confidence). The temperamental types are based on what kind of fluids, called humors; they had too much or too little of. T h e sanguine type is cheerful and optimistic, pleasant to be with, comfortable with his or her work. Sanguinity is attributed a particularly abundant supply of blood, and so also is characterized by a healthful look, including rosy cheeks. The choleric type is characterized by a quick, hot temper, often an aggressive nature and the temperament is attributed to bile excreted by the gall bladder to aid in digestion. The choleric person is endowed with a yellowish complexion and tense muscles. The phlegmatic type is characterized by slowness, laziness, and dullness. This temperament is associated with phlegm or the mucus. The individual having this type is very cold. The melancholic type temperament tends to be sad, even depressed, and is pessimistic. This type is associated with black bile. We do not know what the ancient Greek refers to as black bile, today. The melancholic was thought to have too much of black bile, whatever it is. The four types are conceived to be the corners of two temperature and humidity represented in dissecting lines. Sanguine are warm and wet, choleric are warm and dry, phlegmatic are cool and wet. Melancholy people are cool and dry. 20.3.2 Influence Of Ancient On Contemporary Models The ancient theory of temperamental type had been pervasive in their in their influence on the thinkers of later ages. Ivan Pavlov, the Russian physiologist had attempted a description of dogs in terms of the above four temperamental types. He believed the differences in temperament witnessed by him among the dogs he experimented with could be accounted by level of arousal distinguishing between the types. The over all arousal or the excitation, and inhibition was considered to provide explanation for the various type of temperament he witnessed among the dogs. One of the things Pavlov tried with his dogs was conflicting conditioning -ringing a bell that signaled food at the same time as another bell that signaled the end of the meal. Some dogs took it well, and maintain their cheerfulness. Some got angry and barked like crazy. Some just laid down and fell asleep. And some whimpered and whined and seemed to have a nervous breakdown. I don’t need to tell you which dog is which temperament! Pavlov believed that he could account for these personality types with two dimensions: On the one hand there is the overall level of arousal (called excitation) that the dogs’ brains had available. On the other, there was the ability the dogs’ brains had of changing their level of arousal -- i.e. the level of inhibition that their brains had available. Lots of arousal, but good inhibition: sanguine. Lots of arousal, but poor 21 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com inhibition: choleric. Not much arousal, plus good inhibition: phlegmatic. Not much arousal, plus poor inhibition: melancholy. Arousal would be analogous to warmth, inhibition analogous to moisture! This became the inspiration for Hans Eysenck’s theory of personality. Inspired by the account of temperament Pavlov had suggested to account for the variations in temperament of the dogs used by him in his experiments in the laboratory, Hans J Eysenck had developed his theory of personality to account for the differences in the personality among human beings. Though he has allegiance to behaviorist theory of learning, he attributes great importance to genetic inheritance to explain human personality Eysenck has formulated the PEN (Psychoticism, Extroversion and Neuroticism) model of personality based on extensive research involving factor analysis and experimental studies. The methods used involve not only the human subjects, but also animals such as rats. He advocated his model as the overarching paradigm of personality psychology. 20.4.0 HIERARCHY OF TRAITS AND SUPER-FACTORS According to hierarchical theory of personality, everyone exhibits specific responses to both internal and external stimuli. These specific responses vary according to the intensity of the stimuli, the situation, state of mind, and many other factors. At some point, trends set in in our responding to stimuli in a characteristic way. Once such trend is set in, the individual and others could see the trends of behavior of the individual. A trend of such behavior is reflected in for instance, a person shying away from a stranger in most specific situations. When this behavior becomes the usual way of the individual to respond to new people, the response then becomes a habit. Similar habits give rise to traits. Traits give rise to personality types. 20.4.1 Eysenck Personality Theory Eysenck applied the method of factor analysis, a method invented by Charles Spearman to study personaity. He first identified two factors accounting for individual differences in temperament in his book Dimensions of Personality, and named them extraversion (E) and neuroticism(N). He even believed that 22 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com the combination of the two dimesions could account for the four personality types proposed by Hippocrates. Eysenck's results suggested two main personality factors. The first factor was the tendency to experience negative emotions, and Eysenck referred to it as Neuroticism.The second factor was the tendency to enjoy positive events, especially social events, and Eysenck named it Extraversion. The two personality dimensions were described in his 1947 book Dimensions of Personality. It is common practice in personality psychology to refer to the dimensions by the first letters, E and N. E and N provided a 2-dimensional space to describe individual differences in behaviour. An analogy can be made to how latitude and longitude describe a point on the face of the earth. Also, Eysenck noted how these two dimensions were similar to the four personality types first proposed by the Greek physician Hippocrates.The third dimension, psychoticism wad added to the model in the late 1970s, based upon collaborations between Eysenck and his wife, Sybil B. G. Eysenck, who is the current editor of Personality and Individual Differences. Extraversion Psychoticism Neuroticism Non-neuroticism Introversion It is comprised of three personality dimensions based on psychophysiology: Psychoticism, Extraversion, and Neuroticism. As dimensions of temperament, the three dimensions are related to Basic Emotions. PEN model is based on biological dynamics The PEN model has two main aspects: descriptive and causal. Eysenck formulated his description of the model in terms of a hierarchical taxonomy based on factor analysis. At the peak of the hierarchy are the superfactors of Psychoticism, Extraversion, and Neuroticism (PEN). The superfactors are comprised of factor analyses of lower-order factors such as sociability and positive affect (components of Extraversion). These factors are comprised of factor analyses of low-order habits such as liking to study with a group of people (a component of sociability). These habits are comprised of factor analyses of lower-order behaviors such as studying for the personality midterm with a group of people. The PEN Model emphasizes aggregation a n d the state-trait distinction. The principle of aggregation means that measures will have higher reliability if they are comprised of many items. For instance, Extraversion is comprised of many different factors, habits, and behaviors, and hence should be a reliable dimension of personality. The state-trait distinction denotes that factor involving lesser degree of consistency should be distinguished from factors that are more stable ones. Thus the superfactors of P, E, and N are to be considered as traits that are very stable across time and situation. At 23 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com the bottom level, behavior states manifesting in situations may be regarded as traits. For instant, combined-studying for the examination with a group of people (a state connoting sociability) could vary widely depending on situational constraints such as the availability of study partners. The states are very changeable compared to traits, the traits are changeable to factors and the factors are very stable. Traits are essentially dispositional factors that regularly and persistently determine our conduct in many different types and situations as opposed to states which define temporary or “singular occurrences. For instance, an individual described as cheerful will not be cheerful all the time. The descriptor points only to a predisposition to be cheerful and the likelihood to act in a cheerful manner. The correlation or clustering of traits leads to a personality types of psychoticism, extroversion and neuroticism. 20.4.1.1 Extraversion. Extraversion relates to an individuals’ “ability to engage the environment”. Extraverts are characterized as sociable, lively, active, assertive, carefree, dominant, venturesome and sensation-seeking (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1985). The extrovert is preoccupied with external appearance and how others perceive their actions. Extraversion is attributed to cortical arousal. Arousal is usually measured by skin conductance, brain waves, or sweating. The theory holds that introverts are chronically over-aroused and jittery, while the extraverts are chronically under-aroused and bored. The theory also presupposes that there is an optimal level of arousal. The finding that arousal is related to performance as an inverted U-shaped curve is called the Yerkes- less aroused than the optimal level. Extraversion is found to be related to social interest and positive affect. 20.4.1.2 Neuroticism. The neurotic type is composed of the first-order traits: anxious, depressed, guilt feelings, low self-esteem, tense, irrational, shy, moody, and emotional (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1985). Neuroticism is attributed to activation thresholds in the sympathetic nervous system or visceral brain. This part of the brain is responsible for the fight-or- flight response in the face of danger. Activation is usually measured by heart rate, blood pressure, cold hands, sweating, and muscular tension (especially in the forehead). Neurotic individual, who have a low activation threshold, experience negative affect (fight-or- flight) in the face of very minor stressors. They are emotionally easily upset. Emotionally stable people, who have a high activation threshold, experience negative affect only in the face of very major stressors. They are calm under pressure and stress. Measures of activation are not highly correlated. People differ in their stress responses. Some individuals sweat while some others get headaches while under stress. This is referred to as individual response specificity. It is also found that stressors differ in the responses they elicit. This is termed stimulus response specificity. 20.4.1.3 Psychoticism. Psychoticism is characterized as aggressive, cold, egocentric, impersonal, impulsive, antisocial, unempathetic, creative, and tough- minded (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1995). Individuals scoring high on the psychoticism scale show a disregard for authority and society’s rules and regulations, exhibiting a need to be on the edge. Psychotics are unlikely to feel guilt, empathy, or sensitivity to the feelings of others 24 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Psychoticism is associated with the liability to have a psychotic episode or break with reality. It is also associated with aggression. Researches indicate that Psychoticism too has a biological basis. Psychoticism is attributed to increased testosterone levels. Eysenck believed that the three types of personality factors have been connected to neurobiological factors such as the difference in cortical arousal in introverts and extroverts and psychopathologies, where extreme scores can represent psychopathy, dysthymia, hysteria, and other dysfunctions (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1985). 20.5.1.3. CATTELL’S SIXTEEN PERSONALITY FACTORS. The Project lunched by Cattell to explain individual differences in every area of life from psychometrically sound measures of ability, motivation, personality and mood is one of the most ambitious ever undertaken in psychology. Cattell's Sixteen Personality Factor Model attempts to explain personality differences in terms of adjectives used to refer to different aspects of individual differences in the natural language. The 16 Personality Factor Model aims to construct a common taxonomy of traits using a lexical approach to narrow natural language to standard applicable personality adjectives. Cattell relied heavily on the previous list of personality descriptors developed by Allport and Odbert in 1936. Cattell believed that there are three major sources of data when it comes to research concerning personality traits (Hall & Lindzey, 1978). The sources include LData, Q-Data, T- Data. L-Data is also referred to as the life record. L-Data includes actual records of a person's behavior in society such as court records, and ratings given by peers. Q-Data refers to responses to Self -rating questionnaires, and includes data gathered by allowing participants to assess their own behaviors. T-Data refers to data collected using objective tests and involves a unique situation in which the subject is unaware of the personality trait being measured. Cattell gathered data from the three sources from sample population representing age groups including adolescents, adults and children as well as representing several countries including the U.S., Britain, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, India, and Japan. Cattell analyzed these data using factor analysis. He identified what he termed as surface and source traits. Surface traits represent clusters of correlated variables. Source traits represent the underlying structure of the personality. Cattell considered source traits much more important in understanding personality than surface traits. The 16 Personality Factor Model thus refers to sixteen source traits identified to account for the individual differences in entire domain of personality. Consequently, the 16 Personality Factor Model aims to measure personality based upon sixteen source traits. Table 1summarizes the surface traits as descriptors in relation to source traits within a high and low range. 25 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Table 1. Primary Factors and Descriptors in Cattell's 16 Personality Factor Model (Adapted From Conn & Rieke, 1994). Adjuctives use for describing Primary individuals at the Low Factor Range of the factor Reserve, impersonal, distant, cool, reserved, impersonal, detached, formal, aloof (Sizothymia) Concrete thinking, lower general mental capacity, less intelligent, unable to handle abstract problems (Lower Scholastic Mental Capacity) Adjuctives use for describing individuals at the High Range of the factor Warm, outgoing, attentive to others, kindly, easy going, participating, likes people (Affectothymia) Abstract-thinking, more intelligent, bright, higher general mental capacity, fast learner (Higher Scholastic Mental Capacity) Emotionally stable, adaptive, mature, faces reality calm (Higher Ego Strength) Warmth Reasoning Reactive emotionally, changeable, affected by Emotional feelings, emotionally less Stability stable, easily upset (Lower Ego Strength) Deferential, cooperative, avoids conflict, submissive, humble, obedient, easily led, docile, accommodating (Submissiveness) Serious, restrained, prudent, taciturn, introspective, silent (Desurgency) Expedient, nonconforming, disregards rules, self indulgent (Low Super Ego Strength) Dominance Dominant, forceful, assertive, aggressive, competitive, stubborn, bossy (Dominance) Lively, animated, spontaneous, enthusiastic, happy go lucky, cheerful, expressive, impulsive (Surgency) Rule-conscious, dutiful, conscientious, conforming, moralistic, staid, rule bound (High Super Ego Strength) Socially bold, venturesome, thick skinned, uninhibited (Parmia) Sensitive, aesthetic, sentimental, tender minded, intuitive, refined (Premsia) Liveliness RuleConsciousness Shy, threat-sensitive, timid, Social hesitant, intimidated (Threctia) Boldness Utilitarian, objective, unsentimental, tough minded, self-reliant, no- nonsense, rough (Harria) Sensitivity 26 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Trusting, unsuspecting, accepting, unconditional, easy (Alaxia) Grounded, practical, prosaic, solution orientated, steady, conventional (Praxernia) Forthright, genuine, artless, open, guileless, naive, unpretentious, involved (Artlessness) Self- Assured, unworried, complacent, secure, free of guilt, confident, self satisfied (Untroubled) Traditional, attached to familiar, conservative, respecting traditional ideas (Conservatism) Group-oriented, affiliative, a joiner and follower dependent (Group Adherence) Vigilance Vigilant, suspicious, skeptical, distrustful, oppositional (Protension) Abstract, imaginative, absent Abstractedness minded, impractical, absorbed in ideas (Autia) Private, discreet, nondisclosing, shrewd, polished, worldly, astute, diplomatic (Shrewdness) Apprehensive, self doubting, worried, guilt prone, insecure, worrying, self blaming (Guilt Proneness) Open to change, experimental, liberal, analytical, critical, free thinking, flexibility (Radicalism) Self-reliant, solitary, resourceful, individualistic, self sufficient (Self-Sufficiency) Perfectionistic, organized, compulsive, self-disciplined, socially precise, exacting will power, control, self – sentimental (High SelfConcept Control) Privateness Apprehension Openness to Change Self- Reliance Tolerated disorder, unexacting, flexible, undisciplined, lax, self-conflict, impulsive, Perfectionism careless of social rues, uncontrolled (Low Integration) Relaxed, placid, tranquil, torpid, patient, composed low 20.6 THE FIVE-FACTOR THEORY In recent decades, an increasing number of theorists and researchers have come to the consensus that five temperament dimensions adequately explain the personality dimensions witnessed among people. Warren Norman introduced the first version, called The Big Five, in 1963. It was a fresh reworking of an Air Force technical report by E. C. Tuppes and R. E. Christal, who in turn had done a re-evaluation of Cattell’s original 16 Personality Factors research. R. R. McCrae and P. T. Costa, Jr. (1990) presented their version, called The Five Factor Theory. The five factors identified include Extraversion, 27 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Neuroticism and Culture or Openness to Experience. Extraversion is described with the adjectives adventurous, assertive, frank, sociable and talkative. Introversion, in contrast includes such descriptors as Quiet, reserved, shy, and unsociable. Agreeableness is described with the adjectives altruistic, gentle, kind, sympathetic and warm. Consciousness includes such adjectives competent, dutiful, orderly and responsible, and thorough. Emotional Stability could be described using adjectives including calm, relaxed and stable. Neuroticism is referred to by such descriptors as angry, anxious and depressed. Culture or Openness to Experience could be described using such traits as cultured, esthetic, imaginative, intellectual and open. The Big Five have also been shown to have a considerable genetic component via twin studies. 20.6.1 Three Factors Model & Five Factor Model Eysenck (1991) advocates that his three- factor model provides an alternative to the five- factor model. It is admitted that the two models are related (Costa & McCrae, 1992, 1992; Eysenck, 1992). Both share the factors of extraversion and neuroticism, Eysenck’s factor of psychoticism is related (negatively) to agreeableness and conscientiousness. Eysenck states that agreeableness and conscientiousness belong at a lower level in the hierarchy than psychoticism, extraversion, and neuroticism. The extraversion is made up of the intercorrelations of other lower- level factors such a s impulsivity and sociability. Similarly, psychoticism is made up of the intercorrelations of lower- level factors such as agreeableness and conscientiousness. At the highest level in the trait hierarchy are the superfactors P, E, and N. These superfactors provide a psychometrically sound description of personality. Eysenck’ theory has a physiological basis dynamic causation is claimed for the Big Five Factors. 20.7 LET US SUM UP In this lesson we have covered the following points i) Nature, character, disposition, personality are all regarded as synonymous with Temperament. ii) Allport conceived a concept of self and traced its development iii) Allport conceived a trait theory and identified the nature of dispositional traits. iv) Allport described the nature of functional autonomy of the self v) An hierarch of traits giving rise to factors and superfactors have been developed by psychologists that links habitual association between responses to traits and ultimately to types. vi) Eysenck has developed his theory and identifies the structure of personality with extroversion, neuroticism and psychoticism. vii) Eysenck has also suggested the dynamics of the personality factors identified by him viii) Cattell has empirically derived his personality factors ix) Five Factor model has been met with general acceptance of psychologists. 28 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 20.8 LESSON-END ACTIVITIES i) Reflecting on your self describe your sense of body, self- identity, self-esteem, self-extension, self- image, rational coping and propriate striving ii) Identify your personal disposition in terms of values, attitudes and beliefs iii) Identify your self with regard to the temperamental model identified by ancient thinkers and adopted by Eysenck’s personality quadrant iv) Consider the characteristics of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism and evaluate your characteristics with regard to the dimensions just cited. v) Identify your personality with regard to the 16 factors described by Cattell and prepare a self-evaluation of your personality. Obtain comments on your description from any one who knows you intimately. vi) How far the five factors of personality represent your personality? vii) Debate: Our Knowledge of Personality is Complete Vs Our Knowledge of Personality is still Incomplete. 20.8 POINTS FOR DISCUSSION (i) Compare and contrast theory by Eysenck and Cattell. (ii) Critically evaluate the validity of Allport’s theory. CHECK YOUR PROGRESS i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi) vii) viii) ix) How does Allport describe the self and its various aspects including its development? Distinguish different type of traits. What is meant by personal autonomy? How the conception of temperament conceived by ancient theories tallies with the modern conception of temperament? What is the nature of personality structure identified by Eysenck? How does Eysenck explain the neurobiological dynamics of personality? How does Cattell identify the factors of personality? What they are? What do you understand the nature of the Five Factors of personality? State the views of Eysenck about the five- factor model of personality? . 20.9 20.10 REFERENCES Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint. Delhi: Akash Press. Friedman, H.S. and Schustack, M.W. (2004). Personality – Classic Theories and Modern Research. (2nd Edition). Delhi: Pearson Education. Hjelle, L.A. and Ziegler, D.J. (1992). Personality Theories – Basic assumptions, research, and applications. (Third Edition). Singapore: McGraw-Hill International Edition. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology - The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. 29 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com LESSON 21 ASSESSMENT OF PERSONALITY 21.0 21.1 21.2 Aims and Objectives Introduction The Basis for Projective Techniques 21.2.1 The Rorschach Ink Blot Test: 21.2.2 The Thematic Apperception Test (Tat) 21.2.3 House-Tree-Person 21.2.4 Free Association 21.2.5 Dream Analysis 21.2.6 Word Association Behavioral Assessment 21.3.1 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 2 (Mmpi-2) 21.3.2 The California Psychological Inventory (Cpi) 21.3.3 Scales Relevant To Eysenck's Theory 21.3.4 The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire 21.3.4 The Revised Neo Personality Inventory The Q-Sort Let us sum up Lesson-End activities Points for Discussion Check your progress References AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 21.7 21.8 21.9 21.0 In the previous four lessons we discussed the various theoretical perspectives on personality. This lesson deals with various assessment techniques used to assess personality. At the end of this lesson you will be able to: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) 21.1 Understand the rationale behind projective techniques Get some orintaton to the various projective tests, their administration and scoring of the tests Appreciate the principle of behavioral assessment Learn about few objective personality tests commonly used Gain knowledge about Q-sort technique of personality assessment INTRODUCTION Personality assessment has progressed a great deal in recent years. More reliable and valid tests have been constructed for individual research as well as for commercial marketing. In fact, the development of the methods has contributed to refinement of the theories of personality. Tests has affinity with specific theories though electrical approach could make use of the instruments without bothering about the perspective that had given 30 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com rise to them. The rationale and description of different instruments preferred by assesors having different allegiance to various perspectives are given presented here under. 21.2 THE BASIS FOR PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES Freudian and Neo-Freudian psychology emphasized the importance of understanding the information hidden in the unconscious. The drives, especially the sexual and aggressive drives often remain buried deep in the unconscious and direct the majority of our everyday behavior. The problem is that such information hidden in the unconscious is not directly accessible even to the individual. Because, there are defenses in the way that seem to function beyond the conscious will of the person. One of the main defense mechanisms is projection: the projecting of one's own unconscious and often anxiety provoking impulses onto a less threatening person or object. For instance an individual has an unconscious need for aggression may become actively involved in crime prevention and may criticize violence so that he can now criticize or attack the self without the associated anxiety. What an individual really does in this kind of situation is viewed as a tendency in the self, acknowledging a anxiety provoking condition and the associated anxiety and then throwing it outside the self to relieve anxiety. Taking the clue from this many psychoanalytic and psychodynamic theorists attempted to devise ways of accessing the buried information by allowing the patient to project it somewhere else. Their efforts have fructified in development of many a projective tests to assess the personality of individuals. The basic idea in a projective assessment is to provide neutral and non-threatening stimuli to a patient and then ask him interpret ambiguous pictures, fill in the blanks, make associations, or tell stories. If the theory of projection is true, then the clients will project their own unconscious impulses onto the non-threatening stimuli, allowing the assessor to interpret the responses. There are several commonly used projective techniques derived from Freudian and Neo-Freudian Theories. Thy gain more and more research support as they become more standardized and researched. But they are still open to a lot of different interpretations and most psychologists view these tests as a way to gain information about an individual although they recommend that they be used in conjunction with other assessment techniques. 21.2.1 The Rorschach Ink Blot Test The Rorschach Ink Blot Test is one of the two most widely acclaimed projective tests; the other being Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist developed the test known after his name in 1921. The Rorschach Ink Blot test is the second most widely used test by members of the Society for Personality Assessment (Meloy et al, 1994). The objective of the test is to obtain a measure of emotional and intellectual functioning and integration. The stimuli provided in the test is purposely designed to be ambiguous and strutureless so that the respondent may project his mind and invoke a clear structure out of the stimuli. 31 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com The test consists of a series of 10 cards. The cards themselves are large, about 6 3/4 by 9 inches and are made of a stiffened cardboard or, a textured plastic. Five of the cards in the series contain blots made in black ink on a white background. Two of the cards contain blots made in red ink on a white background. Three of the cards are made in multicolor. The forms of the patches resemble the hazy clouds we normally see in the sky. The patches in the card stimulate the Subject viewing the card and the responses evoked in the mind of the Subjects reveal the psychodynamics of the personality of the individual. The test is to be administered strictly adhering to standard procedures with a particular "format" or protocol in order to minimize variances in the results. After handing over the card to the subject the test administrator would s say, “This is an interesting psychological test and a few cards containing figures like inkblots will be given to you one by one. When people view such inkblots they report seeing several figures in them. Tell me what you see in the card?” The subject is not given any further instruction and whatever the subject says from the moment the card has been handed over to him till the test is over, is recorded verbatim by the test administrator. Hermann Rorschach (1921) originally developed a scoring system by himself in for scoring and intrepreting the responses given by a subject to the Rorschach Cards. The scoring system was improved after his death by other psychologists later. Some of the later developments made in the scoring system have been adequately summarised by John Exner (2002) in the comprehensive. Presently statistically more rigorous scoring system is adopted to score the responses to Rorschach Test . The Exner system is most popular in the USA. In UK the system of Rorschach Scoring eloborated by Evald BohmUnited States is most popular among the psychologists. The later system of scoring remains closer to the original Rorschach Scoring system and is more committed to the principles of psychoanalysis In the Exner system Responses are scored in the Exner’s comprehensive system of scoring, with reference to the level of vagueness or synthesis of multiple images, the location of the response, determinants used to produce the response, the form quality of the response and it’s content, mental organization involved, and the logical as well as other aspects of the responses.The interpretation of the responses are not primarily based on the contents of the responses. What the respondent perceives in the blots is of lesser importance than how he integrate the micro aspects in a macro level of attributing meaning to the objects and events perceived through projection. Several elaborate scoring systems have been devised based on these categories. In 1974, a new system was introduced that attempted to extract and combine the validated portions of all the scoring systems into one complete system. It has undergone extensive revision and is now supplemented by a computer scoring service and software for microcomputers. Although this system looks more promising than previous efforts, not enough studies have accumulated to evaluate its validity with any confidence. 32 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 21.2.2 The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) The Thematic Apperception Test was commissioned by the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.), USA, in the 1930s to identify personalities that might be susceptible to being turned by enemy intelligence. The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is one of the two most popularly known projective test of personality. Christiana D.Morgan and Henry A. Murray of the Harvard University developed this test in 1930. TAT has been adapted to Indian population by Uma Chaudry. The TAT consists of 31 pictures containing depiction of a variety of social and interpersonal situations using ambiguous figures standing for persons and the environment concerning the depiction. . 10 of the pictures are gender-specific. 21 of the pictures could be used with adults of either sex and also with children. The TAT is meant to assess the underlying dynamics of the subject's personality. The test assesses the personality dynamics in terms of internal conflicts, dominant drives and interests, motives, etc. The test also assesses various specific needs including the need for achievement, need for power, the need for intimacy, and problem-solving abilities. During the World War II TAT was used for personality assessment and after the war it’s usage spread to diagnosing emotional disturbances by the psychoanalysts and clinicians. Thanks to the human potential movement in the 1970s many psychologists tend to emphasize the usefulness of the TAT in assessment services and to help clients understand themselves better and stimulate their personal growth. The test is also used sometimes as a screener in psychological evaluations of candidates for high-stress occupations including the armed forces and the law enforcement departments. There is no single standardized procedure or set of cards for administering the TAT. The test is used both as an individual test as well as a group test. The test administrator could choose any specific number of cards suitable for administration with his individual client or the group concerned. The test administrator administering the test usually shows 10 selected cards for administration. The cards can be administered for a predetermined duration either in one setting or on many setting. In administering the test the test administrator would show each picture and require the respondent to make up a story about the depiction shown in the picture. The subject has to construct the stories with a description of the event in the picture, the developments that led up to the event, the thoughts and feelings of the people in the picture, and the outcome of the story. The test administrator encourages the subject to entertain imagination without any restriction and conveys whatever story comes to mind. Individuals responding to the pictures interpret the ambiguous pictures and the situation depicted according to their apperceptions. The subject is advised to ensure that his story may essentially include what is seen to be happening in the situation, what might have led to the present scene and what would happen next? 33 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com The responses to the TAT are analyzed with reference to the hero with whom the subject had identified in his stories, the dominant needs expressed in the stories, the environmental press involved in the situations, ad the our come of the situation.. The analysis may reveal the individual’s needs, motives, and the characteristic way of handling interpersonal relationship. 21.2.3 House-Tree-Person The House-Tree-Person test (H-T-P) requires no specific materials and is not a standardized test. The test administrator instructs the individual to draw a picture of a house, a tree, a n d a person . After the individual and completed these tasks the administrator he may ask the individual to tell a story related to each picture, including the who, what, where, how, and why's of each. Different methods of interpretation are utilized. The interpreter's training and commitment to specific theoretical approach may account for the different interpretations of the analysis made. As a projective technique, its strength lies in its scope for weakening the defenses and getting a clearer picture of the unconscious. 21.2.4 Free Association This technique was one of Freud's favorite techniques. The test administrator would sit in his chair behind the patient so as not to allow any projection to occur. He would then allow the client to talk, without interruption or guidance, for an extended period. The test administrator would take notes, analyze themes, and piece together aspects of the unconscious that peak out. Some test administrators may provide a topic for this free association, such as 'mother' or 'anger' and then sit back to allow the patient to freely associate. Under the climate conducive to respond without pressures, anxiety, or fears, the aspects of the unconscious are freer to show themselves. 21.2.5 Dream Analysis Dream is hailed as the royal road to the unconscious since it allows expression of the buried experiences in a disguised form without their attending anxiety. Interpretation of dreams would access to the conflicts and the anxiety provoking stimuli experienced by the client. Analysis of client’s dreams allows the analyst to identify the recurrent themes and hidden meaning of the occurrences in the dreams. Freud believed that all dreams consist of manifest content or obvious content, and latent content or hidden content which are to be deciphered for understanding the dreams. The manifest content of dreams is the images and the scene of action witnessed in the dream by the dreamer, as they are. For instance, a young boy may dream that a rat is chasing and smashing a cat. The story of ‘rat chasing the cat and smashing it,’ is regarded as the manifest content. The latent content consists of bits and pieces of the unconscious that seep out while the boy is asleep and his defense mechanisms are at their weakest. The dream of rat chasing the cat may represent a deeper unconscious need for freedom, a fear becoming too grounded or stuck, or perhaps even an expression of aggression driven 34 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com by frustration. The interpretation afforded a specific dream can vary dramatically. In one instance, the interpreter interpreted the dream cited as disclosing the unconscious conflict the boy had with his father. The boy may be identified with the character of the rat and his father may be identified with the cat. The boy wanted to rebel and punish his father, but, obviously, could not do so. Hence his conflict had been repressed and had ushered through the content of the dream. 21.2.6 Word Association Word Association tests can take many forms. There is no single accepted list of words. When using this type of test, the assessor would read a list of words, asking the participant to write down the very first thing that comes to mind after each. The object of insisting the subject to give instant and spontaneous responses to the words is to eliminate the secondary processes as well as defense mechanisms distorting the access to the primary processes of the unconscious. There is no standard form of the word association test and hence its efficacy has not been studied and declared. This assessment may provide some quality information that might supplement the information gathered with other methods such as interview or examining the records. 21.3 BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT Behaviorists employ several objective methods to collect to assess personality. Self- Reports tests or questionnaires, Behavioral observation, Experience sampling, Situational interview, Behavioral checklists and questionnaires. A Self-report test referes to a type of psychological test in which a respondent fills out a survey or questionnaire with or without the help of an assessor. Self-report inventories often ask direct questions about symptoms, behaviors, and personality traits associated with one or many personality types or mental disorders in order to easily gain insight into a patient's personality or illness of the individual responding to the instument. The first modern personality test was developed by Woodworth in 1919 and called the Woodworth Personal data sheet. This which was designed and first used during the World War for screen out recruits who might be susceptible to shell schock in the in the United States Army. Most self-report inventories can be taken or administered within five to fifteen minutes. However, instruments like the MMPI or the CPI may take more time. 21.3.1. Minnesota Multiphasic personality Inventory - 2 (MMPI-2). The MMPI-2 has been consistently ranked one of the top two psychological instruments of all psychological instruments usedin the American Psychologists. It is one of the most researched tool and more than hundreds of articles and boks have been published on it. Used properly, it is proves to be an invaluable tool for assessing various aspects of personality. 35 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Hathaway and McKinley, a psychologist and a psychiatrist developed the MMPI in the late 1930s. It was originally designed to speed diagnosis and psychiatric treatment. For developing this instrument an item pool of one thousand items was evolved and it contained questions generated by hospital staff, colleagues, and friends, as well as items drawn from other personality questionnaires. These questions were administered to 724 individuals who were mostly friends and family of hospital patients. The questions distinguishing the different diagnostic groups were finally selected for inclusion in the final version of the inventory. Its authors have revised the MMPI and the method of scoring the responses to it has been changed. Norms for generl population have also been developed. Thepresent revised vesion of MMPI is called MMPI-II or MMPI-2 (Hathawayand McKinley, 1988). The MMPI-II consists of 567 binary items. Each item requires the respondent to consider the statement contained in the item by stating, ‘this is true (or false) as applied to me’. Neither of these responses could be considered to beregorded as correct or incorrect since the responses are but only a descriptor of the personality of the respondent. The assessor may confine himself administering only 370 of the items of the tool that consititut basic scales and obtain a rough assessment of the person diagnosed. However, it is recommended that all the 567 are administered to get a complete picture of personality of the individual assessed. The items are arranged in scales. For interpretation, the responses are compared to answers provided by "control subjects". The scales enable the diagnostician to identify traits and mental health problems based on these comparisons. Thus, , there are no answers that are ‘ typical to paranoid or narcissistic or antisocial patients’ and what is available on the test is the information that certain of the responses provided by the responsdent to the items deviate from an overall statistical pattern of responses obtained from a general population and conform to the reaction patterns of other patients with similar scores on this test. It is to be remembered that the nature of the deviation such seen in the test responses determines the patient's traits and tendencies and does constitute the diagnosis of the respondent. There are three validity scales and ten clinical scales in MMPI-II. Others have derived many scales from the items of MMPI. The validity scales indicate whether the respondent has responded truthfully and accurately or was trying to manipulate the test. Thhe validity of the scales also bring to the fore whether there has been problems in reading comprehension and other inconsistencies in response patterns. The clinical scales assess dimensional aspects of personality (and not multiphasic as miscommunicated by the title of the test). They provide measures of hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria, psychopathic deviation, masculinity- feminity, paranoia, psychasthenia, schizophrenia, hypomania, and social introversion. There also scales for alcoholism, post-traumatic stress disorder, and personality disorders. 21.3.2 The California Psychological Inventory (CPI) This is another self report inventory developed by Harrison Gough. It was developed in a similar manner to the MMPI.But, it focused on lay man constructs refering to person in normal population rather than on clinical diagnosis. The CPI 36 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com consists of 434 true-false questions, half of which were taken from the original version of the MMPI. The test includes 18 scales, grouped into four classes: (1)measures of poise, ascendancy, self-assurance, and interpersonal adequacy; (2) measures of socialization, responsibility, intrapersonal values, and character; (3) measures of achievement potential and intellectual efficiency; (4) measures of intellectual modes and interest modes.CPI is typically used with people aged 13 years and older. 21.3.3 Scales relevant to Eysenck's theory. Eysenck's theory of personality is closely linked with the scales that he and his colleagues and include the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) , and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). Another questionnaire, The Eysenck Personality Profiler (EPP) breaks down different facets of each trait considered in the model. There has been some controversy over whether these facets should include impulsivity as a facet of extraversion or psychoticism. Eysenck declared that impulsivity which was regarded as a trait of extroversion is to be added to extroversion should be now transferred to psychoticism. 21.3.3 The Sixteen-Personality Factor Questionnaire. The 16 PF is based on Cattell's theories and was first published in 1949 and is undergoing periodic editions. It is published in 40 languages. The questionnaire yields 16 scores relating to the primary personality factors identified in Cattell’s system of personality to indicate the status of the respondent on them. Besides, the questionnaire could be used to derive scores on the global factors arising by combination of the sixteen primary factors. Such global factors assess by the questionnaire include Extraversion, Anxiety, Tender-mindedness, Independence and Self-control. The questionnaire also includes measure of test taking attitude or to the ways in which a respondent reacts to a test and the test-taking atmosphere. The questionnaire is designed to reflect certain response tendencies by incorporating three response-style indices including, Impression Management (IM), Acquiescence (ACQ), and Infrequency (INF). 21.3.4 The Revised NEO Personality Inventory. The Revised NEO Personality Inventory or NEO PI-R, is a psychological inventory developed by Paul T. Costa, Jr. and Robert R. McCrae. The inventory was meant to be used with adult (18+) men and women without overt psychpathology.It includes 240 questions purporting to measure the Five Factors of personality included in the five factor maodel.Thus it provides measures of : Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience. Additionally, the test measures six subordinate dimensions (known as 'facets') of each of the "Big Five" personality factors. The test was developed by Paul T. Costa, Jr. and Robert R. McCrae The personality dimensions measured by the NEO PI-R, including facets, are : Neuroticism and the facets of Anxiety, Hostility, Depression, Self-Consciousness, Impulsiveness, Vulnerability to Stress; Extroversion, including the facets Warmth, Gregariousness, Assertiveness, Activity, Excitement Seeking, and Positive Emotion; 37 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com Openess and the facets of Fantasy, Aesthetics, Feelings, Actions, Ideas, and Values; Agreeablenss and the facets Trust, Straightforwardness, Altruism, Compliance, Modesty, and Tendermindedness; Conscientiousness, and the facets of Competence, Order, Dutifulness, Achievement Striving, Self- Discipline and Deliberation. As stated in the current manual of the NEO PI-R, the inventory is available in two forms. One for is meant to be for self report (form S) and the other one, for observer rating (form R). Both forms consist of 240 items that provide descriptions of behavior, and are answered on a five point scale, ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree” Another vesion of the inventory consists of a 60 item assessment of domains and is called the “NEO FFI.” In the case of adminsitering the full version the assesor may take between 30 and 40 minutes for adminsitering the test. It is advised that the assessment should not be evaluated if the responses are given by the respondent to more than 40 of the items, and if more than 150 responses, or less then 50 responses, are “agree” or “strongly agree,” the results should be interpreted with caution.. Scores on the inventory could be reported using the feature provided in the manual,“Your NEO Summary.” The summary provides a brief explanation of the assessment, and gives the participants’ domain levels and a strengths-based description of three levels (high, medium, and low) in each domain. For profile interpretation, Facet and Domain scores are reported in T Scores and are recorded visually as compared to the appropriate norm group. The following sample items of questions used to assesses the five factors are given to illustrate the nature of items contained in self reprting questionnaires.These items are taken from International Personality Item Pool ( http://ipip.ori.org/ ) and Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits). Samples of items used to assess various personality factors. Sample items used for assessing Aggreableness I am interested in people. I feel others’ emotions. I have a soft heart. I make people feel at ease. I sympathize with others’ feelings. Sample items used for assessing Conscientiousness I am always prepared. I am exacting in my work. I follow a schedule. I get chores done right away. I like order. I talk to a lot of different people at Sample items used for assessing Extroversion I am the life of the party. I don't mind being the center of attention. I feel comfortable around people. I start conversations. Sample items used for assessing Neuroticism I am easily disturbed. I change my mood a lot. I get irritated easily. I get stressed out easily. I get upset easily. Sample items used for assessing Openess I am full of ideas. I am quick to understand things. I have a rich vocabulary. I have a vivid imagination. I have excellent ideas. 38 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com I take time out for others. I am not interested in other people’s problems. (reversed) I am not really interested in others. (reversed) I feel little concern for others. (reversed) I insult people. (reversed I pay attention to details. I leave my belongings around. (reversed) I make a mess of things. (reversed) I often forget to put things back in their proper place. (reversed) I shirk my duties. (reversed) parties. I am quiet around strangers. (reversed) I don't like to draw attention to myself. (reversed) I don't talk a lot. (reversed) I have little to say. (reversed) I have frequent mood swings. I often feel blue. I worry about things. I am relaxed most of the time. (reversed) I seldom feel blue. (reversed) I spend time reflecting on things. I use difficult words. I am not interested in abstract ideas. (reversed) I do not have a good imagination. (reversed) I have difficulty understanding abstract ideas. (reversed Cognitive Behaviorists also employ questionnaires for assessing the variables of their interest. Questionnaires on cognitive behavior of the people provide valid measures. The most popular questionnaire to measure locus of control is the 23- item forced choice scale titled Rotter Level of Aspiration Scale (Rotter,1966). Bialer's (1961) also has developed a 23- item scale for children, even prior to Rotters scale . The Crandall Intellectual Ascription of Responsibility Scale (Crandall, 1965), and the Nowicki-Strickland Scale are a few earliest psychometric scales developed to assess locus of control, using a Likert-type scale. This scale has not been published. The Duttweiler Control Index (Duttweiler, 1984) uses a five-point scale, and those which are related to specific areas, such as health. The Stanford Preschool Internal- External Control Index (ICI) is used for three to six year olds. Another most reliable and valid of the questionnaires for adults is the Duttweiler scale((1984). This scale has been developed snce it was found that otters Scale was susceptible to social desirability and the forced choice formate used in it posed problems. Besides factor analysis of the items did not show that the construct use in the sceale lacked homogenity. The other scales used were also subjected to the same problems. Duttweiler's 28- item ICI uses a Likert-type scale, in which people have to state whether they would rarely, occasionally, sometimes, frequently or usually behave as specified by each of statements contained in the inventory. It is very difficult to develop instruments to measure higher developmental stages such as self-actualization. Instrumentation in such new areas generally lags a decade or more behind the opening up of a new field. Humanistic assessment of personality include Personal Orientation Inventory that measures the degree to which a person’s values and attitudes agree with those of Maslow’s description of self-actualized people and Q-Sort technique. The two tests, which have gained some research prominence in the measurement of self-actualization, are the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, and especially 39 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com the Shostrom Personal Orientation Index. J.C. Gowan (1972) developed The Northridge Developmental Scale. 21.4 THE Q-SORT The Q-Sort technique is elegantly suited to assess the pattern a person is adopting as his style at particular point of time with reference to a set of characteristics. When the constellation of the characteristics constituting the style of functioning changes, Q-sort data could adequately show it explicitly. This provides the relevance of this method to shift in changes occurring in personality during the course of counseling. Q-sort is a scaling technique (Stephenson, 1953). In practice a large number of items descriptive of a person may be supplied to the respondent. The respondent may be asked to sort them out in to different cells of a lengthy cord sorting board. This arrangement facilitate imposing a Q-Sort distribution of the cards sorted out.. Q-distribution is a quasi normal distribution and has its own curvy shape similar to normal curve. The Q Distribution has its own well-defined properties. Since the sorting of the variables is done with reference to the QStatistical Distribution this procedure is given the name, Q-Sort Test. In this procedure, the subject is asked to sort out the descriptors into usually 11 or 9 piles. A lengthy rectangular sorting box containing or 9 cells is provided to the subject to sort out the cards in piles. The number of items to be sorted into each category is specified to ensure that the items are sorted in such a way that the distribution of the items gives rise to Q-sort distribution. In applying Q-Sort technique for assessing the personality variables characterizing an individual is concerned, the items used are usually the descriptors or adjectives. The adjectives are printed on cards in the traditional method. The items that provide the description best applied to the subject are sorted out in the cells situated in the extreme right, and the items that provide the description least applied to the subject are sorted out in the cell situated in the extreme left of the sorting board. The items that provide the description that are modertely applicable are sorted out in the cell situated in the middle of the sorting box. The degree of applicability of other cells is determined with reference to the extreme as well s the middle cells. The assessor records the items distributed to the various cells and obtain a description of the characteristics most present, least present or present in a moderate extent. The sorting reflects the changing of traits within the personality of the subject with reference to the statistical properties of the Q-sort distribution. Investigators having a bias for factor analyzing the data prefer Q-Sort method. But, there is no necessity that one should have allegiance to factor analysis to used Q-Sort. 21.4 LET US SUM UP (i) Personality assessment has progress a great deal in recent years. The rationale and description of different instruments preferred by assessors having different allegiance to various perspectives of personality. (ii) Tests to assess personality can be broadly categorized as projective tests and objective personality tests. 40 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com (iii) The basic idea in a projective assessment is to provide neutral and non-threatening stimuli to a patient and then ask him interpret ambiguous pictures, fill in the blanks, make associations, or tell stories. The rationale of projective test is that clients will project their own unconscious impulses onto the non-threatening stimuli, allowing the assessor to interpret the responses. (iv) Rorschach Ink Blot Test, The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), House-TreePerson, Free Association, Dream Analysis, and Word Association Test are few of the common projective tests. (v) Objective methods to collect to assess personality may include Self- Reports tests or questionnaires, Behavioral observation, Experience sampling, Situational interview, Behavioral checklists and questionnaires. (vi) Most self-report inventories can be taken or administered within five to fifteen minutes. However, instruments like the MMPI or the CPI may take more time. Some of the common questionnaires used to assess personality are Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) , and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). The Eysenck Personality Profiler (EPP),The Sixteen-Personality Factor Questionnaire and The Revised NEO Personality Inventory. (vii) Q-sort is also a technique widely used to assess personality. 21.5 LESSON-END ACTIVITIES (i) Which method of assessment would you choose to assess your personality? Try doing it and see how it reflects your real personality. (ii) Try to generate items that can form a personality test. 21.6 POINTS FOR DISCUSSION (i) Critically evaluate the validity of projective technique in personality assessment. (ii) How far are objective tests of personality objective? (iii) Evaluate analyse the Q-sort technique to assess personality. 21.7 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS (i) What are projective tests? (ii) What are the characteristics of NEO Personality Inventory? (iii) Define social desirability. (iv) What are the variations of MMPI used to assess personality? (v) What are primary process and secondary process thinking? 41 This watermark does not appear in the registered version - http://www.clicktoconvert.com 21.8 REFERENCES Coon, D. and Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology. First Indian Reprint. Delhi: Akash Press. Friedman, H.S. and Schustack, M.W. (2004). Personality – Classic Theories and Modern Research. (2nd Edition). Delhi: Pearson Education. Hjelle, L.A. and Ziegler, D.J. (1992). Personality Theories – Basic assumptions, research, and applications. (Third Edition). Singapore: McGraw-Hill International Edition. Passer, M.W. and Smith, R.E. (2007). Psychology - The Science of Mind and Behavior. Third Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. 42